Special Rapporteur on Burundi

Purpose of the mandate

On 26 April 2015, late President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he was seeking a third term as president, sparking the most important crisis in Burundi since its 12-year ethnic civil war ended in 2005.

This mandate was created to:

• Monitor the situation of human rights in Burundi,
• Make recommendations for its improvement,
• Collect, examine and assess information from all relevant stakeholders pertaining to the human rights in Burundi, building upon the work of the Commission of Inquiry,
• Advise the Government of Burundi on fulfilling its human rights obligations emanating from international treaties
• Offer support and advice to civil society and to the National Independent Human Rights Commission in executing its independent mandate of promoting and protecting human rights as well as in raising awareness on human rights issues.

Learn more about the purpose of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Burundi

About the mandate

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi was established by the UN Human Rights Council at its 48th session in October 2021 in resolution 48/16. The mechanism succeeds the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, created on 30 September 2016 following resolution 33/24 of the Human Rights Council, with the mandate to conduct investigations into human rights violations and abuses committed in Burundi since May 2015.

Mandates for Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi, as well as Independent Experts, have intermittently been established from 1995 to 2021.

Current mandate holder

Mr. Fortuné Gaetan Zongo (Burkina Faso) is the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burundi. He is a magistrate, currently President of the Court of Appeal of Fada N'gourma in Burkina Faso. He has held several positions in the judiciary and is specialized in international human rights law, expertise he acquired through a post-graduate degree in fundamental human rights and the position of Head of the Department for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights at the Ministry for the Promotion of Human Rights of Burkina Faso from December 2006 to September 2011. Mr. Zongo was an expert of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) from 2011 to 2014.

Read Mr. Fortuné Gaetan Zongo's full biography