Every year, 2nd December marks the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. This year, we wanted to highlight crucial progress in Mali, where a new penal code has criminalised slavery for the first time. Jo Baker, International Advocacy Manager, and Mohamed Camara, Africa Programme Coordinator at Anti-Slavery International, sat down with Dr Zoumana Diarra, the Secretary General of Mali’s National Commission for Human Rights, to discuss this milestone and what comes next.
We all have the right to be born and to live free from exploitation and slavery. Yet there are nearly 50 million people in slavery around the world. In some countries, such as Mali, Mauritania and Niger, a system of descent-based slavery exists, meaning that people are born into a lifetime of exploitation by so-called “masters”. But on 31 October 2024, the Mali Government took a historical step towards making freedom a reality for people in Mali, passing a new penal code with provisions to criminalise slavery.
The new penal code
Our partners at the National Coalition for the Fight against Slavery in Mali (CONALEM) have been working tirelessly to see this new penal code adopted and fill a critical legal gap. We’ve seen examples of laws criminalising slavery from Mauritania and Niger and know that this development will have a tremendous impact for people who have been born into slavery.
Want to know more about descent-based slavery? Read more here >>
Dr Diarra told us, “Before the code was adopted, whenever a [descent-based] slavery case was brought to court, judges did not have the relevant frameworks to apply the law and would have to decide based on the violence that was perpetrated, not the fact and practice of slavery.”
There were many barriers to achieving this milestone. Until recently, the discussion on slavery was taboo, and many people and the Government denied that the practice still existed. This made it difficult to push for changes, and many draft laws prohibiting slavery were blocked. Thanks to a movement of people with lived experience, activists, and civil society organisations, including our partners Temedt, the Mali Government will now be held accountable for safeguarding human rights.
How did they achieve the passage of the new penal code?
Dr Diarra shared some of the tactics used to push for the new penal code: “We used hybrid tactics depending on who we were working with. We were more subtle and diplomatic with traditional and religious leaders, whereas we used more direct interactions in our advocacy with Government actors through meetings, radio and TV broadcasts.”
Including the voices of people with lived experience is essential to effectively ending modern slavery. But with little access to decision-makers, it was difficult for civil society in Mali to amplify and promote the voices of survivors at the Government level.
“People who were formerly enslaved created organisations and pressure groups, many of which we work with directly, like Temedt and Gambana. But they couldn’t achieve their goals alone. They needed to work in coalition and get the support of the National Institution for Human Rights and the government.”
International advocacy has also been a helpful tool. Dr Diarra recalls having participated in Universal Periodic Review sessions for Mali at the United Nations in Geneva, where countries are reviewed on human rights every five years by other governments. Anti-Slavery International was present, too, alongside Temedt, and together we successfully urged governments to make recommendations on descent-based slavery. “The [Mali] government took these recommendations into account, as well as those made by the Independent Expert on the Human Rights situation in Mali,” Dr Diarra shares.
What comes next?
While many people in Mali welcome the adoption of the new penal code, and many more people will be informed about the existence of descent-based slavery in the country, there is still work to be done.
Removing the taboo from the conversation on descent-based slavery has been extraordinarily difficult for activists in the country. “We need to continue conducting awareness campaigns because criminalisation alone cannot eradicate descent-based slavery,” Dr Diarra says. “We need to change our behaviours, and people who are still trapped in slavery need to know about the law.”
Dr Diarra says that independence is key to supporting people in achieving their freedom. “How can we ensure that survivors, once they have achieved their freedom, can be independent and well-integrated and support them towards this? It is fundamental.”
Get involved
Dr Diarra reminds us that no one alone can bring an end to descent-based and other forms of modern slavery, “The fight against slavery and for human rights cannot be achieved alone. We must combine our efforts to achieve our goals.”
We are hopeful that the inclusion of slavery in the new penal code will contribute to long-term changes necessary to end it and provide support for people who have experienced it. We will continue to advocate alongside activists, our partners and other civil society organisations to bring an end to descent-based slavery.
You can be a part of this movement too. On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, learn more about descent-based slavery and join the movement.
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Bio
Dr Zoumana Diarra is the Secretary General of the Mali National Committee for Human Rights (CNDH Mali) and facilitator of the National Coalition for the Fight against Slavery in Mali (CONALEM) meetings. He is a Professor of Law by profession and has researched slavery in Mali.