A/HRC/40/77 search for truth and the fight against impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses of humanitarian law in Mali. 25. The sanctions regime established in September 2017 pursuant to Security Council resolution 2374 (2017) has been extended until 31 August 2019 in accordance with Security Council resolution 2432 (2018). The Panel of experts created pursuant to resolution 2374 (2017) is to submit a final report on implementation of the sanctions regime to the Security Council by 15 August 2019, as well as additional reports before that date if necessary. The Independent Expert reiterates the importance of the effective implementation of the sanctions committee’s recommendations and the fact that this will depend on appropriate action on the part of the Security Council and the cooperation of neighbouring States. 26. The Independent Expert is pleased to note that the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel and the Sahel Alliance have been deployed with an initial mandate to combat terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking. After the headquarters of the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel, inaugurated in Sévaré in October 2017, was hit by a suicide attack for which the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims claimed responsibility, it was moved to Bamako. Several people who spoke with the Independent Expert were concerned that this decision could send a mixed message and be interpreted as weakness on the part of the Joint Force. The Independent Expert welcomes the signing of a technical agreement in Brussels on 23 February 2018 by the Group of Five for the Sahel, the European Union and the United Nations. The agreement includes specific provisions under which the States of the Group of Five for the Sahel undertake to adopt a solid compliance framework that will entail the establishment of measures and mechanisms to protect civilian populations and ensure that their troops maintain respect for human rights and international humanitarian law. The agreement also gives OHCHR a mandate to deploy monitoring teams in the theatre of operations. The compliance framework was launched during a high-level workshop held in Bamako on 7 and 8 May 2018. Members of the OHCHR technical assistance team were deployed in Mali in May 2018 and have helped the leaders of the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel to draw up a short-term plan for the establishment of the compliance framework. 27. The International Criminal Court has placed Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud in custody, and his initial court appearance took place on 4 April 2018. He is accused of being the de facto chief of the Islamic police and is suspected of crimes committed in Timbuktu between April 2012 and January 2013. Unlike what occurred in the earlier case against Al Mahdi, who was convicted as a co-perpetrator of a war crime, in this instance the prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for the issuance of an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity, specifically for acts of torture, rape and sexual slavery; persecution of the inhabitants of Timbuktu on religious and gender grounds; and other inhumane acts. III. Human rights situation A. Civil and political rights 28. The Independent Expert welcomes the commitment of Mali to respect human rights. Mali has ratified nine of the core international human rights instruments and six optional protocols. In 2018, it embarked on the universal periodic review process and submitted its initial report to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/MLI/1). The Independent Expert regrets, however, that the new Ministry of Human Rights, established in April 2017, has not been left in place under the new Government and encourages the Ministry of Justice to follow up on human rights issues with diligence. 29. The Independent Expert is troubled by reports that, since January 2018, there has been a significant increase in the number of human rights violations and abuses, with the parties involved including community self-defence groups, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims and other violent extremist groups, armed groups that have signed, not signed or dissented from the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation and members of the Malian defence and security forces carrying out counter-terrorism operations. The situation GE.19-00939 7