Head of UN Peacekeeping Mission in Mali Expelled [1]
On February 5, 2023, Mali’s ruling junta made Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, a persona non grata and gave him 48 hours to leave the country. On February 7, UN Human Rights Chief Officer Volker Türk called the decision “regrettable” and encouraged [3] Mali to reverse Andali’s expulsion. In addition, the UN has maintained that the doctrine of persona non grata is not applicable to UN personnel because it is contrary to the obligations of member states under the UN Charter [4], especially those concerning the privileges and immunities of UN staff. The peacekeeping mission falls under the purview of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA [5]), which aims to address the instability Mali has experienced in recent years. Andali’s expulsion comes as a UN expert is due to visit Mali to conduct an assessment of the country’s human rights situation, which will be used in the annual report to the Human Rights Council in March.