Plan d’Action du Barreau Malien en Matière de Lutte Contre la Traite des Personnes 2020 – 2021

The plan aims to strengthen the role of the Malian Bar Association in preventing and combating human trafficking. It was developed following the recommendations of a training session for trainers of lawyers on human trafficking and the illicit trafficking of migrants, held in Bamako in November 2019. Human trafficking is a serious crime that affects all countries in the world. The breakdown of state structures and the increasing vulnerability of populations to exploitation have exacerbated the problem. The conflict in Mali has created new needs that generate exploitation, particularly in the areas of participation in combat or support for combatants. The United Nations and other international actors play a crucial role in preventing human trafficking and combating the phenomenon. In recent years, there has been a significant expansion of international provisions for the protection of victims of human trafficking. However, the question remains as to under what conditions victims of human trafficking can benefit from protection. The distinction between human trafficking and migrant trafficking is particularly important in this context. Given the decline in opportunities for legal migration, the number of people using irregular migration routes to Europe and exposing themselves to the risk of becoming victims of human trafficking continues to increase. The Malian government has been actively engaged in combating human trafficking, as evidenced by its inclusion in the Category 2 list in the 2019 report on human trafficking published by the US Department of State. The government has also adopted several reforms to address the phenomenon of human trafficking. In 2010, the country committed to combating human trafficking through several initiatives. The government adopted a decree creating a national committee to coordinate the fight against human trafficking and related practices in 2011, and a law on combating human trafficking and related practices in 2012. The Malian Bar Association has a crucial role to play in combating human trafficking, particularly in protecting victims. However, the association has been excluded from debates on human trafficking in Mali. Some magistrates and police officers have received training on human trafficking, but lawyers are rarely trained on this critical human rights issue. Training lawyers has at least two major advantages: better protection of victims of human trafficking, who often do not participate in trials against their traffickers, and protection of vulnerable victims who are sometimes accused of crimes they were forced to commit by their traffickers. In November 2019, the MJP, in collaboration with the Malian Bar Association, trained 30 lawyers as trainers on various aspects of human trafficking, including the national and international legal framework on human trafficking, identifying victims, the right of victims not to be prosecuted for offenses related to their status as victims of human trafficking, and civil claims for compensation for victims of human trafficking. The plan of action aims to address the challenges in combating human trafficking in Mali, including the lack of information dissemination within the bar association, the deficit of training for lawyers, the insufficiency of encadrement of Quranic schools, and the weakness of structured economic activity. The plan also aims to address the challenges in pursuing and partnering, including the lack of knowledge of the law and procedures related to human trafficking, the insufficiency of the legal framework for repressing human trafficking, and the insufficiency of operational assistance to victims and their rehabilitation. The plan of action prioritizes several actions, including strengthening the competences of bar association members on human trafficking, contributing to creating a literate environment on human trafficking, and leading a lobbying action to raise awareness of the problem and promote the adoption of a policy on combating human trafficking within the bar association.