The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Dec. 9 announced a regional state of emergency following a wave of coups and attempted coups that have destabilized several member states of the regional bloc. The declaration was made during the 55th session of the ECOWAS Mediation & Security Council in Abuja, Nigeria, by the president of the bloc, Gambian diplomat Omar Touray.

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso announced Sept. 22 that they will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the tribunal of serving "imperial" rather than African interests. The three countries, each governed by military juntas and members of the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES), issued a joint declaration stating that they no longer recognize the ICC as a legitimate forum for justice, charging that it has become an "instrument of neo-colonialist repression."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Sept. 4 warned of a deteriorating rights situation in Mali amid a growing atmosphere of repression. The high commissioner urged the military junta to promptly rescind legal changes that have "slammed the door shut" on a return to democratic rule, and called for the unconditional release of all wrongly detained persons. Türk stated: "The laws enacted in recent months risk undermining respect for human rights in Mali for a protracted period. I urge the transitional authorities to take immediate and concrete steps to revoke the problematic laws."

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on July 22 reported that Mali's armed forces and allied Russian mercenaries have carried out numerous "summary executions and enforced disappearances of ethnic Fulani men." HRW documented that, since January, the Malian army and Wagner Group mercenaries have executed "at least a dozen Fulani men and forcibly disappeared at least 81 men" during joint operations targeting Islamist armed groups. The rights group said that the insurgents have focused their recruitment efforts on the Fulani, and that "successive Malian governments have conflated the Fulani community with Islamist fighters, putting them at grave risk."

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation June 4 implementing a nearly full travel ban on nationals from a dozen countries, severely restricting potential entry into the United States. The proclamation is based on an executive order issued on Trump's first day in office that laid the foundation for the administration to enact extensive immigration controls. Trump claimed the action serves national security interests:

Human Rights Watch has called on the government of Mali to "credibly and independently" investigate the apparent extrajudicial execution of 22 men who were detained by the army in the town of Diafarabé. Senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch Ilaria Allegrozzi said in a May 20 statement: "The killing of at least 22 men in military custody puts a burden on the Malian authorities to demonstrate that its investigation is credible and to make public its findings." She further noted that those responsible should be prosecuted "fully and fairly."

UN human rights experts on April 30 condemned the enforced disappearance and apparent summary execution of some 100 individuals in Mali. The experts stated that the unlawful killings and disappearances may constitute war crimes and  crimes against humanity.

The experts found that the Malian authorities have violated the right to life by failing to conduct proper investigations. The statement urged "Malian authorities to conduct prompt, effective, thorough, independent, impartial and transparent investigations into these killings and enforced disappearances, in accordance with international law."

France 24 reports that negotiations are underway between the Qaeda-affiliated JNIM group (the main jihadist coalition in Mali) and the Tuareg-led secessionist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) over a possible alliance against the Malian army and its Russian mercenary allies. Mali's military government terminated a peace deal with the separatists last year after driving them out of their northern strongholds. The junta has consistently labelled secessionist groups as "terrorists'" and accused them of collusion with jihadists. Separatists deny this, though combatants from both groups share family and community ties, have allied opportunistically at times in the past, and operate in the same areas. According to France 24, current points of negotiation include JNIM softening its demands (perhaps mirroring the strategy of HTS in Syria), especially regarding the application of sharia law, and breaking ties to al-Qaeda. A sticking point may be the FLA's goal of an independent Azawad—the name they give to northern Mali. Intensified fighting in the north over the past year has had severe humanitarian consequences, driving tens of thousands of people to neighboring Mauritania.