The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) in Mali voices concerns over “serious threats” to freedoms of opinion and expression.
In a statement, the institution reaffirms the country’s human rights commitments and condemns any unlawful restrictions.
In a recently published statement, Mali’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) expresses alarm over “serious threats to the exercise of certain fundamental rights and freedoms, particularly freedoms of opinion and expression.”
The CNDH bases its stance on several legal frameworks, including “the Constitution of 22 July 2023, the Transitional Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Law on Human Rights Defenders of 12 January 2018, and its implementing decree.”
The commission stresses that the state has an “obligation to respect and ensure respect for fundamental rights and freedoms at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances.”
The statement comes amid reports from civil society actors of curbs on free expression. The CNDH emphasises that freedoms of opinion and expression are rights “not subject to restriction except under conditions provided by law and in compliance with the principles of necessity and proportionality.”
It “condemns all acts of violation and infringement on freedoms of opinion, expression, and association” and calls for adherence to Mali’s international human rights commitments.
A troubling context
In recent months, voices have emerged decrying pressure on activists. The disappearance of Aliou Badra Sacko, a civil society member, on 14 March 2025 in Bamako, has heightened these concerns. Witnesses claim he was abducted by unidentified individuals, and his family and associates have received no official updates on his whereabouts.
While the CNDH does not explicitly reference this case, its statement coincides with growing questions from national and international organisations about the situation of human rights defenders in Mali. The commission underscores that “protecting human rights is a shared responsibility.”
Amid rising tensions, the CNDH urges “the population to exercise restraint and foster social cohesion to spare our country further unrest that could lead to abuses and human rights violations.”
This appeal comes as Mali navigates a period marked by debates over governance and the role of institutions.
The organisation stresses the need to maintain a legal framework that guarantees free expression and respect for fundamental rights, asserting that these principles must be upheld “at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances.”
MD/ac/sf/lb/as/APA