Fostering resilient and accountable institutions as well as efficient development projects in Mali are the best ways to achieve sustainable peace in the country, Mali’s Ambassador to the United States said in a discussion July 8, 2013, co-hosted by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) in Washington, D.C.

Mali Watch, the Alliance for Peacebuilding, and ACSS co-hosted the panel titled “What Mali Can Teach Us: A Discussion on the Primacy of Civil Authority in Rebuilding the Security Sector.” The event took place at the Stimson Center in Washington.

Speakers included: H.E. Al Maamoun Keita, Malian ambassador to the United States; Melanie Cohen-Greenberg, President & CEO, Alliance for Peacebuilding and Co-Chair of Mali Watch; Vivian Lowery Derryck, President & CEO of the Bridges Institute and Co-Chair of Mali Watch; and Retired Colonel Christopher Holshek, Senior Fellow, Alliance for Peacebuilding. There were approximately 70 attendees.

The meeting was convened against the backdrop of the recent lifting of the state of emergency and the start of campaigning for the July 28 elections, and aimed to explore options for asserting civil supremacy in security sector reform/transformation and emphasizing peacebuilding and productive civil-military relations in post-elections Mali.

Amb. Keita outlined six challenges which should be overcome for this to happen:

• Addressing pervasive institutional weakness;
• Recognizing that elections alone are insufficient;
• Reconfiguring the political economy to minimize the effect of legacy arrangements;
• Transforming the Malian military;
• Building trust among and within ethnic and religious groups; and
• Combating trans-national criminal groups.

He called for strategic regional strategy and sustained support from external stakeholders.

“The upcoming elections won’t fix Mali” Amb. Keita said. A “strategic and long-term approach in development projects, as well as a strong commitment from the international community, are essential.”

The panelists all touched upon what United States can learn from the Mali experience about fostering peace and security in Africa. They also discussed how the Sahel and Maghreb regions are affected by security dynamics such as: a lack of adequate governance, the presence of armed opposition and transnational extremist groups, illicit trafficking routes, ineffective international development, peacebuilding/statebuilding, and security interventions.

More information on the event can be found at: http://www.stimson.org/events/what-mali-can-teach-us/