What changed

B100297/2025

B100294/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the dissolution of political parties and the crackdown on the opposition in Mali

(2025/2754(RSP))

having regard to RulesRule 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,Procedure”,

whereas Mali has been under military rule since coups in 2020 and 2021; whereas the military junta under interim-President General Goita had cancelled the previously announced February 2022 elections;

whereas the military has ruled the country since the 2020 coup that brought the transitional president, General Assimi Goïta, to power;

whereas on 13 May 2025 the military government announced a ban of all political parties and political organisations; whereas already beforehand the junta brutally beat down a number of pro-democracy activists who were protesting against these new measures; whereas numerous opposition figures and civil society actors are imprisoned and face severe repressions;

whereas civilian leadership was removed and promised elections were suspended without providing an alternative timeline;

whereas on 11 June 2025 the Malian Council of Ministers adopted a bill authorising a five-year renewable presidential term for General Goïta without setting any timetable for elections;

whereas a promise to hand over power by the military in March 2024 was not kept, and the regime suggested proclaiming the general president of the Republic for a five-year, renewable term, without going to the polls;

whereas Al Qaida-affiliate Islamist terrorist groups have been killing civilians, including many Christians, and destroying villages in rebel-held regions for years;

whereas in early May 2025, opposition groups and protestors tried to take to the streets to oppose the slide towards an authoritarian regime;

whereas after the suspension of the EU’s military support and the closure of the EUTM (European Union Training Mission) Mali the Russian sponsored Wagner Group has failed to pacify the country and fight terrorism; whereas the Wagner Group has been the culprit of numerous severe human rights violations, including killing of innocent civilians;

whereas on 13 May 2025, Mali military authorities dissolved political parties and repealed laws protecting political participation;

whereas Mali is among the countries most negatively affected by Russia’s disinformation campaigns;

whereas the pattern of enforced disappearances dating back to at least 2021 has expanded with recent abductions and arrests of opposition members;

whereas for 2021-2024, the EU committed an estimated envelope of 403,8 million euro for cooperation with Mali;

whereas the military junta has intensified its repression of the political opposition and civil liberties;

Is alarmed by the further deterioration of the domestic situation and the total shrinking of public and civic space and in this light strongly condemns the dissolution of political parties and organisations and the crackdown on the opposition in Mali;

whereas on 11 June 2025, Council of Ministers adopted a bill granting a five-year renewable mandate to the transitional president, General Assimi Goïta, without an election.

Urges the rapid organisation of elections and strongly criticises that despite its initial promises the military junta has given up all efforts to lead a transition towards a civilian government and inclusive elections;

Expresses deep concern at the alarming political and security situation in Mali, including significant increase in documented human rights violations and abuses since 2024, which are now compounded by additional recent restrictions on political rights;

Underlines the EU’s clear support for a multiparty democratic system and thus urges the Malian authorities to quickly reverse their policies and initiate a true domestic reform in order to properly achieve a political system which represents the true wishes and aspirations of the Malian people;

Deplores recent Malian authorities’ actions undermining democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and association, and peaceful assembly;

Reiterates its serious concern over the humanitarian and security situation and calls for the immediate release of all those imprisoned in the wake of recent protests;

Urges the Malian authorities to respect international law and signed commitments, thus enabling their citizens to fully enjoy their political and civil rights guaranteed in international human rights law;

Notes with regret that the country is still plagued by violence and Islamist terrorism; appeals to the Malian government’s primary responsibility to protect its population and ensure peace and stability in the country;

Recalls the transitional president’s instruction to the Cabinet in November 2024 to create conditions for transparent and peaceful elections;

Supports the efforts of the EU Special Representative for the Sahel to engage with relevant actors in the region in order to among others advance the human rights situations on the ground;

Urges the transitional authorities to fully restore political rights in the country by revoking the Council of Ministers’ decision of 11 June 2025 and setting an election schedule without delay;

Recalls that the Russian sponsored Wagner Group has failed to bring stability, but has committed a number of severe human rights violations against the Malian population;

Calls on the transitional president, General Assimi Goïta, to reverse the decree dissolving all political parties and restore laws protecting political participation;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the AU, ECOWAS, the HR/VP and the Malian authorities.

Urges the authorities to immediately release those arrested or abducted for political reasons, and to end repression of opposition members and activists;

Calls for ensuring accountability for rights’ violations and abuses;

Calls on the Commission and the EU Delegation to Mali to engage deeply in helping to restore democracy, including by strengthening the oversight capacity of the National Assembly, supporting civil society and local democratic actors, and ensuring that human rights are at the forefront of our support under the renewed approach to the Sahel region;

Calls on the HR/VP and the Member States to raise the urgent need to restore democratic order and protect human rights in their engagement with the Malian authorities;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the HR/VP, Mali’s transitional president, and National Assembly.