The Kel Tamachek and Hassanya are nomadic people who live in Sahel‐Sahara but some of them have become semi‐nomad or sedentary throughout the time. Since the independence they were divided in five countries. In Mali they occupy the 75% with 932 490 sqm of the territory which is 1 241 238 sqm5 and 10% of the population’s 13 millions.6 Their area is the north Mali which is administratively divided in three regions: Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal called also respectively the 6th region, 7th region and 8th region. They share the area with other ethnic groups such as Fulbe which are nomadic peoples and indigenous peoples and the Songhai or Sonrhai, Sorko and Bambara. The Kel Tamachek as other indigenous peoples of the world were discriminated and marginalized which started since the colonization. The colonizers tried to exterminate them because of their resistance and their refusal to be dominated and assimilated. The Frenchmen after establishing their power on the colonies started to ‘civilize’ their subjects. However, the nomads were forgotten in these programs because no school was created in their area. And when an exceptional leader Mohamed Ali Ag Attaher Alansary11understood that the best arm for combating the colonizers was to learn their knowledge which will ensure also the success for the future. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Ms Odile L. Tung, Faculty of Law & Management, University of Mauritius, Mauritius. 2010. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Cette thèse se veut à la fois critique et pragmatique. Critique de l’histoire récente du Mali lue à l’aune des outils procurés par l’analyse juridique, la sociologie et l’anthropologie du droit. Cette intention critique a conduit à interroger l’histoire du Mali des origines dans une perspective génétique qui a été détaillée dans les prolégomènes. Pragmatique, la thèse formule des propositions rattachées à la situation concrète du Mali, allant dans le sens d’un décloisonnement des consciences et de la restauration des normes constitutives de la République malienne. C’est à la satisfaction de ces deux impératifs que les analyses du langage ont été utiles. Elles ont également permis d’identifier certaines insuffisances de la dogmatique juridique généralement soucieuse de plaquer des concepts préfabriqués sur les réalités africaines, que de saisir au plus près ces réalités avec leurs nuances. Il est donc apparu opportun pour y parvenir de procéder à l’analyse des stratégies des acteurs ordinaires de la société politique malienne. La prise en considération des concepts manipulés par ces derniers explique le recours aux langues autochtones. La première partie de la thèse est consacrée à l’analyse du développement chaotique du Mali après l’abandon du projet des pères de l’indépendance sous la double pression des contraintes économiques et des déterminants culturels. La seconde partie en tire les conséquences du point de vue de la théorie constitutionnelle. C’est la raison pour laquelle la thèse s’achève sur la proposition d’une réforme du système de l’unité africaine inspirée, à l’image de tout ce qui précède, d’un dicton de la langue bambara : « Dormir sur la natte des autres, c’est comme si l’on dormait par terre ». / This thesis is both critical and pragmatic. A criticism of Mali’s recent history read in the light of the tools provided by the legal analysis, sociology and anthropology of law. This critical intent led to examine the history of Mali’s origins in a genetic perspective that has been detailed in the prolegomena. Pragmatic, the thesis puts forward proposals related to the concrete situation of Mali, along the lines of a deregulation of consciences and the re-introduction of constitutive standards into the Malian Republic. The language analysis proved valuable in meeting these two requirements. They also enabled to identify some shortcomings in legal dogma generally more anxious to graft prefabricated concepts onto African realities, rather than capture these realities with their nuances as close as possible. It therefore seemed appropriate to analyze the strategies of ordinary actors of the Malian political society. The consideration of the concepts handled by these latter accounts for the use of indigenous languages. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the analysis of Mali’s chaotic development in the aftermath of the relinquishment of the fathers’ project of independence under the double pressure of economic constraints and cultural determinants. The second part draws the relevant consequences from the point of view of constitutional theory. Thus, the thesis concludes with the proposal for reform of the system of African Unity based, upon as all the above, Bambara language’s saying : “Sleeping on the mat of others is like sleeping on the floor.