The Legal Justifications of French Military Intervention in Mali

Fransa’nın Mali’ye Askeri Müdahalesinin
 Hukuki Temelleri

İbrahim KORKMAZ

Non-state armed groups threaten national security as well as international security. The weakness of politically and governmentally fragile States like Mali in fight against these groups renders necessary the intervention of countries that have a say in international community like France. This raises the question of legal basis considering the principle of non-intervention to internal affairs. There are some ways of legitimizing this issue in UN Charter like self-defense, mandate of Security Council or consent of the government. Nonetheless, the case of Mali wouldn’t find a simple answer. This paper aims to examine the existence of French military forces on Mali territory from a legal aspect.

Military Intervention, Self-Defense, Mali, Government Consent, Security Council.

Devlet dışı silahlı güçler gün geçtikçe ulusal güvenliği olduğu kadar uluslararası güvenliği de tehlikeye düşürmektedir. Mali gibi siyasi ve yönetimsel açıdan hassas ülkelerin bu gruplarla mücadeledeki yetersizliği, uluslararası toplum nezdinde söz sahibi olan Fransa gibi ülkelerin müdahalesini gerekli kılabilmektedir. Bu durum, iç işlerine müdahale yasağı ilkesi göz önünde bulundurulduğunda müdahalelerin hukuki temeline ilişkin birtakım sorular ortaya atmaktadır. Birleşmiş Milletler Şartı’nda, meşru müdafa, Güvenlik Konseyi’nin onayı veya hükümetin rızası gibi birtakım sebepler yer almaktadır. Fakat Mali bakımından ortaya atılan sorunun cevabı o kadar kolay bulunamayacaktır. Bu çalışma, Mali toprakları üzerinde Fransız askeri güçlerinin varlığını hukuki açıdan incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Askeri Müdahale, Meşru-Müdafa, Mali, Hükümetin Rızası, Güvenlik Konseyi.

I. INTRODUCTION

In the last decade, the threat of transnational terrorism has reached “a magnitude and sophistication previously achievable only by states”.¹ Today, terrorist organizations are the biggest opponents of the United States and its European allies.² Consider the war between the United States and al-Qaeda, which has been ongoing in Afghanistan since 2001, and which has expanded to other areas such as Yemen and Pakistan. On January 2011, France opened yet another frontier in the war against terrorism, launching military operations in Mali against members of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other insurgent groups threatening peace and security in that country.³

Compared to other states in West Africa, Mali has been known historically as a model of stable democratic process. In 2012, however, over a little more than a two-month time period, a military coup,⁴ a devastating drought,⁵ and a separatist insurrection⁶ broke Mali down into a failed state.⁷ History has shown that a country without the rule of law becomes a haven for criminals and terrorists, creating a threat to the international peace and interests of many countries.⁸ Mali has been no exception to this historical record. The creation of a haven within Mali for al-Qaeda terrorists, drug, and other trafficking criminals has thrown the country into an unprecedented crisis that threatens regional political stability and security, alarming neighboring countries and the international community.⁹

Unfortunately, Mali’s descent into chaos should not be surprising. Civil unrest within sovereign states and threats to ethnic populations on the African continent have been quite common since decolonization.¹⁰ Throughout history, many African nations have depended on the West to find solutions to their problems.¹¹ Mali is no different. On September 26, 2012, at the UN Secretary-General’s Meeting on the Sahel, the Malian government asked for help with the consequences of the military coup, drought, and insurrection within its country.¹² On October 12, 2012, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted Resolution 2071¹³ in response to Mali’s request for an international military force. In that resolution, the UNSC demanded a specific plan for military intervention in Mali from African regional groups and the UN. The UNSC also “took note of the country’s requests to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for military assistance, and requested the UN Secretary-General immediately to provide military and security planners to assist joint ECOWAS and African Union planning efforts”.¹⁴