HEADLINES
The Islamists from the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) said on 20 November that they had captured the town of Menaka in clashes with ethnic Tuaregs - known as the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).
On 19 November the Children’s Rights and Business Principles Initiative was launched in Bamako by UNICEF, Save the Children and The UN Global Compact. This is the first comprehensive set of principles to guide companies in Mali in their efforts to respect and support the Rights of the Child on the workplace, markets and relationships with communities.
UNICEF has recruited and trained two third party organizations for field monitoring in the north (in Mopti, Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal). A team of monitors will be in place in each of the regions to report on their findings against a standardized monitoring protocol based on the framework of projects and programmes.
UNICEF and UN contingency planning is currently underway to respond to humanitarian needs related to a potential military intervention in the north.
UNICEF has supported the Government of Mali to initiate a National Campaign for the protection of children’s rights and the prevention of child recruitment and use of children by all parties to the conflict. The campaign was launched on 20 November.
From 15 to 16 November a delegation from the Swedish Embassy and UNICEF in Mali, including UNICEF Representative in Mali Francoise Ackermans and the Ambassador of Sweden H.E. Carin Wall, travelled to Kayes region to visit activities in the areas of child protection and WASH funded by Sweden. The focus of the visit was on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Total Community Led Sanitation (TCLS). Sweden is UNICEF Mali’s main donor for Child Protection and its fourth largest donor overall.