A/HRC/28/83 I. Introduction 1. This report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 25/36, adopted on 28 March 2014, in which the Council renewed the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali for one year with a view to assisting the Government of Mali in its efforts to promote and protect human rights, and requested him to submit his report at its twenty-eighth session. 2. In this report, which covers the period 1 May to 29 December 2014, the Independent Expert gives an account of his third visit to Mali, from 7 to 17 October 2014. The report is based on information collected from government authorities, United Nations bodies operating in the country, national and international organizations dealing with humanitarian issues and human rights, as well as on the testimonies of associations and families of victims of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. 3. The Independent Expert wishes to thank the Government of Mali for facilitating his stay in the country and for having granted him access to all the national and local officials that he asked to meet. During the third mission, as with the two previous missions, the Independent Expert met with high-ranking officials, including the President of the Republic, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Keeper of the Seals, the Minister of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs, the Minister of the Interior and Security, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Minister for the Advancement of Women, Children and the Family, and the Minister of National Education. 4. The Independent Expert met with the Public Prosecutor, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Mali, the Secretary General of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission and the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. He visited detention centres but could not go to the northern part of the country for security reasons. 5. The Independent Expert held talks with representatives of civil society, associations of victims in northern Mali and the association of parents and spouses of the “red beret” soldiers killed on duty, political parties, the diplomatic corps and United Nations bodies. 6. The Independent Expert wishes to thank David Gressly, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Mali and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), Arnauld Akodjènou, his deputy for political affairs, and the staff of the Human Rights Division of MINUSMA. The technical and logistical support from the United Nations system in Mali was essential for facilitating and ensuring the success of the Independent Expert’s third mission. II. General situation in the country A. The political situation 7. In his first report, submitted to the Council on 25 March 2014, the Independent Expert welcomed the fact that Mali was gradually emerging from the severe, multidimensional crisis of the previous two years, which had brought the country to the brink of collapse. The gradual return to constitutional order and the significantly improved security situation in the north, as of the second half of 2013, had been made possible with the support of neighbouring countries and the international community, particularly MINUSMA and the countries of the Economic Community of West African States, as well as through the efforts of the Malian authorities to restore peace and stability in the country. 4 GE.15-00252