Confronting Rifles with Words: The High Islamic Council of Mali and Non-State Armed Groups

TY - JOUR

T1 - Confronting Rifles with Words

T2 - The High Islamic Council of Mali and Non-State Armed Groups

AU - Parisi, Piergiuseppe

N1 - © The Author(s) 2024

PY - 2024/11/12

Y1 - 2024/11/12

N2 - Since the 2012 Tuareg rebellion and the takeover of large areas in the north of Mali by Islamic fundamentalist groups, Muslim religious leaders in the country have spearheaded important negotiation initiatives under the auspices of the High Islamic Council of Mali (HCIM). On more than one occasion, these initiatives have led to the liberation of detainees or the possibility of humanitarian convoys reaching communities caught in the midst of the armed conflict. Why were these initiatives successful (or unsuccessful)? How did religious leaders convince non-state armed groups to adopt conduct that complies with basic humanitarian norms? Drawing on desk-based and fieldwork research conducted as part of the Generating Respect Project, this article seeks to answer these questions and to identify the endogenous and contextual factors that contributed to the successes of the HCIM and its negotiators.

AB - Since the 2012 Tuareg rebellion and the takeover of large areas in the north of Mali by Islamic fundamentalist groups, Muslim religious leaders in the country have spearheaded important negotiation initiatives under the auspices of the High Islamic Council of Mali (HCIM). On more than one occasion, these initiatives have led to the liberation of detainees or the possibility of humanitarian convoys reaching communities caught in the midst of the armed conflict. Why were these initiatives successful (or unsuccessful)? How did religious leaders convince non-state armed groups to adopt conduct that complies with basic humanitarian norms? Drawing on desk-based and fieldwork research conducted as part of the Generating Respect Project, this article seeks to answer these questions and to identify the endogenous and contextual factors that contributed to the successes of the HCIM and its negotiators.

U2 - 10.1093/jhuman/huae040

DO - 10.1093/jhuman/huae040

M3 - Article

SN - 1757-9619

JO - Journal of Human Rights Practice

JF - Journal of Human Rights Practice

M1 - huae040

ER -