A/HRC/40/77 I. Introduction 1. This report has been submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 37/39, adopted on 23 March 2018, by which the Council extended the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali for a period of one year in order to assist the Government of Mali in its efforts to promote and protect human rights. In that resolution the Council also requested the Independent Expert to submit a report at its fortieth session. 2. In the present report, which covers the period from 1 April to 30 November 2018, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali, Mr. Alioune Tine, gives an account of his second visit to Mali, which took place from 1 to 10 October 2018. The report is based on information provided by government authorities, United Nations bodies operating in the country, and national and international organizations dealing with humanitarian issues and human rights and on the statements made by 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 granting him access to all the national and local officials with whom he asked to meet. During his second visit, he met with high-ranking officials, including the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice. 4. The Independent Expert also met with the Chair of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission and the Chair of the National Human Rights Commission. 5. The Independent Expert held talks with representatives of civil society, associations of victims in northern Mali, a youth association, the Plateforme and the Coordination des mouvements de l’Azawad (CMA) coalitions of armed groups, the diplomatic corps and United Nations bodies. 6. The Independent Expert wishes to thank the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral for Mali and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the staff of the Human Rights and Protection Division of MINUSMA. The technical and logistical support provided by the United Nations system in Mali played an essential role in facilitating and ensuring the success of the Independent Expert’s second visit. II. General situation in the country A. The political situation 7. The Independent Expert is concerned that, more than three years after the signing of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, little substantive progress has been made in implementing it. Certainly, some developments deserve mention, in particular the end to armed confrontations between the signatory movements, especially after the signing in late September 2017 of an agreement providing for a ceasefire by the two protagonists: the Coordination des mouvements de l’Azawad and the Plateforme coalitions of armed groups. The establishment of the Operational Coordination Mechanism in the Kidal and Timbuktu Regions is another important step forward, and the International Commission of Inquiry, whose establishment is provided for in the peace agreement, is now operational. The secretariat of the Commission, which has 14 international staff, is now in place in Bamako. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) organized training sessions from 8 to 12 October 2018 to help the Commission to fine-tune its plans for conducting the inquiry. The three designated commissioners made their first visit to Mali from 28 October to 2 November 2018. 8. The Independent Expert welcomes the unanimous adoption on 30 August 2018 by the Security Council of resolution 2432 (2018), by which it renewed the measures set out in GE.19-00939 3