• Country/entity

  Mali
  Azawad
  

• Region

  Africa (excl MENA)
  Africa (excl MENA)
  

• Agreement name

  Accord d’Alger pour la Restauration de la Paix, de la Sécurité et du Développement dans la région de Kidal

• Date

  4 Jul 2006

• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed

• Interim arrangement

  Yes

• Agreement/conflict level

  Intrastate/intrastate conflict ( Tuareg Wars (1962 - ) )

• Stage

  Framework/substantive - partial

• Conflict nature

  Government/territory

• Peace process

  Mali-Azawad Inter-Azawad peace process

• Parties

  (Signed)
  For the Government of the Republic of Mali
  Gal. Kafougouna KONE
  Minister of Territorial Administration and Local Collectivities
  
  (Signed)
  For the Democratic Alliance of May 23 2006 for Renewal
  Ahmada Ag BIBI

• Third parties

  (Signed) For the facilitator SE Abdelkrim GHERAIEB Ambassador of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria

• Description

  This agreement is about the region of Kidal and special measures taken in recognition of its special needs (desert and dependent on farming) for its social and economic development.

• Agreement document

  ML_060704_Accord d'Alger_EN.pdf | Download PDF

• Agreement document (original language)

  ML_060704_Accord d'Alger_FR.pdf | Download PDF

Groups

Gender

State definition

Governance

Power sharing

Human rights and equality

Rights related issues

Rights institutions

Justice sector reform

Socio-economic reconstruction

Land, property and environment

Security sector

Transitional justice

Implementation

ALGIERS AGREEMENT FOR THE RESTORATION OF PEACE, SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE REGION OF KIDAL

Reaffirming our attachment to the third Republic of Mali;

Reaffirming also our respect for territorial integrity and national unity;

Wishing to preserve peace, security and stability in our country and to devote ourselves to socio-economic development in the Northern Regions and that of Kidal;

Wishing to create a dynamic to overcome the delays Kidal has experienced in social and economic development;

Underlining the need to promote cultural diversity in Mali, taking into account the specific characteristics of the Northern Regions;

Recalling the acquis of the national pact of April 1992, which recognised the specificity of Northern Mali, and the need for the populations of each region to manage local affairs, to participate in national affairs, and the need toinitiate a programmeof economic assistance and development with the support of foreign partners;

Noting the deprivation of the Kidal Region which is entirely desert, in view of its isolation and its serious lack of the infrastructure needed for development and the dependency of the population of this region on livestock farming;

Convinced that there can be no sustainable development unless all human resources are usedand local potential is exploited;

Noting the interdependence between development, security and stability;

Given the government’s determination to find a sustainable and definitive solution to this crisis, the following measures will be taken for the Kidal Region:

I. Towards better participation in decision-making processes

1. A provisional regional monitoring and coordination council shall be established.

2. It members shall be appointed by mutual agreement between the two parties and the facilitator.

3. The provisional regional monitoring and coordination council shall be appointed for one year, by order of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Local Collectivities.

4. At the end of its mission its duties shall be assumed by the Regional Assembly.

5. Its remit:

It shall be consulted by the Department with administrative responsibility for the development of legislation for the Kidal Region.

It shall promote good political governance and help to improve the use of local and regional competences in the machinery of State.

It shall support the Regional Assembly in exercising its remit, by:

Cooperating with the providers of funding for economic, social and cultural development, in accordance with Article 32 of the National Pact.

All aspects of regional security, in accordance with bullet points C and D of article 15 of the National Pact.

The Regional Budget, in accordance with article 33 of the National Pact.

It shall, together with the administrative and political authorities, help to main a good social climate by means of the traditional channels of dialogue and agreement.

It shall be consulted an all specific aspects of development and mediation, and help to improve administration by maintaining harmony and social cohesion in the region.

II. Economic, social and cultural development

1. A development forum shall be organised at Kidal in order to create a special investment fund to implement a programme of economic, social and cultural development.

This programme will address activities such as livestock rearing, education, traditional workmanship, and exploiting natural resources;

2. The transfer of competences to local collectivities shall be accelerated;

3. In the area of employment, small and medium-sized enterprises shall be established, loans granted and people trained in management.

4. Exchanges between the regions of neighbouring countries shall be specified and coordinated within the cross border framework, in accordance with the bilateral agreements signed with these countries;

5. A health system appropriate for the lifestyle of nomadic peoples shall be established;

6. A sustainable system of access to drinking water shall be developed throughout the region, and in particular in major population settlements;

7. In the areas of equipment and communication:

- the region shall be opened up by surfacing the principal highways between Kidal and Gao, Menaka and Algeria.

- an airport at Kidal shall be constructed;

- the airport at Tessalit shall be reconstructed;

- the main towns of cercles and communes shall be electrified;

- a telephone network shall be installed in the main towns of cercles and communes

- a regional radio and national telephone network shall be installed in order to promote the cultural values of the region, and disseminate a more positive image of the populations of the region;

audio-visual technicians shall be trained and one hour of national radio and television broadcasts each day shall be devoted to coverage of the region.

8. Natural resource research and exploration programmes shall be promoted.

9. An education system which reflects our social, cultural and religious values shall be established and grants for study abroad awarded to the best performing high school graduates in the region;

10, A special programme for the award of diplomas in the Arab language with a view to re-training and specialisation shall be put in place;

11. The preferential taxation regime for the Northern regions defined in the National Pact, shall be extended for ten (10) years, in order to attract and stimulate investment.

III. Dealing with immediate security concerns

1. A provisional regional council for coordination and monitoring shall be set up.

2. The process of relocation of military barracks from urban areas in accordance with the provisions in the National Pact shall begin.

3. Under the auspices of the facilitator, all weapons and ammunition, and other material seized since the attacks of May 23, 2006, in Kidal, Menaka and Tessalit, shall be returned in accordance with the procedure decreed in the present agreement.

Special security units

4. Outside the urban areas of Kidal, special security units, reporting to the military zone command and composed principally of elements from the nomadic regions, in the right proportions to ensure the efficient execution of Special Security Unit Missions, shall be established.

The act to create these units shall specify their quantity, number of personnel and equipment, their location and their characteristics.

They shall be tasked with the following missions, in particular:

Protection and caretaking of public buildings.

Protection of important persons.

Reconnaissance and patrol.

Assisting the judicial police.

Intervention.

Any other tasks defined in the legislation to set them up.

They shall work in a coordinated manner and complement the work of the national security forces.

They shall report to the command structure of the military zone.

They shall be employed by the Governor of the Region.

They shall be attached to units of the National Guard.

They shall report to the operational command of the special units, whose chief shall be selected from the personnel specified in Chapter II, Point 5, and for whom the second in command shall come from other units of the national army and security forces.

The special units’ operational command shall report ultimately to the National Guard Chief of Staff.

Officers selected from the personnel specified in Chapter 3, point 5, may serve in the special units.

However, if a unit is commanded by an officer from the personnel specified in Chapter 3, point 5, his second in command shall come from other national army and security forces units, and vice versa.

Their personnel requirements shall be met from other national defence and security units.

These units and their operational command shall be provided with personnel and resources in line with the table of staff and equipment decreed by the competent authority, as proposed by the technical security group on the advice of the Monitoring Committee.

They shall have access to a specialised structure for social measures to assist their personnel.

On the date to be specified by the Ministry of Internal Security, as proposed by the technical security group, on the advice of the monitoring committee, the personnel who will serve in these units shall start training for the missions to be assigned to these units.

The training programmes shall be developed by the competent authority, as proposed by the technical security group on the advice of the Monitoring Committee.

The training location shall be specified by the competent authority, as proposed by the technical security group on the advice of the Monitoring Committee.

This shall also be the cantonment location for the personnel specified in Chapter III, points 4 and 5.

It shall be supervised by the technical security group.

The operation to return arms, ammunition and other seized material shall take place in the cantonment location, upon admission of the personnel specified in Chapter III, points 4 and 5, and at the same time as the socio-professional situation of these personnel is completed.

5. There shall be careful management of those officers, junior officers and other ranks who left their units during the events of May 23, 2006, by integrating them as needed in the special security units using the specialised mechanism envisioned above, to facilitate the regularisation of their administrative, financial and working situation, and by involving them in peace maintenance operations.

6. Active participation of persons from the region in State business shall increase in accordance with the spirit of fairness emphasised in the National Pact.

7. A fund for development and socio-economic reinsertion of the civilian population, in particular young people affected by the events of May 23, 2006, shall be created, open also to other young people in the Kidal region, shall be established , supervised by the provisional regional committeefor coordination and monitoring.

Furthermore the committee shall be widely consulted on who shall manage this fund.

8. Kidal’s under-development shall be taken into account when developing and implementing the national budget.

9. Centres for professional training shall be set up, together with any associated measures.

IV. Monitoring mechanism

1. Monitoring shall be ensured by a Committee which will supervise the implementation of the measures specified above.

It shall consist of representatives of the Government, the provisional regional council for coordination and monitoring, when established, and the facilitator.

2. It shall be established by a decree of the Ministry in charge of Territorial Administration and Local Collectivities, which shall determine its composition, operational procedures and territorial area of responsibility, with each of the parties represented by three members, and shall be based at Kidal.

3. The Monitoring Committee shall prepare regular reports on implementation of the agreement,

and shall produce a full evaluation of its implementation one year after its signature, and may recommend any measures needed to modify its implementation based on conditions on the ground.

4. The Monitoring Committee shall agree its own internal regulations, and where necessary shall set up working groups, including one on security.

V. Priority measures

1. Publication in the Official Journal of the Republic of Mali after signing.

2. Ministerial decree on creation of the Monitoring Committee following signature of the agreement.

3. After publication of the agreement, signature and presentation to the Monitoring Committee, of the Ministerial decree on establishing the provisional regional council for coordination and monitoring at Kidal.

4. Release of all persons detained following the events of May 23, 2006.

5. Establishment by the Monitoring Committee, of the technical security group which shall be charged with, in accordance with the provisions relating to creation of the Committee:

- Implementing points 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Chapter III of the agreement relating respectively to the relocation of barracks, the return of weapons, ammunition and other material seized since May 23, 2006, the special security units, and the management of personnel.

Facilitate restoration of the quantity of military and security staff to that preceding May 23, 2006.

Propose measures to make better use of the region’s competences, in the security and defence institutions of Mali.

Within the framework for recruiting and training young persons in the region, develop a programme to prepare them to serve, as required by operational needs, in the special security units, units of the national guard, the gendarmerie, the police, the customs and those of water and forests.

6. Enact the law to extend by ten (10) years the preferential fiscal and incentivising regime for the Northern Regions, defined in the National Pact.

7. Establish the development and reinsertion fund foreseen in Chapter III, point 7.

8. Organise the Kidal Development Forum within three (3) months of signing the agreement.

VI. Final provisions

Three original copies of the present agreement shall be prepared in the French language, signed by each of the two parties and the facilitator.

An original copy shall be kept by each of the signatories.

The present agreement shall be published in the Official Journal of the Republic of Mali.

Done at Algiers, July 4, 2006

Signatures