The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands that Europe should provide more humanitarian aid for more than 440,000 civil war refugees in Mali. On Tuesday, the human rights organization recalled that, according to UN figures, only 28 percent of the required 315 million Euros have been provided. "France spent more than 200 million Euros on the military operation in northern Mali alone, so surely it should be possible for the international community to provide help for the needy," said the STP's Africa-expert, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Tuesday. "Europe may not forget these refugees!" Following an invitation by the EU and France, representatives from all over the world met at a conference in Brussels on Wednesday to debate on the financing of reconstruction in northern Mali.
While there is no shortage of food, the refugees suffer from disastrous water supplies – and there is no schooling for the children. In northern Mali, only 385 of the 1005 schools are open at the moment and only 86,000 of 200,000 children are able to attend. All the schools are closed in the region of Kidal, so about 6,000 children have had no schooling for months. "This is a heavy burden for the region's future."
"The civil war refugees are the key to the development of the country. As long as they can't return, there will be no significant reconstruction in northern Mali," warned Delius. The majority of the 270,000 IDPs and 170,000 refugees living in neighboring countries are Tuareg, Arabs and Fula people who escaped for fear of being attacked by the Malian army and from clashes with radical Islamists. According to the army, the Tuareg and Arabs themselves are responsible for their significant terrain losses in northern Mali in 2012.
There are still acts of revenge by soldiers or militias against the civilian population. "Further serious attacks will take place, if the Malian soldiers manage to take the city of Kidal in north-eastern Mali, which had so far been controlled by the Tuareg liberation movement MNLA," said Delius. "Public safety must be ensured in the Tuareg stronghold – soon!"
Ulrich Delius is available for further questions: +49 (0)551-49906-27.
Translated by Robert Kurth