Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Mali.

Instability in Mali is rising. The Malian partnership with Wagner Group is counterproductive to long-term stability. We are tracking the surge in human rights abuses and violations since Wagner Group deployment in December 2021. UK Ministers have called for transparent and independent investigations and reiterated the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law during counterterrorism operations. Instability is also impacting on the humanitarian situation. A third of the population in Mali need humanitarian assistance, including 1.8 million people in food crisis or emergency. On 14 November, the Minister for Armed Forces informed Parliament that the UK will withdraw from the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) earlier than the previously planned date of December 2023. The UK remains committed to supporting regional security and the people of Mali including through our humanitarian, development, and stabilisation programmes.