About IWGIAIndigenous peoples in Mali
The Tuareg and Peul are two of Mali’s indigenous peoples. The Tuareg are a Berber people living in the central Sahara, spread across Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria and Libya. Mali’s total population numbers 13,716,829 inhabitants. Together with the Moors (Berbers living in the north of Mali and Niger), the Tuareg represent around 10% of the population. They live in the north, in the regions of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal, which together cover 2/3 of the country’s area of 1,241,021 km2. They speak the Tamasheq language.
Traditionally, the Tuareg are nomadic pastoralists, rearing camels and small ruminants. They occasionally engage in trade, bartering game and camel meat, along with rock salt, in return for dates, fabrics, tea, sugar and foodstuffs. They have a distinct culture and way of life.
The Constitution of Mali recognises the country’s cultural diversity and the National Pact recognises the specific nature of the Tuareg regions. In addition, legislation on decentralisation gives local councillors, including some Tuareg, a number of powers although not the necessary resources with which to exercise them.
Over the course of the last year, the presence of "Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" (AQMI) has had a profound effect on Mali as a whole, and on the Tuareg in particular.
Mali voted for the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.
Download the 2011 yearbook article on indigenous peoples in Mali to read more about major developments and events during 2010
