The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was established by the Security Council in 2013. Its mandate was terminated in June 2023 at the request of Mali’s transitional government, and the mission completed its withdrawal by the end of that year, according to Al Jazeera.

Changing the Nature of UN Engagement

But the end of MINUSMA did not end the UN’s engagement with the region. Its political work continues through the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), while the wider UN system remains involved in humanitarian and development work. What has changed is the space in which that engagement takes place.

Regional Alliances and Sovereignty

On January 29, 2025, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger formally left the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The three countries have also deepened cooperation through the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), putting sovereignty and strategic autonomy at the centre of their political message. The humanitarian pressures, meanwhile, have not eased. Displacement, insecurity, food insecurity and other pressures continue to cross borders, even as governments increasingly insist on handling their security and political affairs on their own terms.

UN’s Diplomatic and Humanitarian Focus

The question is what influence the UN can exercise after the departure of the peacekeeping force that once represented its most substantial presence in the region. What does the UN’s presence look like now? The UN’s role today is less about troops and more about diplomacy, mediation, humanitarian assistance and development.

UNOWAS is a special political mission rather than a peacekeeping operation. Its work includes preventive diplomacy, good offices, political mediation, conflict prevention and support for political dialogue. “The influence the UN can actually exercise is narrow,” the report notes.