Statement by Mr. Akich Okola, Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Burundi to the 9th session of the Human Rights Council

Geneva, 23 September 2008



Mr. President,
Madam High Commissioner,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, please allow me to congratulate the President and the Bureau on their election to lead the deliberations of the 9th session of the Human Rights Council. I also take this opportunity to congratulate Ms. Navi Pillay on her appointment as High Commissioner for Human Rights.

My mandate was established in April 2004 in accordance with Resolution 2004/82 and was subsequently extended pursuant to Resolution 6/5 in September 2007 for a period of one year. This extension was done at the specific request of the government of Burundi. This initiative by the Government affirms its interest in human rights.

Accordingly it is an honour for me to present this report, on the situation of human rights in Burundi and the findings of my ninth and tenth visits to Burundi which I conducted from 2 to 8 December 2007 and from 29 June to 12 July 2008, respectively.

I would like to thank the Government of the Republic of Burundi for agreeing to my visits and for its cooperation during my visits, especially for allowing access to all officials, whom I expressed the wish to meet with, as well as institutions and places which I expressed the wish to visit.

Mr. President,

Let me now highlight some of the main features of my report:


Political and institutional context
During my mandate, notable progress has been made by the successive governments of Burundi on the political, social and economic fronts which have impacted on human rights. Among these are the adoption of a new constitution; the election of a parliament, a senate and a president; the creation of an integrated army following a brutal civil war in which over three hundred thousand people were killed; the implementation of educational and health programmes which have benefited the poor and the most vulnerable segments of the Burundian society; and the opening of some space for the civil society and the media. These are commendable achievements and the government of Burundi deserves to be congratulated on them.

The international community has played a critical and constructive role in helping the government of Burundi to achieve these milestones. There is no doubt whatsoever that without its intervention and peace-keeping role, the civil war in Burundi would still be raging; and certainly the human rights situation would be a lot worse. I highly commend the international community for its intervention, and urge it to remain actively engaged in Burundi.

The human rights situation in Burundi remains fragile and fraught with challenges. Several major incidents have occurred since my last report to illustrate the fragile nature of the situation in Burundi. The relation between the government and the civil society has deteriorated significantly. For example, in August 2008 the former chairman of the main civil society organization, Ligue Iteka, together with two other persons were summoned by the prosecutor in connection with some statement they had made about the building of a militia organization; Similarly, in the same month, the chairman of a prominent anti-corruption non-governmental organization was also summoned in connection with a statement he made about corruption. On September 11, a journalist was arrested and detained for claiming that a delegation to the Beijing Olympics, which was led by the President of Burundi, had spent over a hundred million Burundian Francs on the trip.

Relations between the Government and opposition parties deteriorated in the second half of 2007 and have not improved. By April 2008, the political bickering and gridlock in Parliament persisted, leading to a decision by the Chairman of the ruling party to write to the President of National Assembly, requesting him to refer the situation of rebel members of Parliament belonging to the ruling party to the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the 22 members were sitting in Parliament in violation of the Constitution. The members concerned lost their seats in Parliament, after which the President appointed new party loyalists to replace them, thus allowing the ruling party to regain its majority in Parliament. The decision of the Constitutional Court is widely regarded as politically influenced and has exacerbated the precarious political situation.

Opposition parties complained about the lack of political space, as they faced harassment by security organs of the State whenever they wanted to hold meetings. This situation is aggravated by the fact that, for all intents and purposes, the campaign for the 2010 general elections is now under way. Denying other political parties the right to hold meetings, while the ruling party is free to hold its meetings without any constraints whatsoever, is tantamount to denying them the right to compete freely in the upcoming elections. Furthermore, the Government has refused to register one political party from the opposition.

The political situation is further complicated by the fact that the leadership of the Palipehutu-FNL movement has returned to Bujumbura without official status. While this return is a positive development, it has however complicated the political equation owing to lack of progress in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. Further, request by the movement for registration as a political party has been denied by the government on the ground that the name, which has ethnic connotations, is unacceptable as it offends the country’s Constitution. It is noteworthy that even though the leadership of the movement is now in Bujumbura, the capital, its fighters are still in the bush and armed. This is indeed a very ominous situation

These actions by the government, and lack of progress in implementing the peace accord with the Palipehutu-FNL, have created a tense climate which, unless diffused, could well result in the country degenerating once again into a state of internal armed conflict. This situation is made worse by the fact that approximately three hundred thousand small arms are in the hands of civilians.

As Burundi is preparing herself for elections scheduled for 2010, it is imperative that the conditions necessary for free and fair elections are put in place. These conditions must include effective guarantees of the fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly.

I appeal to the international community to help Burundians find a solution to the current crisis, and recommend that, whatever the constraints, the international community must engage with the Government and the opposition in order to prevent another crisis in the country.

Security concerns
The security situation is characterized by an increase in armed attacks, mainly targeting vehicles by alleged Palipehutu-FNL members. As a result, a significant number of civilians were killed during the reporting period. In August of this year a grenade attack on a wedding party by unknown people resulted in the death of several people. There are also major human rights concerns linked to prevailing insecurity and the proliferation of small arms.

Transitional justice
The Government and the United Nations signed an agreement on 2 November 2007 for the establishment of a Tripartite Steering Committee, composed of representatives of the Government, civil society and the United Nations. The transitional justice process has been slow, mainly because the government has been reluctant to establish the necessary mechanisms, particularly the mixed chamber, which is to deal with those found to have committed crimes under international criminal law.

Independent national human rights commission
During my visit in June 2008, I was informed that the law on the mandate, composition and functioning of the independent national human rights commission was still under consideration by the Government. In this respect, I commend the Government of Burundi, the Peace-building Fund and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for supporting the process. I call on the Government and Parliament of Burundi to ensure that the law enabling the commission is enacted without any delay and to ensure that it is in line with the Paris Principles.

Mr. President,

Human rights situation
The protection and promotion of human rights is an unconditional state responsibility. However, all parties must also comply with their obligations under international law. During the reporting period, violations of the right to life, the right to physical integrity, the rights to assembly and freedom of expression continue to be a matter of serious concern.

Impunity
I remain concerned about impunity for violations committed in a number of serious incidents in Burundi. The two major cases are the Gatumba and Muyinga massacres. No progress has been made by the Government of Burundi to address the massacre of 119 refugees in Gatumba, in 2004, most of them children and women. I am also very concerned about the lack of interest by the Government in bringing to justice those who participated in the Muyinga massacre: there appears to be an attempt by the authorities to use all kinds of legal and administrative technicalities to prevent full disclosure of the facts pertaining to the massacre.

I reiterate my concern to the Government of Burundi and the international community on this matter, and I urge the Government of Burundi to make the findings of investigations public and bring the perpetrators to justice to combat impunity and promote the rule of law.

Mr. President,

Sexual violence against women and children
Sexual violence and abuse of women and children by state, non-state and private actors continue unabated throughout Burundi. A culture of impunity for such crimes remains prevalent. There has been an increase in cases of sexual violence in Burundi since the last semester of 2007, and a significant increase in the incidence of gang rape has been recorded since the beginning of 2008. The Government has not taken sufficient measures to prevent human rights violations. Nor has it provided any meaningful redress mechanisms for victims.

This disturbing phenomenon will not be ended until the criminal justice system is reformed and laws are in line with international human rights standards.

Mr. President,

I would like to thank the Council for the confidence it placed in me by entrusting me with this mandate. The work in Burundi is by no means over. I hope that international community continues its engagement with Burundi, as it struggles to establish an independent national human rights commission. Failure to do this will create a protection gap. This is particularly imperative given Burundi’s history, and the impending elections.

Thank you for your attention