Inadequate crisis management: African governments fail in the Burundi crisis

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands the African governments to show more commitment to settle the Burundi crisis and to protect the civilian population from human rights violations in the East African country. The human rights organization criticizes the African crisis management in the Burundi question to be absolutely inadequate. “There is no lack of appeals by African non-governmental organizations and parliamentarians in favor of finding a political solution through negotiations,” said the STP’s Africa-expert, Ulrich Delius. “However, the African Union (AU), the East African Community (EAC) and the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) are addressing the Burundi-crisis extremely hesitantly, inconsistently and haphazardly. Africa’s efforts to find a political solution to the Burundi question are undermined by individual national interests and rivalries, a lack of neutrality and a lack of political will to agree on common principles. Africa has missed an opportunity to demonstrate responsibility in this crisis.”

According to Delius, the failure of the EAC is a typical example. At a summit that was originally scheduled for November 30, 2015, Burundi should have taken over the organization’s chairmanship. However, to avoid internal disputes and so as not to snub Burundi’s controversial leaders by agreeing on another chairmanship, the summit was simply postponed indefinitely. “This ostrich policy will not solve any problems – and, given the current threat to peace in the region, it is irresponsible,” said the STP’s Africa-expert. On November 24, 2015, during a visit to the EAC (which can rely on generous financial support by Germany), Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier demanded that the EAC should show more commitment to try and resolve the Burundi crisis.

The AU remained idle for months too. The Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who was supposed to mediate a dialogue in Burundi, is more concerned with his own election campaign and is also not considered neutral. Thus, the much-needed dialogue is still lagging, and the AU did not include Burundi’s civil society in the planned talks. The AU agreed on sanctions against those who are responsible for the violence in Burundi and – in mid-October – the Peace and Security Council decided to prepare for peacekeeping mission. However, such a peace missions is very controversial – and its outcome is uncertain due to the lack of neutrality among Burundi’s neighboring countries. It is also not clear whether it is possible to rely on troops from the “African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIRC)” or the “African Standby Force (ASF)”. “The European Union would be prepared to provide enough financial support for both approaches towards a peacekeeping mission, but it is very unsure how effective they might be in these times of crisis, as the discussions in Burundi have shown once again,” said Delius.

Header Photo: Christine Vaufrey via Flickr