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OFFICER OF ADMINISTRATION AND REGIONAL OFFICES
Statement on the Question of Azawad and Call for International Recognition.
We salute the courage of the international community, particularly that of the European countries – led by France – which recognized the State of Palestine when they realized that Israel was pursuing a policy of extermination and colonial annexation. We also salute Algeria, which remains steadfast in its commitment to the Palestinian cause.
As an Azawadian, I recall that my people have suffered wars, repression, and injustice in their ancestral land since 1893. During the African independence era, Azawad was unjustly annexed to Mali, without consulting its people, in violation of the principle of self-determination of peoples enshrined in Article 1 of the United Nations Charter (1945) and confirmed by Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
As a reminder, four armed rebellions characterized Azawadian resistance to Malian oppression, as well as four signed agreements violated by Bamako, further widening a gulf of mistrust.
For more than six decades, the people of Azawad have continued to reach out to Bamako to seek a just peace, but all attempts have been doomed to failure:
1963: Tuareg revolt bloodily suppressed, with thousands of civilians massacred in the Adrar des Ifoghas and Gourma.
1991-1992: Signing of the National Pact between the Malian government and the Azawad movements, providing for autonomy and development in the North.
This pact was never implemented.
2006: Algiers Accords, signed under the auspices of Algeria, providing for the integration, Decentralization and investment for the North. These commitments were ignored by Bamako;
2013: Ouagadougou Agreement, whose ceasefire was never respected by the Malian side.
2015: Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation (Algiers Agreement) signed between the Malian government and the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA).
Ten years later, Bamako has not respected the regionalization, the reconstituted army, or the promised development.
These repeated violations clearly demonstrate that the Malian state has never had the political will to accept peaceful and equitable coexistence with the people of Azawad.
Massacres and abuses against Azawadians:
Since 1963, the Tuareg and other populations of Azawad have suffered systematic massacres:
Summary executions, deportations, and organized famines (1963-1964).
Massacres of civilians in the 1990s (Ménaka, Tessalit, Gao).
Massacres of 2012-2013, under the pretext of fighting terrorism, while Azawadian civilians were the main victims.
2023-2025: War crimes committed by the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) supported by Wagner/Africa Corps mercenaries, responsible for the deaths of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands forced into exile.
Legal Basis of Our Demand
The recognition of Azawad is part of:
The right of peoples to self-determination (UN Charter, Resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960 on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples).
The right to resist oppression, enshrined in Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples of Algiers (1976).
Principles of the International Court of Justice (2010 Kosovo Opinion), which confirmed that a people’s declaration of independence is not contrary to international law.
Appeal to the international community
We call on France, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, and all countries that have contributed to the peace process in Mali to acknowledge the irreversible failure of the Malian state and to support the recognition of the State of Azawad.
The UN, through MINUSMA, failed to protect the population and left the country, leaving behind a martyred people. Today, only the recognition of Azawad as a sovereign state can guarantee stability and peace in the Sahel.
The cause of Azawad is similar to that of Palestine: a people deprived of their right to exist, facing the violence of an oppressive state and the indifference of the world.
We therefore call on the countries of the Maghreb and West Africa, as well as France and the European Union, to assume their historical responsibility and bring before the United Nations the recognition of the State of Azawad.
Tinzawatene, September 23, 2025
Administrative and Regional Offices Officer
Mr. Abdoul Karim AG MATAFA