A/HRC/25/72 From the point of view of security, the international military campaign and the Malian armed forces have succeeded in dispersing the armed groups and jihadis, but not in eliminating them entirely. The latter have reorganized and, scarcely one month after the presidential elections, they have launched attacks against military and civilian targets in the north. Tensions between the Malian armed forces and the armed groups in the north, although signatories of a preliminary peace agreement with the Government, have also given rise to deadly clashes. The independent expert notes the destabilizing impact of terrorist attacks and the resumption of military operations on the situation of human rights and the restoration of State authority in the north. He calls on Mali to speed up the negotiation of an equitable, credible programme for the reform of the security sector, disarmament and the social reintegration of former combatants. Malian justice took an important step towards the restoration of the rule of law and recognition of the rights of victims and their families by opening independent investigations and legal proceedings in the cases of enforced disappearances and other serious human rights violations that took place at the Kati military barracks in April–May 2012 and September–October 2013. The independent expert calls on Mali to protect the independence of its judiciary and to provide it with the material, technical and logistic means — which are seriously lacking — to conduct thorough investigations into the crimes committed by armed groups and Malian armed forces during the crisis in the north. The Government of Mali should mobilize the resources needed to ensure tight security for members of the criminal justice system responsible for trying sensitive cases concerning international crimes, impunity or corruption of high civil or military officials and international terrorism. The independent expert notes the decision of the Government of Mali to restructure the Dialogue and Reconciliation Commission so as to enlarge its mandate and incorporate the components of truth and justice. All these principles are necessary to enable the Malians to confront a past marked by the socioeconomic and cultural marginalization of certain regions and communities in the country, which is one of the world’s poorest. The historical grievances of certain population groups in the north having led to repeated armed rebellions followed by at times collective reprisals, the mechanisms of transitional justice are best able — if the new Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission fulfils its mandate — to help the Malians address past injustices and to recognize the rights of the victims to justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. 2 GE.14-10118