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Old 02-03-2018, 13:00   #2
Intel NCO
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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Part 2 of 2


The very concept of "security" has many dimensions for Malians living in the centre and north of the country, according to the views gathered by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and the Coalition of Civil Society for Peace and the Fight Against the Proliferation of Light Weapons.

"Security means different things to different people," SIPRI said in a paper based on the survey.

Respondents stressed that "security is as much a developmental question as an issue of exposure to violence."

As well as physical violence, factors related to security cited by the survey's respondents included "unemployment, poverty and access to public services."

The deficit of functioning state services extends to the justice sector.

Mariam Sy, a young architect who works with Plus Jamais Ça told IRIN "the justice system is so corrupt. Decisions are biased, who pays the most wins."

Putting an end to violence "has to start with justice. We need an equitable functioning justice system. And for a functioning justice system there needs to political will, leaders able to take decisions for the good of the population," she said.

According to Afrobarometer, "the Malian justice system has faced deep threats and disruptions, especially in the north... access to justice remains severely compromised. Public trust in the judiciary is low, and perceptions of corruption are high."

"Delays, the system's complexities, and perceptions of bias lead many Malians to rely on traditional and local authorities to dispense justice, rather than engaging with the courts," said the organisation, which conducts public surveys on attitudes to democracy and governance across Africa.

The Mercy Corp report noted that "youth cite experience with injustice - including abuses and corruption - as motivators for joining anti-government groups."

And according to the ICG's study on central Mali, "radical groups know how to win ground by making themselves useful and by supporting some groups against others. They... are able to respond to strong local demands for justice, security and more broadly moral standing in politics."

"The search for social success and recognition" plays a key role in decisions made by young Malians to resort to violence, according to research published by Interpeace and the Malian Institute of Action Research for Peace.

"A crisis of authority" and the breakdown of a social fabric that ties young people to the family, the community and school has left many youths "without guidance."

"Youth's violent acts are an expression of their need to find a place in society, to be recognised and valued," the field research found.

"Too many analyses regard youths as passive entities upon whom violence is exercised, or as vulnerable beings easy to mobilise or indoctrinate. [But] youths are fully-fledged actors in the dynamics of violence and make their own choices, even if these choices are often limited or defined by context," the research report said.

Fomba, of Think Peace Mali, noted that such important choices are sometimes made at a collective, rather than individual level.

"There are many armed groups that defend the interests of their own communities. So the communities identify with certain armed groups, and to show their good faith they give a member of their family to join the group so they can fight for their community," he told IRIN.

The research by Think Peace Mali and Mercy Corps also cited youths who said "joining pro-government armed groups offered them a path to entering the military, promising them eventual economic stability and enhanced social status, even if joining initially offered little financial gain."

According to Mercy Corps, "solutions to prevent violence are found at the community level. If we can recognise the strong influence of the community and address risk factors at the group level, we are more likely to turn youth away from violence.

"If local governance can become more inclusive and more effective at delivering state services, perceptions of exclusion that have led communities to support armed groups will change."

Or as ICG, which warned of the blowback risks of Mali's predominantly military response to its security challenges, puts it: "preventing crises will do more to contain violent extremists than countering violent extremism will do to prevent crises."

"It's a long road," said Sy. "To get to the Mali we dream of could take 20 years, but you have to start somewhere and we refuse to lose morale. We have no other choice, it's our country."
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