               United Nations                                                                   S/RES/2071 (2012)
               Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                12 October 2012




               Resolution 2071 (2012)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 6846th meeting, on
               12 October 2012

               The Security Council,
                    Recalling its resolution 2056 (2012), its presidential statements of 26 March
               2012 (S/PRST/2012/7), 4 April 2012 (S/PRST/2012/9) as well as its press
               statements on Mali and the Sahel of 22 March 2012, 9 April 2012, 18 June 2012,
               10 August 2012 and 21 September 2012,
                     Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, unity and territorial
               integrity of Mali,
                     Reiterating its serious concern about the insecurity and rapidly deteriorating
               humanitarian situation in the Sahel region, which is further complicated by the
               presence of armed and terrorist groups and their activities, as well as by the
               proliferation of weapons, from within and outside the region, and expressing its
               grave concern about the consequences of instability in the north of Mali on the
               region and beyond, and stressing the need to respond swiftly in order to preserve
               stability across the Sahel region,
                     Reiterating its grave concern about the continuing deterioration of the security
               and humanitarian situation in the north of Mali, the increasing entrenchment of
               terrorist elements including Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), affiliated
               groups and other extremist groups, and its consequences for the countries of the
               Sahel and beyond,
                     Stressing the primary responsibility of the Malian authorities for ensuring the
               security and unity in its territory and protecting its civilians with respect for
               international humanitarian law, the rule of law and human rights and emphasizing
               that any sustainable solution to the crisis in Mali should be Malian-led,
                    Expressing serious concerns about criminal groups activities in the north of
               Mali and recognizing the urgent need for enhanced cooperation and coordination
               between the Malian authorities, neighbouring countries and countries of the region,
               in collaboration with relevant United Nations entities, regional and international
               organizations as well as bilateral partners, in order to tackle transnational organized
               crime, including illicit activities such as drug trafficking,




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                     Encouraging the international community to provide support to resolve the
               crisis in Mali through coordinated actions for immediate and long-term needs,
               encompassing security, development and humanitarian issues,
                     Taking note of the letter of the Transitional authorities of Mali dated
               1 September 2012 to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
               requesting military assistance to reorganize the Armed Forces of Mali and restore
               the territorial integrity of Mali, of which the north is occupied by terrorist groups,
               and combat terrorism,
                     Taking note of the letter of the Transitional authorities of Mali dated
               23 September 2012 to ECOWAS on the conditions for the deployment of ECOWAS
               troops in Mali and underscoring the importance of addressing the actions outlined
               therein,
                    Taking note of the letter of the Transitional authorities of Mali dated
               18 September 2012 addressed to the Secretary-General, requesting the authorization
               of deployment through a Security Council resolution of an international military
               force to assist the Armed Forces of Mali acting under Chapter VII as provided by
               the United Nations Charter, to recover the occupied regions in the north of Mali;
                     Taking note of the ECOWAS letter of 28 September 2012 addressed to the
               Secretary-General requesting a Security Council resolution authorizing the
               deployment of a stabilization force in Mali under a Chapter VII mandate of the
               United Nations Charter and further taking note of the ECOWAS letter of
               28 September 2012 addressed to the African Union to engage with the African
               Union on fine-tuning the concept, modalities, and means of the deployment of a
               stabilization force in Mali,
                    Recognizing the efforts and the leadership of ECOWAS, in coordination with
               the African Union, on the Malian crisis, as well as the important role played by the
               United Nations, other regional and international organizations, neighbouring states,
               countries of the region and bilateral partners in the resolution of the crisis in Mali,
               and in this regard calling for continued coordination,
                     Looking forward to the meeting of the Support and Follow-up Group on Mali,
               convened by the African Union in consultation with the United Nations and
               ECOWAS, in Bamako on 19 October 2012, which aims to clarify the modalities of
               international support to the Malian Transitional authorities in solving the crisis in
               the north of Mali,
                     Condemning strongly the abuses of human rights committed in the north of
               Mali by armed rebels, terrorist and other extremist groups, including violence
               against its civilians, notably women and children, killings, hostage-taking, pillaging,
               theft, destruction of cultural and religious sites and recruitment of child soldiers,
               stressing that some of such acts may amount to crimes under the Rome Statute and
               that their perpetrators must be held accountable and noting that the Transitional
               authorities of Mali referred the situation in the north of Mali since January 2012 to
               the International Criminal Court on 18 July 2012,
                    Acknowledging the steps taken by Mali, including by the signing on 6 April
               2012 of a Framework Agreement under the auspices of ECOWAS, towards
               developing a road map for the restoration of constitutional order, an inclusive




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           national dialogue and the organization of free, transparent, and fair presidential
           elections within twelve months of the signing of the Framework Agreement,
                Determining that the situation in Mali constitutes a threat to international
           peace and security,
                Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
                 1.    Welcomes the appointment of a Government of National Unity in Mali,
           expresses its support to the work of the Interim president of Mali, Dioncounda
           Traoré and urges the Transitional authorities in Mali to present a detailed road map
           for transition with concrete steps and timelines and to accelerate efforts towards the
           strengthening of democratic institutions and the restoration of constitutional order in
           the Republic of Mali through the holding of timely, peaceful, inclusive and credible
           elections by the end of the transition;
                 2.   Reiterates its demand that no member of the Malian Armed Forces
           should interfere in the work of the Transitional authorities, takes note of the
           decisions and recommendation by ECOWAS to adopt targeted sanctions in Mali and
           expresses its readiness to consider appropriate measures as necessary;
                 3.    Calls upon Malian rebel groups to cut off all ties to terrorist
           organizations, notably AQIM and affiliated groups, and expresses its readiness to
           adopt targeted sanctions against those rebel groups who do not cut off all ties to
           terrorist organizations, including AQIM and affiliated groups, recalls paragraphs 20
           and 24 of resolution 2056 (2012) and further decides that the 1267/1989 Committee
           shall take decisions on requests of Member States to add to the Al-Qaida sanctions
           list names of individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities in Mali that are
           associated with Al-Qaida, in accordance with resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989
           (2011);
                 4.    Urges the Transitional authorities of Mali, the Malian rebel groups and
           legitimate representatives of the local population in the north of Mali, to engage, as
           soon as possible, in a credible negotiation process in order to seek a sustainable
           political solution, mindful of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Mali
           and requests the Secretary-General, as well as neighbouring countries, countries of
           the region, international and regional organizations and other bilateral partners, to
           support this Malian political process;
                 5.    Demands that all groups in the north of Mali cease all abuses of human
           rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including targeted attacks
           against the civilian population, sexual violence, recruitments of child soldiers and
           forced displacements, and recalls in this regard all its relevant resolutions on
           Women, Peace and Security, on Children and armed conflicts and on Protection of
           civilians in armed conflicts;
                 6.   Declares its readiness, upon receiving the Secretary-General’s report
           referred to in paragraph 7 below, to respond to the request of the Transitional
           authorities of Mali regarding an international military force assisting the Malian
           Armed Forces in recovering the occupied regions in the north of Mali;
                 7.   Requests the Secretary-General to immediately provide military and
           security planners to assist ECOWAS and the African Union, in close consultation
           with Mali, the neighbouring countries of Mali, countries of the region and all other
           interested bilateral partners and international organizations, in the joint planning


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               efforts to respond to the request of the Transitional authorities of Mali for such an
               international military force, and further requests the Secretary-General, in close
               consultation with the above-mentioned partners, to submit, no later than forty-five
               days after the adoption of this resolution, a written report on the implementation of
               this resolution, including support provided under paragraph 4 and this paragraph,
               and detailed and actionable recommendations to respond to the request of the
               Transitional authorities of Mali regarding an international military force, including
               means and modalities of the envisaged deployment, in particular the concept of
               operations, force generation capabilities strength and support financial costs;
                     8.    Calls upon the Transitional authorities of Mali to take immediately all
               the appropriate measures to facilitate the regional and international preparation
               efforts taken in relation with the objective outlined in paragraph 6 above, calls upon
               Member States, regional and international organizations, to provide coordinated
               support to these regional and international preparation efforts, including through
               military training, provision of equipment and other forms of assistance in efforts to
               combat terrorist and affiliated extremist groups, and further invites those Member
               States and organizations to inform the Secretary-General of their contributions;
                     9.    Calls upon, in this context, Member States, regional and international
               organizations, including the African Union and the European Union, to provide as
               soon as possible coordinated assistance, expertise, training and capacity-building
               support to the Armed and Security Forces of Mali, consistent with their domestic
               requirements, in order to restore the authority of the State of Mali over its entire
               national territory, to uphold the unity and territorial integrity of Mali and to reduce
               the threat posed by AQIM and affiliated groups;
                     10. Welcomes the appointment by the Secretary-General of a Special Envoy
               for the Sahel, who should mobilize international efforts for the Sahel, coordinate the
               implementation of the United Nations integrated strategy on the Sahel and engage
               actively in defining the parameters of a comprehensive solution to the Malian crisis;
                    11.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.




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