Credit: MINUSMA/ Marco Dormino  /  Des policiers béninois de la mission de maintien de la paix des Nations Unies au Mali (MINUSMA) et la Garde nationale malienne effectuent des patrouilles conjointes quotidiennes dans les rues de Gao en novembre 2018.

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS  –   The United Nations Security Council  Friday  extended for one year the mandate of the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).   The Council resolution proposing the extension of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali until 30 June 2020 was adopted unanimously. MINUSMA was established by Security Council Resolution 2100 of April 25, 2013 to support political processes in that country and carry out a number of security-related tasks. The mission was tasked to support the transitional authorities of Mali in the stabilization of the country and implementation of the transitional roadmap.

The Mandate will add more Military and Police Personnel to the Peacekeeping Mission.   

The Security Council authorized  MINUSMA  MALI: 

13, 289 Military personnel  (up from last year 13,010)

1, 920 Police   (increase from last year 1,759)

 (Source: UN MINUSMA)

#Mali 🇲🇱 – Le Conseil de sécurité de l'#ONU #UNSC a adopté à l’unanimité la Résolution 2480 (2019) prorogeant le mandat de la MINUSMA jusqu’au 30 Juin 2020. 📽️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/um9tgEDplZ

— MINUSMA (@UN_MINUSMA) June 28, 2019

UN  MINUSMA   MALI   Annual Budget  of  $1 BILLION 

Les contingents du Niger et du Bangladesh lors d’une opération militaire à Ansongo.  Photo MINUSMA/Marco Dormino

MINUSMA is funded through a separate account approved on an annual basis by the General Assembly. 

Approved budget: (07/2018–06/2019): $1,074,718,900 

UN  Has  Not Released  Figures  for  MINUSMA   07/ 2019 – 06 / 2020 

UN Secretary-General   António Guterres  spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric noted in Friday’ press briefing at world headquarters in New York the Security Council’s action on MINUSMA mandate.

“Noting the situation in Central Mali, the resolution also urges Malian authorities to take expedited action to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to protect civilians; to reduce intercommunal violence; and to ensure that the perpetrators of violations are held accountable, ”  UNSG spokesperson Dujarric said.   

“As for the budget, I don’t have any details offhand, but I do know there are negotiations going on right now in the Fifth Committee regarding the peacekeeping budgets and peacekeeping operations as a whole. “

UN Mission In  Mali  Is The Deadliest In World For Peacekeepers

What we do know is  MINUSMA  MALI is the  deadliest peacekeeping mission in the world. Since 2013, when MINUSMA deployed,  nearly 200 peacekeepers have died in Mali, including close to  120 killed during hostilities.   The deadly violence has spiraled out of control this year, in particular, with no end in sight despite the presence of thousands of UN and international peacekeeping troops in Mali,  and across the Sahel region.

What is happening in the West African nation of Mali is quite unprecedented. The once peaceful country has descended into a cycle  of deadly ethnic and Islamist violence during the past few years.  In early June, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Mali’s capital Bamako, to protest what they described as President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s failure to stop a surge of violence in the center of the country. The demonstrations in Bamako condemned the killing of some 160 people in the Ogossagou, a village belonging to the Muslim Fulani ethnic group of herders in the Mopti region, on March 23.  Mali has experienced a deadly wave of violence this year from terror attacks and onslaught  between Dogon hunters and Fulani herders.

PassBlue:  “A Survey for Malians: What They Want for Their Country”: 

What do Malians want for their country? A new survey across the country & its surprising results + a sneak preview of the UN renewal of the peacekeeping mission: no troop reductionshttps://t.co/QivGp5y8ex#Mali #UN #UNSC @BBCAfrica @dwatchnews_afr @GermanyDiplo #peacekeeping pic.twitter.com/YPcEKmMKh9

— passblue (@pass_blue) June 27, 2019