FIAN expresses concern on food security for communities in Mali
Open letter to the president of Mali regarding cases of land grabbing
In this open letter, FIAN expresses its grave concern regarding three cases of land conflicts in the region of Ségou, namely the cases of Sanamadougou/Saou, Sansanding and San. FIAN has carried out a research visit to Mali from November 25 to December 5, 2013 in order to investigate the situation on the ground. This visit was carried out following the demand from the affected communities through the Malian Convergence against Land Grabbing (Convergence Malienne contre l’Accaparement des Terres, CMAT). FIAN has been observing these three cases over the last years in close cooperation with its national partners.
FIAN has found a very worrying situation on the ground which requires immediate action by the Malian authorities. Concretely, the delegation has found a situation of food insecurity due to the loss of access to land, the loss of access to water in some communities, irregularities concerning the attribution and leasing of lands, including lack of information and participation of the affected communities, a worrying phenomenon of rural exodus, especially of young people, health problems and impediment of free movement of people and an excessive use of force by the police in the context of the land conflicts.
In this situation and in the light of Mali’s obligations under international human rights law, FIAN asks the Malian state to take the necessary measures to protect the rights of the affected communities and ensure that their rights are not violated in future. The letter asks president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta to ensure that the inter-ministerial commission and the technical commission, which were put in place to respond to the grievances of the affected communities, act towards this aim.
A detailed report of the findings of FIAN’s visit and a human rights analysis will be published in 2014.