- Updated January 15, 2026
Years Listed
Each shaded box corresponds to a year the country appeared on the CSPA list and what types of waivers it received, if any.
Mali first appeared on the CSPA list in 2017 and has appeared on the list every year since for a total of eight years. The U.S. president waived, either in part or in full, CSPA prohibitions against the provision of U.S. arms sales and military assistance to Mali in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and the U.S. Secretary of State, acting pursuant to a Presidential Delegation of Authority, issued a partial waiver for Mali in 2021.1Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Public Notice 12296: Determination and Certification With Respect to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008,” in the Federal Register, 2 January 2024, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/01/02/2023-28798/determination-and-certification-with-respect-to-the-child-soldiers-prevention-act-of-2008. The president did not waive CSPA prohibitions for Mali in 2020 and has not provided a waiver from 2022-2024. As a result of presidential waivers, Mali was provided more than $17 million in CSPA-relevant arms sales and military assistance between FY2018 and FY2022. Specifically, the president has waived over $6.1 million in Direct Commercial Sales, more than $2.3 million in International Military Education and Training, and more than $8.5 million in Section 1206 or Section 333 assistance. As a result of CSPA prohibitions, Mali was denied more than $34,000 in Direct Commercial Sales and $850,000 in International Military Education and Training in FY2021.
Mali was first included on the CSPA list following reports that its government provided support to and collaborated with the Imghad Tuareg and Allies Self-Defense Group (GATIA) pro-government militia in 2016, during which time the group recruited and used at least 76 children, including some as young as eleven.2Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2017, https://www.state.gov/reports/2017-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/. The government has further been associated with the Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA), an armed group that has recruited and used children even after signing a UN Action Plan in 2017.3Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali – Trafficking Profile,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2021, pp. 379, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/). In 2024 Malian security forces continue to cooperate with both militias, now in existence under the umbrella organizational structure known as the ‘Platform,’ which has continued use of child soldiers despite signing an UN Action Plan of its own in 2021.4Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali – Trafficking Profile” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/.; Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. “Action Plans,” https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/tools-for-action/action-plans/.
Observers verified that the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) recruited and used children (at least 47 between the ages of 9 and 14) in support roles from 2014 to 2019.5Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali – Trafficking Profile,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2021, pp. 379, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/).; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali – Trafficking Profile,” Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, pp. 374, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20221020-2022-TIP-Report.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/). “Support roles” included the use of children as couriers and domestic help. Between April 2022 and March 2023 the armed forces recruited and used at least 88 children, some of whom were used in direct hostilities.6Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali – Prevention,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2023, https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/. During 2023 and 2024 FAMa, the Gendarmerie, and national police units were reported to have unlawfully recruited and used child soldiers in unspecified roles, including children younger than the age of 15.7Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali – Trafficking Profile,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/.; For an explanation of the organizational structure of the Malian armed forces, see https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/mali/.
The government has taken some steps to address the child soldier issue, including the aforementioned 2017 and 2021 UN Action Plans, removing child soldiers from its armed forces and transferring a number of children into the care of humanitarian organizations, and training government officials on the protection of children in armed conflict. Following confirmation in 2019 that government forces had recruited and used child soldiers, Mali’s government and armed forces have continued efforts to release children and refer them to reintegration programs.8Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali – Protection,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/. The Malian Ministry of Defense issued an edict banning children from deployed military camps and instating a designated child soldier focal point, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs completed a draft child soldiers prevention plan with international actors. However, as of 2024 the transition government has reported no efforts to enforce the policy, and the prevention plan has remained pending validation by the Malian Council of Ministers for the past three years.9Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali – Prevention,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/. According to the U.S. State Department, corruption and official complicity continue to inhibit law enforcement action, and the government has not reported any recent investigations into government officials complicit in child soldiering offenses.10Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Mali – Prosecution,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/mali/.
For more information, see the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report and 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. More information on the situation in Mali can also be found in the UN Secretary-General’s 2024 annual report on Children and Armed Conflict and 2022 country-specific report on Mali.
Total Waived and Prohibited
Since the CSPA took effect.
Explore the Data
Country- and program-level data on the number and type of national interest waivers granted, as well as the amount of arms sales and military assistance waived.
