A year after the peace agreement, Mali is still beset by violence from radical groups, showing that a more sustainable security governance is a prerequisite for enduring peace. After Mali’s first steps towards security sector reform (SSR) in 2013, DCAF assisted the government in the creation of a national SSR architecture. Today, the Ministry of Security is identifying areas for sectoral reform while civil society and international actors lead complementary initiatives. Since 2014, DCAF has worked with the Malian SSR coordination bodies, the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection, and with democratic oversight actors such as the National Human Rights Commission, civil society organizations and Parliament to support SSR in Mali.

Despite agreement on the need for SSR, the main coordination body is yet to be operational, leaving individual initiatives without a coherent framework. The peace agreement has brought new urgency to reform, as it calls for an inclusive national SSR council; a decentralized police service under regional authority; and local consultative security committees. After a recent Council of Ministers decree, these structures should be operational shortly and allow Malian stakeholders to define an inclusive, national vision for security that channels existing initiatives into a holistic process.

Malian political leaders should integrate an SSR vision in the implementation of the peace agreement while international partners should push to keep SSR on the forefront and commit resources to the process. Both Mali and its partners need to avoid the false dichotomy between the urgent need to increase operational capacity and the long-term imperative of good governance. Beyond training and equipment, building an effective and accountable security sector in Mali will require a shift in the way the sector is governed. The moment to start is now, because peace will not endure in absence of good security governance.