Briefing on Burundi
This afternoon (10 July), Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Šimonović will brief the Security Council in consultations on the situation in Burundi. Also briefing will be the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Office in Burundi (BNUB), Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, via video-teleconference from Bujumbura. At press time, no outcome was expected.
While BNUB is preparing for its withdrawal, the last few months have been a time of increasing political turmoil in Burundi. (To accommodate the wishes of the government, the Council on 13 February adopted resolution 2137, which asked the Secretary-General to prepare for BNUB’s withdrawal and transfer of responsibilities to the UN Country Team by 31 December. Also in accordance with a request by Burundi, the resolution calls on the Secretary-General to establish an electoral observer mission before, during and after the July 2015 elections.)
France, the lead country on Burundi, requested today’s consultations to hear from
Šimonović following his 25-27 June visit to Burundi, where he met with local officials, international representatives and civil society groups and visited Mpimba prison. At a press conference held in Bujumbura at the end of the visit, he noted his deep concern regarding recent developments, including the growing restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. He expressed his concern over politically-motivated violent attacks involving the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling party, against political adversaries and he called on the government to hold those responsible accountable. (According to BNUB, 49 politically-motivated violent incidents involving the Imbonerakure have been documented since the beginning of the year through early July).
Šimonović met with the Burundi country-specific configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission yesterday. At the meeting he raised the above mentioned concerns, while also highlighting that a further cause for concern was the deep divide between political parties and that certain pieces of legislation, such as the new law on the truth and reconciliation commission and the new land law on the Commission Nationale de Terre et Autres Biens, could potentially shift political divisions back towards ethnic conflict. He also spoke of the role of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights in Burundi following BNUB’s departure at the end of the year.
Council members will also be interested in hearing Šimonović’s and Onanga-Anyanga’s assessment of the situation on the ground, in particular in the political sphere, in light of the upcoming presidential elections currently scheduled for July 2015. Several members are of the view that, given BNUB’s imminent withdrawal, the Council must keep a close watch on the events in Burundi to make sure that the situation does not deteriorate further. These members may wish to use this opportunity to discuss what the UN can do to prepare for such a possibility, especially in light of some of Šimonović’s concerns.
