On 3 July, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the United Nations (UN APPG) held a joint meeting with the APPG on Global Security and Non-Proliferation on the French view of the intervention in Mali.
Lord Hannay, Chair of the UN APPG, ackowledged the many dimensions to the Malian crisis, from the threat of terrorism, to the Malian government’s fragile institutions and its inability to uphold its responsibility to protect its populations from crimes against humanity.
H.E. Bernard Emié, French Ambassador to the UK, spoke about the aims of the intervention and current progress in transferring military duties to the UN peacekeeping force. He also outlined lessons for future interventions in similar contexts.
The meeting was well attended by current and former ministers, as well as shadow ministers, many of whom ackowledged the French government’s swift and decisive action to protect civilians and respond to violent religious extremism in the region.
