Opening of the 2026 CIMERAP Meeting

Bamako, January 28, 2026 - Under the chairmanship of His Excellency Mr. Moustapha Traoré, Ambassador and Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Interministerial Committee for Support to the Preparation of Initial and Periodic Reports on the Implementation of Conventions Ratified by Mali (CIMERAP) opened its 2026 session on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at the headquarters of the Ministry, in the presence of Ms. Fosca Giulidori, Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Mali. This first session of 2026 marks a key milestone in the process of monitoring and evaluating Mali’s international commitments, particularly regarding the implementation of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the follow-up to the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, issued during its May 2024 session. In her address, the UNICEF Deputy Representative praised Mali’s steadfast commitment to children’s rights, noting that it is deeply rooted in the country’s ancestral values and millennia-old civilizations. She cited the Charter of Kurukan Fuga, proclaimed in 1236 by the Mali Empire, as one of the earliest international references to fundamental human rights. Speaking on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Abdoulaye Diop, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Secretary General reaffirmed Mali’s strong commitment to child protection, describing it as a legal, moral, and strategic imperative for the country’s sustainable development and stability. He urged members of the Interministerial Committee to carry out a thorough review of the relevant legal instruments and to prepare a draft report on the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, as well as the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography.