Doves in Zero Gravity / Colombes sans gravité + Q&A with director Christophe Gargot

How the prolonged crisis in Mali has turned peacekeepers into powerless pawns caught between local wars and global geopolitics in a changing World Order. The forces were there to stabilise the country, help restore state authority and keep jihadis at bay. Despite a 2015 peace agreement between the government of Mali and secessionist armed groups, jihadi groups continued to gain ground in the Sahel. In 2020, a military junta took over the state and hired Wagner Group mercenaries, leading to the departure of the French military operation Barkhane, and the expulsion of the UN mission in 2023. The film examines how lessons from the past can help to shape peace operations of the future.

“The deadliest peacekeeping mission in UN history”. The Kent Global Leadership Programme