DIIS Policy Brief

African peacekeepers pull the weight in Mali

Policy brief discusses inequality in UN peacekeeping

African and non-African soldiers operate under very different conditions in the UN stabilization mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

European forces dominate the mission headquarters in the capital, Bamako, and countries like Denmark deploy Special Forces to gather intelligence and patrol the war-torn northern part of the country. In contrast, African soldiers are permanently deployed in the most dangerous areas of the mission, often without proper equipment.

These inequalities are clearly reflected in the fatalities of MINUSMA to date. By October 2016, 91 of 109 MINUSMA personnel killed were from countries in the region around Mali. Only six came from European countries.

This DIIS Policy Brief, based on fieldwork in Mali, points to numerous factors that reinforce inequality in MINUSMA. The authors suggest a number of ways to reduce these differences.

The brief is the first of several publications that focuses on the plight of African peacekeepers in MINUSMA. In early 2017, two more policy briefs and a report will be published.

The project is a collaborative effort between DIIS and the Royal Danish Defence College. It is funded by the Danish Ministry of Defence.

Regions
Mali Niger Mali Niger

DIIS Experts

 Peter Albrecht
Global security and worldviews
Senior Researcher
+45 3269 8772
Signe Marie Cold-Ravnkilde
Migration and global order
Senior Researcher
none
African soldiers are in the firing line in Mali
Inequality in MINUSMA #1