Four academics from different backgrounds presented solutions on the current issues experienced on the ground in Mali, debating them with a societal panel and the audience.

Today, three years after French president Francois Hollande claimed to have defeated jihadist groups in Mali, these groups have expanded their area of operation and space has opened for new groups to emerge. It will likely take many years and careful planning, as opposed to hasty and unplanned counterterrorism efforts, to remove the influence of jihadist groups in the Sahel.

Customary justice systems are impossible to ignore when looking to improve the quality of justice in fragile societies in the short-term. The challenge is to look beyond their obvious advantages and disadvantages and find practical ways to engage them productively.