A/HRC/43/76 19. The Independent Expert is pleased to note that, in its resolution 2480 (2019), the Security Council defined a second strategic priority for MINUSMA focusing on the situation in central Mali. MINUSMA should, inter alia, facilitate the implementation of a comprehensive strategy to protect civilians, to reduce intercommunal violence and restore the authority and the presence of the State, as well as basic social services in central Mali. MINUSMA has reinforced its presence in the centre of the country with a new Central Sector, to better protect civilians. The Independent Expert has learned that MINUSMA has developed a contingency plan, the first priority of which is to increase the number of patrols in sensitive areas. C. The ongoing challenge of the fight against impunity 20. The Independent Expert notes that some limited progress has been made in this respect, with positive developments in the areas of transitional justice, the functioning of the specialized judicial unit and the fight against corruption. The Independent Expert notes the authorities’ courage in addressing economic crimes. Unfortunately, as has been noted in previous reports, no significant progress has been seen in judicial terms in respect of prosecutions for historic crimes. It is even more frustrating that most of the perpetrators of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and of attacks on those rights still being committed today also remain unpunished. The Independent Expert has been told that the judicial authorities have not taken any action in response to the massacres committed in the centre of the country. The culture of impunity is a threat to social cohesion and creates friction between communities. 21. In previous reports, the Independent Expert had expressed concerns about the bill on national understanding. He is of the view that the Act on National Understanding could promote impunity for many serious human rights violations. The Act, which was promulgated by the President of the Republic on 24 July 2019, provides that perpetrators of certain crimes committed during the 2012 crisis may benefit from an amnesty or pardon. The Act was introduced to exempt from ongoing or potential criminal proceedings persons who had committed or been accomplices to acts that could be qualified as crimes or offences provided for and punished under the country’s Criminal Code and the conventions and international instruments related to the protection and promotion of human rights ratified by Mali. The Independent Expert has serious concerns regarding the Act, which might be incompatible with national and international law. Article 4 of the Act lists violations that are excluded from its scope of application, but the Independent Expert notes that serious human rights violations are not limited to the categories listed in article 4. This Act might also circumvent the transitional justice process currently under way. It was drafted by a committee that included representatives of the Government and the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, headed by the Ombudsman. One possibility now would be to seize the Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of the Act. The Independent Expert also believes that the Act represents a step backwards in the fight against impunity. 22. The Independent Expert welcomes the efforts made by the authorities, including the Prosecutor and the Financial and Economic Unit, in recent months to tackle the problem of corruption. Several individuals accused of embezzlement have been arrested and placed in detention. The Independent Expert welcomes this judicial offensive in the fight against corruption. He would like an investigation to be opened into the allegations of misappropriation of funds intended for equipping the army. 23. The Independent Expert recalls that Title V of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, on reconciliation, justice and humanitarian issues, provided for the establishment of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission to shed light on the serious human rights violations committed in Mali between 1960 and 2013. The Commission was established by decree on 15 January 2014, became operational in December 2015 and began taking evidence in January 2017. In December 2018, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission opened its sixth regional office, in Kidal. The Independent Expert welcomes the work done by the Commission. As at 1 November 2019, 15,352 witness statements had been received. The Commission will hold a total of six GE.20-00529 5