Introduction

On June 16, 2023, the representative of Mali stunned the United Nations Security Council when it asked for the “withdrawal, without delay” of the decade old United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Although relations between the Malian transitional government and the UN mission had deteriorated, the timing of the demand still caught by surprise the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of MINUSMA El-Ghassim Wane as well as most Council members. Some diplomats briefly considered options for keeping MINUSMA in place, but quickly the Security Council resigned itself to the fact that the host country’s consent to the UN operation had been withdrawn and that the best that could be negotiated was a swift but orderly exit of MINUSMA’s civilian and military personnel by the end of December 2023.