The Parliamentary Assembly of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States, meeting in its 28^th session in Horsens (Denmark) on 25 May 2012, noted with satisfaction the recent progress made towards full restoration of constitutional order in Mali with the establishment of a 12-month transition period and the maintenance of the interim President, Pr. Dioncounda Traoré, the Prime Minister, Dr. Cheick Modibo Diarra and the Government, to oversee the transition.

The ACP Parliamentarians expressed their support and encouragement for the transition authorities to successfully accomplish the priority tasks that they have set themselves, notably the restoration of social cohesion, recovery of Mali’s territorial integrity, and the organisation of free and democratic elections within twelve months to complete the process of restoring constitutional order.

The ACP Parliamentarians expressed, nonetheless, their deep concern and consternation at the attack against President Dioncounda Traoré on 21 May 2012, and roundly condemned this despicable act, which is an affront to democracy, and called for the perpetrators to be caught and brought to justice.

The ACP Parliamentarians urgently appealed to the Malian junta to return to their barracks and to embrace the fundamental mission of the Malian Army, which is to defend that country’s territorial integrity and  national sovereignty and to respect and protect the legal and legitimate institutions of the transition.

The ACP Parliamentarians strongly rejected the declaration of independence of the North of Mali by the MNLA, considering this to be invalid and ineffectual, and reaffirmed their attachment to Mali’s unity and territorial integrity. They urged  members and political groups of the European Parliament to refrain from organising events with representatives of the MNLA at the EU, so as to remain true to the spirit of the resolution adopted by the institution.

The ACP Parliamentarians expressed their unfailing support for the actions conducted by ECOWAS to address the Malian crisis, including the deployment of troops to restore Mali’s stability and territorial integrity. They called upon ECOWAS to take the necessary steps to prevent the crisis from spreading to the subregion. They called on the international community, notably the EU, the United Nations and the African Union, to support ECOWAS’ initiatives both financially and materially.

Considering the humanitarian crisis that has resulted from the occupation of the regions of the North of Mali by the combined forces of the MNLA, ANÇAR-EDDINE, ACQMI and other armed groups, the ACP Parliamentarians urged the international community and the EU, in particular, to provide emergency aid to relieve the daily suffering of the people of the North, internally displaced peoples, and those who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, and to give adequate assistance to the neighbouring countries that have received the largest numbers of refugees, such as Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal and Mauritania.

The ACP Parliamentarians called for an immediate halt to the grave human rights violations and other atrocities committed by the occupying forces in the towns under their control.

       Done at Horsens, 25 May 2012