Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council on Burundi (December 17)

According to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), the plans of the UN Human Rights Council to initiate a fact-finding mission in Burundi are to be seen as “half-hearted”. “A simple fact-finding mission will not lead to significant new insights, but will only confirm that countless human rights violations have been committed. It would, however, be courageous to form an “Official Commission of Inquiry” to document human rights abuses since the beginning of the crisis in April 2015 and to record the names of those who were responsible,” said Ulrich Delius, the STP’s Africa-expert, in Göttingen on Tuesday. “However, the Human Rights Council is reluctant to treat Burundi in a similar manner to North Korea and Eritrea. The human rights situation in the East African country is growing worse every day.”

On Thursday, the UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session in Geneva to discuss a draft resolution submitted by the US, which focuses on a timely fact-finding mission of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is expected that the draft resolution, which is supported by many European countries, will be adopted. “However, for the sake of national reconciliation, it is important to put an end to impunity. The statements of the victims of violence must be documented, and the offenders must be identified – as a basis for credible law enforcement later on,” said Delius.

In addition, the Human Rights Council should call on the Security Council and the African Union to initiate a joint peacekeeping mission for Burundi. The massacre that took place this weekend clearly shows that the international community should be able to intervene within a few hours, if necessary, to protect the civilians and to prevent a bloodbath. Organizing a deployment of UN peacekeepers often takes months, due to the lack of troop contingents, transportation capacity and accommodation. In a resolution adopted on November 12, the UN Security Council had not decided on a subsequent deployment of peacekeeping forces.

The Human Rights Council should also demand a re-approval of the 13 human rights organizations that have been suspended in Burundi during the past one and a half months. In addition, the government should resume the dialogue with the opposition and the civil society at a neutral venue abroad – urgently. So far, the government is only willing to hold talks in Burundi. However, as many dissidents, critical journalists and employees of Burundian NGOs were already forced to leave the country for fear of their lives, a political dialogue in Burundi would be a farce.

According to the UN, at least 371 people have fallen victim to politically motivated violence in Burundi since April 2015. However, Burundian human rights organizations assume 601 deaths since January 2015.

Header photo: counterculturecoffee via Flickr