UN General Assembly backs ECOWAS stand on Mali crisis

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has backed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on efforts towards resolving the political crisis in Mali.

UNGA outgoing President and Nigeria Permanent Representative to UN, Tijjani Muhammad Bande said the UN General Assembly is closely monitoring the situation in Mali and is heavily relying on reports from the ECOWAS body.

Muhammad-Bamde was elected the President of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly on June 4, 2019, and later succeeded María Fernanda Espinosa, whose term officially ended in September 2019. He is expected to bow out of office this month after completing his one year term in office.

The Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was removed from office and abducted by military juntas in August 2020, a situation the regional body kicked against.

Responding to questions from Diplomatic Correspondents via zoom on Mali political crisis, he said the global body is not keeping mute on the issue; rather, it is working closely with all the necessary bodies in the continent including the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS to ensure a smooth resolution of the crisis.

He said UN is on the same page with ECOWAS on the resolution of the crisis and would rather depend on the regional body, which he described as very effective and strong in the handling of the crisis.

Besides, he said UN is working closely with the leadership of ECOWAS. There is coordination between all the bodies.

“There are lots of discussions on the ground and UN will listen to those in ground (ECOWAS). There is a strong collaboration,” he added.