Mali fails to face up to the persistence of slavery
THE internal African slave trade was officially abolished in colonial Mali in 1905. But a form of slavery – called “descent-based slavery” – continues today. This is when “slave status” is ascribed to a person, based on their ancestors having allegedly been enslaved by elite slave-owning families. MARIE RODET, Reader in the History of Africa, SOAS, University of London BAKARY CAMARA, Professeur Titulaire Agrégé des facultés de droit et Doyen de la Faculté de Droit Public, Université des sciences juridiques et politiques de Bamako LOTTE PELCKMANS, Associate Professor, Centre for Advanced Migration Studies, University of Copenhagen The practice is most…