The crisis in Mali continued to worsen during 2019. Violence and insecurity spread from the north (Kidal, Menaka and Timbuktu) to the central and western regions, and across the border into Niger and Burkina Faso. While instability in the north is mainly driven by an armed insurgency, the centre is experiencing a rise in social unrest, banditry and intercommunal violence. Communities are increasingly being attacked and essential services, including schools and health centres, are being interrupted or halted. In 2019, 1,343 security incidents involving civilians were recorded, a majority of them in the Mopti region. An estimated 900 civilians were killed and 545 injured.

Out of an estimated 7.8 million people affected by the crisis in Mali, 3.6 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2020 – an increase of 300,000 since January 2019. In the absence of the effective implementation of the Peace Agreement and the restoration of the rule of law and essential services throughout the country, political and security tensions are expected to continue in 2020. Intercommunal conflict, armed attacks and other forms of violence could escalate, causing further displacement. Women, children and individuals with specific needs, such as people living with disabilities, will be highly vulnerable to the impacts of the crisis. Men and boys, who make up the majority of civilian casualties, will continue to be at risk from violence and armed conflict.

The intensification of the conflicts in northern and central Mali and in the natural disasters continued to have a negative impact on children by exposing them to serious violations of their rights and the deterioration of their physical and psychological state. In 2019,
children accounted for 53% of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and these population movements lead to the separation of children and their families, school disruption, psychosocial distress, the recruitment and use of children by armed groups, their exposure to explosive devices, abuse and exploitation y including sexual, and so on and so forth. In addition, the number of grave violations of children's rights continued to grow in a manner alarming, with 571 incidents counted between January and September 2019. In addition, interventions in their favour remain limited as a result of insecurity, inaccessibility and inadequate response services.

In 2020, the CP AoR will continue its interventions in favour of children affected by conflict through the following actions, in line with the four objectives of the protection cluster:

• Monitor and report on the six serious violations of human rights of the children in situations of armed conflict (MRM). At the same time capacity building sessions will be organized for CP stakeholders and the national MRM working group. Actors in the juvenile justice chain and forces national and international security forces will also benefit training on regulatory and legal instruments as well as the principles of protection of children in situations of armed conflict in the best interests of the child;
• To ensure care in transit centres and orientation or in host families, reunification, reintegration family and socio-economic reintegration (school, vocational training) of children affected by conflicts and other shocks in Mali, especially children associated with armed forces and armed groups, victims of other grave violations and unaccompanied/separated children. The community and/or socio-economic reintegration will hold takes into account existing opportunities within the communities to identify innovative and cost-effective actions for Vulnerable children and adolescents, including children children from armed groups and other vulnerable children in the community. Synergies will be strengthened with other humanitarian clusters to maximise support services for children;
• Provide individual and basic psychosocial support community in child-friendly and other spaces secure spaces through listening and other sessions psychosocial activities;
• Facilitate the delivery of birth certificates for children affected by the conflict through the delivery of judgments case by case, awareness-raising activities and advocacy to the authorities;
• Provide multi-sectoral services to child survivors GBV (age- and gender-sensitive), including for child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, in close cooperation with the authorities.
• Prevent and respond to cases of sexual abuse and exploitation
  (PSEA) committed against children through awareness raising and capacity building of humanitarian actors and strengthening community-based feedback mechanisms;
• Strengthen the coordination and information management mechanisms through CP training, and information products to guide planning and programmatic approaches.