Screenshot from France 24 YouTube channel. Malian authorities have expelled UN representatives, sending a clear message that criticism, whether domestic or internation, of their pro-Russian policy will not be tolerated. On January 27, 2023, the UN Security Council reviewed Mali’s security situation, with civil society representatives such as human rights defender Aminata Cheick Dicko participating via videoconference. During her speech, she denounced the involvement of the Russian military group Wagner in serious human rights violations in Mali. The Malian government did not take kindly to these statements. On February 5, the Malian diplomatic corps declared Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali, Director of the Human Rights Division of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), persona non grata. It accused Andali of selecting representatives who were “impostors, claiming to represent Malian civil society, while ignoring national authorities and institutions.” Following a Touareg separatist insurgency in the north, the country has been mired in an unprecedented crisis that ultimately resulted in the ousting of Amadou Toumani Touré’s government on March 22, 2012. Against this backdrop of protracted civil conflict, MINUSMA emerged as a key player in the region. After Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta assumed the presidency in 2013, he pledged to tackle corruption and foster peace, winning the backing of the United Nations, which promptly established the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in July of that same year. However, insecurity and corruption continued to spread. Terrorist organisations and jihadist militants gained ground, launching more frequent and brazen attacks. Frustrated and disillusioned, the people of Mali took to the streets, calling for the departure of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. Their demands were ultimately met with two coups, both led by Colonel Assimi Goïta. The first coup occurred on August 18, 2020, following a string of protests spearheaded by the June 5 Movement – Rally of Patriotic Forces (M5-RFP), while the second took place on May 25, 2021. Goïta proclaimed himself president in May 2021, and his political reform has led him to turn to Russia for military cooperation, and to demand the withdrawal of French troops from Malian soil; troops that had been present since January 2013 through Operation Serval, and then Operation Barkhane, on 1 August 2014. On February 5, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, saw his representative expelled, marking the latest in a string of diplomatic expulsions from Mali. This comes on the heels of the ousting of Olivier Salgado, MINUSMA’s spokesperson, approximately seven months previously, and Christophe Sivillon, former head of the MINUSMA office in Kidal, who faced expulsion in 2019 for remarks that were not very well received by President Keita's government. According to comments on Twitter, some Malians who support the Goïta government seem to have welcomed the expulsion of the UN diplomat: Une décision intelligente de notre Gouvernement #Mali 🇲🇱 ! La réponse doit être à la hauteur des dommages causés ! Guillaume Ngefa Atondoko Andali, chef du département des droits de l'homme de la MINUSMA, a été déclaré persona non grata et doit quitter le pays dans les 48 heures. pic.twitter.com/ifAbTp6hg0 — Oumar Macalou (@OumarMacalou4) February 6, 2023 A smart decision by our #Mali Government! The response must be commensurate with the harm done! Guillaume Ngefa Atondoko Andali, Head of the Human Rights Department of MINUSMA, has been declared persona non grata and must leave the country within 48 hours. pic.twitter.com/ifAbTp6hg0 — Oumar Macalou (@OumarMacalou4) February 6, 2023 Some campaigners, such as Nathalie Yamb, a pan-Africanist activist who advocates for a real separation between African countries and the West, took to Twitter to express her support for the Malian government’s diplomatic move: Bravo aux autorités maliennes qui expulsent le directeur de la pseudo division des droits de l’homme de la MINUSMA, Guillaume Ngefa Atondoko Andali. Le 2e manipulateur onusien expulsé après Salgado. En attendant que toute cette mission nuisible plie bagage en 2023 #MinusmaDegage pic.twitter.com/uG6nWKALmi — Nathalie Yamb (@Nath_Yamb) February 6, 2023 The Malian authorities are to be congratulated for expelling the director of the pseudo-human rights division of MINUSMA, Guillaume Ngefa Atondoko Andali. The second UN manipulator expelled after Salgado.