On the dissolution of political parties and the crackdown on the opposition in Mali

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

(2025/2754(RSP))

The European Parliament,

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

A.whereas the military has ruled Mali since the 2020 coup that installed General Assimi Goïta as transitional president, and the repeatedly promised elections have not taken place;

B.whereas on 13 May 2025, the military authorities dissolved political parties and organisations and repealed laws protecting political participation, sparking domestic protests and international concern over the consolidation of authoritarian rule and repression and criminalisation of the opposition and protesters;

C.whereas recent abductions and arrests of opposition members have added to the enforced disappearances dating back to at least 2021, and the military junta has intensified its repression of the political opposition and civil liberties;

D.whereas on 11 June 2025, the Malian Council of Ministers adopted a bill authorising a five-year renewable mandate for the transitional president without election;

E.whereas the EU continues to support civil society and provide humanitarian aid in Mali;

F.whereas al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist terrorist groups have been killing civilians, including Christians and people from other religious minorities;

G.whereas the EU and several Member States have deployed troops who have lost their lives fighting jihadism at the request of the former Malian authorities;

H.whereas Mali is negatively affected by Russian disinformation;

1.Expresses deep concern about the alarming political and security situation in Mali; strongly condemns the dissolution of political parties and organisations and the crackdown on the opposition;

2.Criticises the Malian authorities’ intensified actions undermining democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and association, and peaceful assembly;

3.Urges the Malian authorities to respect international human rights law and Mali’s signed commitments on political and civil rights;

4.Recalls the transitional president’s instruction to his cabinet in November 2024 to create conditions for transparent and peaceful elections as soon as possible;

5.Urges the authorities to immediately release those arrested or abducted for political reasons, permanently end repression and intimidation, guarantee the safety of opposition members, activists and civil society actors, and ensure peace and stability in Mali;

6.Notes with regret that Mali is still plagued by violence and Islamist terrorism; recalls that Russian-sponsored mercenaries have failed to bring stability; calls for ensuring accountability for rights violations and abuses, including war crimes committed by the Wagner Group/Africa Corps against the Malian people;

7.Encourages closer cooperation between the EU, the EUSR for the Sahel, ECOWAS and the African Union in promoting stability and human rights in Mali;

8.Underlines the EU’s clear support for restoring multi-party democracy, providing assistance to civil society and democratic actors and ensuring that human rights are the main priority for EU support under the renewed approach to the Sahel region;

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

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