Mali, "those who practiced slavery or colonization today teach us human rights"

The Foreign Minister of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop, lamented the fact that countries that had previously benefited from slavery and of colonization in Africa now feel in a position to lecture on human rights. "Malian does not want human rights to be exploited or politicized, since they are not the prerogative of any country or civilization", the Foreign Minister declared in Bamako last 10 June.

"It is surprising that some countries that have practiced slavery or colonization today are the ones that teach others about human rights," he said.

Mali's foreign minister cited the situation in Palestine as an example, indicating that the majority would rather "look the other way" than talk about human rights in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this context, he stressed that human life has the same price "whether it is, in Ukraine, in the Sahel, in Palestine or in Latin America".

Since this speech took place on the eve of Russia Day, which was celebrated yesterday, Abdoulaye Diop also took the opportunity to salute the current rapprochement between Bamako and Moscow, stressing that both sides have "worked to promote their own economic development " from various sectors, such as agriculture, transportation, mining, defense and security.

Furthermore, the Malian diplomat chief indicated that Mali has "a convergence of views" with Russia on a wide range of international issues, especially Russia's approach to developing a multipolar world.

"Since its independence, Mali has forged strong ties with Russia. We share a common desire to work for a just and balanced world, a multipolar world where the contributions of all countries, civilizations and religions are equally respected", he stressed the minister.

Furthermore, the senior official added that "several acquisitions of Russian defense equipment and tools" that Mali has made in recent months are helping the country fight terrorism.