The Ministers of Justice of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger met for the first time to lay the foundations for judicial cooperation within the AES. The objective: to build a common legal framework to address transnational challenges and strengthen the convergence of judicial systems in a context of insecurity and institutional fragility.
The meeting was held on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Bamako, within the framework of the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Chaired by Malian Prime Minister General Abdoulaye Maiga, this meeting marks a milestone in the institutional anchoring of the Confederation’s “Development” pillar, with the aim of strengthening legal and judicial convergence between the three states.
The meeting took place in a regional context facing common threats such as chronic insecurity, arms proliferation, money laundering, transnational crime, and more. The stated objective is to build a harmonized judicial response, complementary to security measures and capable of better articulating sovereignty, stability, and social cohesion.
“The law serves the radiant progress of the people of the AES,” declared Burkinabe Minister of Justice Edasso Rodrigue Bayala. He emphasized the urgency of transforming the recommendations into concrete mechanisms. His Nigerien counterpart, Alio Daouda, underscored the need for a common system capable of sustainably reversing the dynamics of insecurity.
On the ground, the three countries face contrasting judicial realities. In Mali, 53% of citizens consider the justice system to be the most corrupt institution, according to Mali-Metre 2022. Only 3.6 per cent of rural municipalities have a court, according to MINUSMA.
The World Justice Project ranks Mali 124th out of 142 countries in 2024 for the quality of the rule of law. Burkina Faso ranks 98th. In Niger, 61 per cent of residents have faced litigation in the past four years (HiiL, 2024), with a high rate of non-recourse, particularly in rural and border areas.
Faced with these findings, the AES authorities want to lay the foundations for a shared legal framework, inspired by their intersecting histories, converging legal traditions, and the growing expectations of the population. The aim is not to unify laws, but to make systems compatible and interoperable.
The issues addressed range from the fight against impunity to the mutual recognition of court decisions, including joint training for judges and the sharing of digital tools.
The Malian Prime Minister reiterated that the judicial response must be based on concrete facts and evolving social realities, with a view to ensuring fairness, procedural efficiency and the protection of fundamental rights. For all three countries, justice is expected to become a lever for development as well as an instrument of internal security.
The adopted resolutions will be forwarded to the current President of the Confederation, Lieutenant General Assimi Goita. They will be subject to institutional follow-up through the relevant sectoral ministries.
MD/ac/Sf/fss/gik/APA