Report on Citizenship Law: Mali of the new French Constitution creating a Union française6 to 1962, when the first Malian nationality code came into effect after independence; (2) the period from 1962 to 1995, when the Code was amended as part of democratic reforms;7 (3) the period of democracy from 1995 until the enactment of Le Code des personnes et de la famille in 2011;8 and (4) the period since 2011 marked by increasing conflict and regional tension, lasting until the present day. Malian nationality law has been heavily influenced by French law, though Islamic legal principles have also played a role. Questions of gender equality, ethnicity, religion and the role of traditional practices in civil affairs have all been factors in the drafting of Mali’s nationality laws and their implementation. As well, successive Malian governments have struggled with conflict over the territorial integrity of Mali, and armed conflict has impeded Mali’s ability to implement its laws. Throughout Mali’s history, attempts at legal reform have followed conflict between Mali’s southern-controlled government and its northern provinces; in particular in relation to the status of the nomadic Tuareg, who speak a dialect of the Berber language and whose territory encompasses parts of Mali, Niger, Algeria and Mauritania.9 These conflicts, which are fuelled by ongoing, unresolved questions over Mali’s territorial integrity, regional diversity and colonial-era borders, inevitably influenced both the substance of Malian nationality law and how the law has been implemented. Mali’s nationality law has also been influenced by ongoing attempts to reconcile western law with Islamic principles and tensions between various schools of Islam.10 Mali, like many African states, suffers from low rates of birth registration, particularly in rural areas, complicating efforts to document Malian nationality. Ongoing conflict over decentralisation, separatism and the legitimacy of the government in Bamako have greatly inhibited the ability of the Malian government to implement its nationality laws or improve the état civil (civil registration system) in rural and northern regions. This report begins with a summary of the history of Mali’s nationality law, alongside important events which have influenced the law. It then analyses Mali’s current nationality regime and ends with a summary of current political debates around Malian nationality law and proposed reforms. 6 The Union française for the first time granted a degree of autonomy and limited citizenship rights to the French overseas territories. Persons under this legal regime were already French nationals, but now received some civil rights. Art. 80 of the Constitution read: ‘All ‘ressortissants’ of the overseas territories have the quality of citizen, on the same basis as French nationals, of the metropole or of the overseas territories. Specific laws will establish the conditions under which they will exercise their rights as citizens.’ 7 Loi No. 95-070 portant modification code de la nationalité, Journal Officiel de la République du Mali (J.O.R.M.) No. 18 (30 Sept. 1995) p. 689-690. 8 Loi n° 11-080/AN-RM portant code des personnes et de la famille, Loi No. 11-080/AN-RM, 2 Décembre 2011. 9 For a recent overview of the conflict, see United Nations Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Mali 28 December 2018. For more on the political situation in northern Mali, see Pierre Boilley, Les Touaregs Kel Adagh: Indépendances et révoltes: du français au Mali contemporain (Karthala 1999), Baz Lecocq, That Desert is Our Country: Tuareg Rebellions and Competing Nationalisms in Contemporary Mali (1946-1996) (PhD thesis, Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) 2002) 82, Jeremy Keenan, ‘The Lesser Gods of the Sahara: Social Change and Contested Terrain amongst the Tuareg of Algeria’ (Routledge 2004), Jeremy Keenan, ‘Resisting Imperialism: Tuareg Threaten US, Chinese and Other Foreign Interests’ in Anja Fischer and Ines Kohl ‘Tuareg Society within a Globalised World: Saharan Life in Transition’ (Tauris 2010) (and other works by Jeremy Keenan), Andre Bourgeot, Les sociétés touarègues; Nomadisme, identité, resistances (Karthala 1995). 10 Andrew Lebovich, ‘Sacred Struggles: How Islam shapes politics in Mali’ European Council on Foreign Relations Policy Brief (1 November 2019). 2 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/11- © 2020 Author(s)