Un Security Council unhappy with delay in full implementation of peace agreement in Mali

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday expressed "a shared sense of impatience" regarding "the persistent delays" in the full implementation of key provisions of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.

The members of the Security Council heard a briefing by the Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, on the situation in Mali.

"They underscored the pressing need to deliver tangible and visible peace dividends to the population in the north and other parts of Mali in order to preserve the relevance of the Agreement as well as to prevent the gains achieved from being potentially reversed, " a Security Council statement said.

"They stressed the importance of making substantive progress ahead of the electoral cycles due to take place in Mali in 2018. They underlined that all parties to the Agreement share the primary responsibility for making steadfast progress in its implementation," it said.

The members of the Security Council welcomed the renewed commitment of the Government of Mali and the Plateforme and Coordination armed groups to the expeditious implementation of all of their remaining obligations under the Agreement by the end of March 2018.

The statement also said that the members of the Security Council welcomed the establishment of an International Commission of Inquiry, in accordance with the Agreement and as requested by resolution 2364 (2017), and called upon all parties to cooperate fully with it.

The members of the Security Council stressed in this context the importance of taking immediate and concrete action to fully and expeditiously deliver on key provisions of the Agreement. They also urged all parties as well as international forces present in Mali to comply with their obligations under applicable international law and to bring an end to all human rights violations and abuses, said the statement.

They reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Mali, the statement concluded. Enditem