APPENDIX I. TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SECURITY AND PEACE IN MALI I. BACKGROUND For about fifteen years, Mali has been confronted with unabated insecurity, fostered by several and unending intra and inter­community conflicts,« residual banditry» following the end of armed rebellion which affected the Northern part of the country between 1990 and 1996, urban and suburban crime characterised by armed robbery, highway criminal hold-ups, vehicle snatching, deadly road accidents, etc. In addition, the country has to contend with Algerian Islamists who, sometimes, use the uncontrolled Malian Sahara region as their rear base, and the repercutions of raging crises and conflicts in the sub-region, prominent amongst which are the massive inflow of refugees and displaced persons, widespread illicit trafficking activities, in particular the proliferation of light weapons which is facilitated, to a large extent, by the porosity of the country's seven(7) borders. This situation has been made worse no thanks to the powerlessness of the State, invisibility of government authorities in certain regions of the North, the glaring inability of the security forces and security departments(police, gendarmerie, national and civilian protection brigade) to squarely meet security challenges. Security forces which, for quite a long time, had been militarised were given their civilian role in 1993. However, the expected measures to help them fulfill their new missions failed to materialise. Though security forces often accomplish praise­worthy feats in their operations with little means, the reality is that, today, it is quite difficult for them to discharge their lawful duties. Human resources are inadequate, Infrastructural facilities are 98