Since the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Mission for the Stabilization of Mali (MINUSMA) was established in 2013, attacks perpetrated by terrorist organizations against civilians, and intercommunal violence, have dramatically increased in Mali, especially in the Central region. Meanwhile, supported by the MINUSMA, and determined to fulfil its primary Responsibility to Protect (R2P) the people, the Malian state has adopted a strategy to reform its security sector, which aims notably at improving the Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) effectiveness so they can better accomplish their Protection of Civilians (PoC) mandate and combat terrorism. However, as civilians continue to be heavily targeted, the MINUSMA and the state credibility has significantly deteriorated, with most of the people blaming the MINUSMA for its "unwillingness" to protect endangered communities consistently with its PoC mandate, as well as the state and the FAMA for their ineffectiveness. Paradoxically, the state and the MINUSMA, who are both struggling to implement and enforce their R2P and PoC conflictual mandates, tend to transfer and share their primary protection responsibilities with the people themselves, to better combat human security threats.

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