A/HRC/22/33 I. Introduction 1. At its twenty-first session, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 21/25, which “renews its urgent invitation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit to the Council at its twenty-second session a written report on the situation of human rights in the Republic of Mali, particularly the northern part of the country”.1 II. Data-collection method 2. In accordance with resolution 21/25, a team from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (hereinafter “the Mission”) visited Mali from 11 to 20 November 2012. The team consisted of two officials from the offices of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the fight against Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. Part of the team first visited Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger to gather information from refugees. The Mission was a follow-up to that of the Under-Secretary-General for Human Rights, Mr. Ivan Šimonović, from 4 to 8 October 2012. The Mission worked in close cooperation with the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations system. It held meetings, both in Mali and in the other countries visited, with the key State actors, several representatives of civil society organizations, victims, witnesses, of United Nations agencies and members of the diplomatic corps. 3. This report, which covers, inter alia, the period from 17 January2 to 20 November 2012, includes a chapter on the Malian context, without which the situation cannot be analysed. The Mission collected information on the situation of human rights on the basis of around 250 interviews conducted in the four countries visited, and analysed many documents. Thanks to the Ministry of Justice, the Mission was able to visit detainees in the Gendarmerie’s Camp 1 in Bamako. However, despite repeated requests to the authorities, it was unable to enter the detention centre at the Kati military camp, or that of the State Security.3 The Mission went to Mopti, but could not gain access to the northern part of the country due to the security situation. However, it did collect enough information to assess the human rights situation in the country. 4. The Mission wishes to emphasize that the violations observed in the north differ in their form, intensity and duration according to when they were committed. III. Legal framework applicable to the situation in Mali 5. Mali has ratified the nine core international human rights instruments and six additional protocols. The State is also party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts and their additional Protocols I and II. Mali has also ratified the core human rights conventions of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). 1 2 3 6 Resolution 21/25, para. 7. Marking the start of attacks by armed groups against the Malian army. State intelligence service. GE.13-10067