[From the introductory text accompanying this report on the U.S. Department of State website: "In most cases, the Interim Assessment is intended to serve as a tool by which to gauge the anti-trafficking progress of countries that may be in danger of slipping a tier in the upcoming June 2010 TIP Report and to give them guidance on how to avoid a Tier 3 ranking. It is a tightly focused progress report, assessing the concrete actions a government has taken to address the key deficiencies highlighted in the June 2009 TIP Report. The Interim Assessment covers actions undertaken between the beginning of May – the cutoff for data covered in the June TIP Report – and November. Readers are requested to refer to the annual TIP Report for an analysis of large-scale efforts and a description of the trafficking problem in each particular country or territory."]

The Government of Mali has demonstrated minimal progress to combat trafficking in persons since the release of the 2009 Report. While Malian officials claim that they arrested and prosecuted trafficking offenders, the government was unable to provide data about any specific cases. The Ministry for the Advancement of Women, Children, and the Family requested from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime sample legislation prohibiting all forms of adult trafficking. The ministry plans to use this as a model for legislation specific to Mali. In late 2009, the government designated a focal point to develop legislation criminalizing hereditary slavery. This individual, a technical advisor at the Ministry of Justice, is working with Mali's leading anti-slavery NGO to finalize draft legislation, developed by the NGO in collaboration with the International Senior Lawyers Project, and introduce it to the national assembly.

While the Malian government has stated that it has developed a system for collecting data on trafficking crimes and the number of victims identified, officials have not made public this system or its data. The government has co-hosted several conferences to raise awareness of trafficking of children and young adults. In November 2009, the Malian government participated in a conference organized by the leading anti-slavery NGO designed to introduce the draft anti-slavery legislation to civil society organizations.

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