Building the capacity of the Malian police: Why MINUSMA needs to think outside the box

This policy brief evaluates the capacity-building efforts of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), specifically regarding the Malian police. Based on field research from May 2014, the authors argue that the mission is struggling due to inadequate deployment in northern Mali, a lack of logistical infrastructure, and a decline in local popularity. The brief recommends a more holistic approach to capacity-building that moves beyond individual training to include institutional support and confidence-building measures to restore trust between the population and state security forces.

• MINUSMA has faced significant challenges in deploying its police component, particularly individual police officers (IPOs). As of May 2014, the mission reached only 38% of its full deployment for authorised individual police officers, compared to 77% for formed police units (FPUs) in June 2014. This gap is attributed to limited infrastructure for accommodating police personnel.
• The mission's operational footprint is heavily concentrated in Bamako, which is viewed as counter-productive since the conflict is primarily located in the north. This imbalance limits the mission's ability to implement its mandate and negatively impacts its image among the local population.
• Capacity-building for the Malian police has focused heavily on individual training, but there is a critical need for broader logistical and technical support. Interviewees emphasized that training alone is insufficient without the infrastructure and material resources necessary for the police to function effectively on the ground.
• There is a deep lack of trust between the local population in northern Mali and the state security forces, including the police and gendarmerie. This mistrust stems from the perception that security forces abandoned the region at the start of the war and from a history of corrupt practices within the judiciary and police.
• The security situation in northern Mali is complicated by the presence of multiple armed groups and the influence of transnational crime. The region serves as a hub for trafficking drugs, humans, and arms to Europe, and armed groups are often financed by these criminal activities.
• The brief recommends that MINUSMA adopt a more holistic approach to capacity-building that includes a 'theory of change' and is based on locally identified needs. It suggests that the mission must implement confidence-building measures alongside technical capacity-building to be successful.

APA

de Carvalho, G., & Kumalo, L. (2014). Building the capacity of the Malian police: Why MINUSMA needs to think outside the box. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief69.pdf

Chicago

de Carvalho, Gustavo, and Liezelle Kumalo. Building the capacity of the Malian police: Why MINUSMA needs to think outside the box. Institute for Security Studies, 2014. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief69.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=de Carvalho |first1=Gustavo |last2=Kumalo |first2=Liezelle |title=Building the capacity of the Malian police: Why MINUSMA needs to think outside the box |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=October 2014 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief69.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{decarvalho2014building, author = {de Carvalho, Gustavo and Kumalo, Liezelle}, title = {{Building the capacity of the Malian police: Why MINUSMA needs to think outside the box}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2014}, month = oct, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief69.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }