Burundi: open letter from 43 NGOs to the UN Human Rights Council
President Evariste Ndayishimiye AFP
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3 min
A large coalition of NGOs sign a joint letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council to request the continuation of the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi set up in 2017.
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Next September, the Human Rights Council is due to meet in Geneva to decide on the future of
this commission
, “
the only independent mechanism that documents human rights violations and abuses in Burundi
”, according to these NGOs who fear therefore the end of this commission.
“
It seems that there are some states that are not so enthusiastic about renewing the mandate of the commission of inquiry,”
explains Carina Tersakian of the Initiative for Human Rights in Burundi, one of the signatory NGOs.
They seek to renew diplomatic relations with the Burundian government, and therefore fear perhaps that the renewal of this commission could harm these diplomatic relations, because the Burundian government is totally opposed to this commission of inquiry, and of elsewhere, has refused to cooperate with the commission of inquiry since its inception.
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For Carina Tersakian, the few progress made in recent months should not be the tree that hides the forest.
“
There have been some positive developments since the 2020 elections
,” she says.
But there have also been negative developments, we have seen: an increase in arbitrary arrests, an increase also in cases of torture and enforced disappearances, and this situation is very worrying, because it seems to mean a step backwards.
In our view, there must be an effective mechanism that remains in place, whether it is the commission of inquiry or some equivalent mechanism.
"
► See also: Burundi: a very measured report from the UN to maintain dialogue with the authorities
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Burundi
Évariste Ndayishimiye
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