Introduction
1 . The present report is submitted pursuant to resolution 22/28 by which the Human Rights Council invite the High Commissioner for human rights to present, at its twenty-third session, an update report on the situation of human rights in Mali. The report aims at providing information of the situation since the presentation of the last High Commissioner’s report to the Council, on 12 March 2013, and covers the period until 20 May 2013.
2 . On 25 February, the United Nations Security Council decided in its resolution 2100, to create the MINUSMA, with the following mandate ; (i) stabilization of the situation in the main areas and contribution to the re-establishment of the State authority in the whole country, (ii) contribution to the application of the roadmap for the transition, including national dialogue and the electoral process ; (iii) protection of civilians and the UN staff ; (iv) promotion and defence of human rights ; (v) support to humanitarian action ; (vi) support to the safeguard of the cultural heritage, and, action in favour of the national and international justice.
3 . The report is based on investigations carried out by a mission deployed by OHCHR in Mali from 18 February to 22 March 2013 (the Mission), as well as by the human rights division of MINUSMA. The report also takes into account the conclusions of the missions undertaken in April and May 2013 by the MINUSMA Human Rights Division in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger for collecting information on the situation of the Malian refugees and the human rights situation in their origins areas.
4 . The progressive improvement of the situation of human rights in the North, following the Serval operation allowed our teams to go until the regions so far inaccessible, including Konna, Mopti, Sévaré, Tombouctou, Gao, Tessalit and Kidal. The human rights teams confirmed allegations of human rights violations reported in the previous report of the High Commissioner and confirmd the gravity of the human rights violations committed during the occupation of the armed groups since January 2012.
5 . Major challenges persist and continue to compromise the ongoing investigations on human rights violations. The limited access to the North of the country, for security reasons, complicated the verification process of certain allegations. Furthermore, the human rights teams confirmed that some actors tried to manipulate the information, talking on behalf of the Northern community. Finally, the reluctance of some witnesses and victims to cooperate with the investigators by fear of reprisals remain a major issue.
6 . The OHCHR team met with the Minister of Justice, seals keeper, the Minister of Defence and former combatants, the Minister of Territorial Administration and decentralisation, and the Minister of Family, on the promotion of woman and child, as well as the local authorities in the Northern region. The OHCHR team also met with the prosecutor of the Commune III, the National Human Rights Commission, members of the civil society as well as members of the diplomatic corps and of the United Nations Country Team
