A/HRC/43/76 manner to the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court is liable to prosecution before the Court, with full respect for the principle of complementarity. III. Human rights situation A. Civil and political rights 28. The Independent Expert welcomes the commitment of Mali to respect for human rights, including the ratification by the Government of the main international human rights instruments, and its agreement, during the universal periodic review in January 2018, to ratify other optional protocols in the field of human rights. Moreover, the Independent Expert notes with satisfaction the commitment of the Ministry of Justice to monitor human rights issues diligently. 29. The Independent Expert is deeply concerned about the human rights violations and abuses associated with slavery and servitude. He has been informed of several cases involving physical violence, threats and banishment of victims of slavery, including the arbitrary arrest and detention of 16 anti-slavery human rights defenders. The cases occurred in the regions of Kayes and Koulikoro. 30. The Independent Expert notes that the main threats to civilians are violence against a background of intercommunal tension (the violence is often planned and coordinated, and carried out with automatic weapons), the activities of violent extremist groups and banditry. Civilians continue to be victims of both targeted and indirect violence, in particular in the centre of the country. 2019 was a year of unprecedented violence: three times as many people were killed by improvised explosive devices as the previous year. 1. Human rights violations committed by the Malian security forces and MINUSMA 31. The Independent Expert was informed of allegations of human rights violations committed in the context of counter-terrorism operations, notably during the arrest of 23 members of the Fulani community in Yeleyamou and Petoudougou districts in Mopti. On 10 April 2019, the Malian Armed Forces reportedly arrested 23 people, including 8 children aged between 15 and 17 years, and allegedly mistreated 3 of them. The wounded were treated at the hospital in Gao and the Regional Directorate for the Advancement of Women, Children and the Family made sure that the minors were transferred to the nearest transit and orientation centre. One of the wounded, whose forearms had both had to be amputated, died on 23 June 2019, while the other two had serious injuries to their hands, a direct consequence of ill-treatment by the Malian Armed Forces. Following the death in custody, the other detainees were granted provisional release and handed over to their families. 32. As mentioned in the previous report, the counter-terrorism operations conducted by the Malian defence and security forces in the region have reportedly led to summary executions, enforced disappearances, torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary arrests.1 The issue of illegal detention and non-compliance with judicial safeguards for arrested persons persists, despite the fact that it has been raised several times. The Independent Expert hopes that concrete measures will be put in place to ensure respect for due process. 33. The Independent Expert notes the allegations that, on 24 April 2019, members of the Malian Armed Forces reportedly killed three men of the Imghad Tuareg community near the village of Intahaka, in Gao region. The elements of the Malian Armed Forces reportedly arrested the three men on the Gao-Gossi road and took them to the Malian Armed Forces camp where the summary executions allegedly occurred. On 30 April 2019, a group of around 20 women from the Tuareg community demonstrated peacefully in the town of Gao, calling upon the Government to bring those responsible to justice. The Gao gendarmerie has reportedly launched an investigation into the incident. 1 GE.20-00529 A/HRC/40/77, para. 31. 7