SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN BURUNDI SUBMITS INITIAL REPORT

Press Release
HR/4263

SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN BURUNDI SUBMITS INITIAL REPORT

The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights mandated to examine the human rights situation in Burundi, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, in his initial report, emphasizes that, according to evidence provided to him, a smoldering civil war was spreading further and further in Burundi. The situation had in particular deteriorated since the beginning of the year, and significantly so since May. The general climate of insecurity, fear and hatred affected all segments of the population, both Hutus and Tutsis, and had led to a renewed breakout of violence committed by extremists on both sides, leading to the death of soldiers and many civilians each week.

Aggression, assassination and massacres, torture or arbitrary detention were the daily lot of the Burundi people. The Special Rapporteur noted, among other things, that complete impunity was still enjoyed in Burundi. The insecurity and grave violations of human rights were increasing constantly throughout the country.

According to Mr. Pinheiro, the ethnic tension between Hutu and Tutsi was reflected in the Government, in which the number of cases of blockage between the two ethnic groups had increased. This accentuated the lack of effectiveness at all levels of State activity, whether it was a question of maintenance of security and order in the country, the administration of justice, the functioning of the army or the police forces, the economic management of the country or the conducting of education at all levels, from primary to university.

In the view of the Special Rapporteur, this state of affairs was also due to the inertia -- even complicity -- on the part of broad segments of the ruling classes in Burundi, the criminal responsibility of extremist groups of all ethnic origins, as well as the slow international response to the need to aid the country's moderate political forces to overcome the crises.

- 2 - Press Release HR/4263 28 December 1995

Despite its recognition of the horrors committed in the country, particularly after the events of October 1993, the international community continued to demonstrate a profound indifference and a grave inability to act in a concrete and effective manner, according to the Special Rapporteur. Burundi's institutions were deteriorating and arms were being smuggled into the interior of the country as in the border regions. Also, certain media, in Burundi as well as in the neighbouring countries, were transmitting unrelenting messages of hatred aimed at destabilizing the country. By its attitude of omission, the international community had, for the greater part, allowed the development of the extremism raging in Burundi. It had also contributed to the progressive deterioration of the country's socio-economic infrastructures, rendering economic survival more and more difficult.

In the opinion of the Special Rapporteur, the converging political and social factors underlined a real danger that the deteriorating situation could explode any time in the country, with consequences as grave as those seen previously in Rwanda. In this regard, the tensions provoked by the refugees or displaced and dispersed persons and the "ethnic cleansing" operations frequently could result in the concentration of the Tutsi population in the urban zones and the forced migration of the Hutus to the rural areas.

Among his recommendations, the Special Rapporteur stresses that the administration of justice must be reformed as a matter of urgency to combat impunity, possibly through the assistance of magistrates from other African countries. He further recommends that measures be adopted to combat insecurity in the country, particularly by creating a national rapid alert mechanism which could prevent violence from degenerating into massacre or genocide. Also, measures must be taken to reinforce the civil society of Burundi by supporting the efforts of local non-governmental organizations.

Appropriate assistance had to be allocated to the development of the media, particularly by training journalists in accordance with the ethics of the profession. The Special Rapporteur requested the strengthening of the United Nations human rights office at Bujumbura and the acceleration of the process of deployment of human rights observers in Burundi, as provided by resolution 1995/90 of the Commission on Human Rights. The Rapporteur stressed the necessity to set up a close coordination between the three Special Rapporteurs of the Commission on Rwanda, Zaire and Burundi.

Mr. Pinheiro was appointed Special Rapporteur last April, in conformity with resolution 1995/90 of the Commission on Human Rights.

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