DAILY HIGHLIGHTS FOR: 5 January 1996
Press Release
DH/2054
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS FOR: 5 January 1996
19960105 * Security Council condemns those responsible for daily killings, massacres, tortures and arbitrary detentions in Burundi and demands such actions cease.* UNHCR Sadako Ogata to arrive in Burundi Sunday for urgent talks on steps to defuse volatile situation there.
* Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burundi recommends reform of country's justice system and creation of rapid national alert system; says both Tutsis and Hutus affected by insecurity, hatred and fear.
* Bosnian International Civilian Police Force has half of 1,712 officers needed; 15 out of 50 countries respond to UN requests for personnel.
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The Security Council today condemned in the strongest terms those responsible for the daily killings, massacres, torture and arbitrary detention in Burundi and said they must cease immediately. In a statement read by its President, Sir John Weston (United Kingdom), the Council encouraged all States to take measures necessary to prevent such persons from travelling abroad and receiving any kind of support. It shared the deep concern of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali at the situation in the country and called on all concerned in Burundi to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from all acts of violence.
The Council reiterated that all those who committed or authorized the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law were individually responsible and should be held accountable. It stressed the importance of the International Commission of Inquiry. The Council also reiterated its profound concern about radio stations which incited hatred and acts of genocide and encouraged Member States and others to cooperate in their identification and dismantling.
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Expressing grave concern at recent attacks on international humanitarian personnel, the Council said such actions had led to the suspension of essential assistance to refugees and displaced persons and the temporary withdrawal of personnel. It underlined that the Government of Burundi was responsible for the security of international personnel, refugees and displaced persons there and called on it to provide security for food convoys and the humanitarian workers.
The Council welcomed the Secretary-General's decision to ask the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogata to discuss with Burundi officials, steps which might be taken to defuse the situation and said it would consider his proposal for a deployment of guards in light of Mrs. Ogata's mission and reports reaching him from the field. It asked him to consider what role UN personnel in the region and other support personnel might play in Burundi.
Stressing the importance of continued attention by the international community as a whole to the situation, the Council encouraged Member States to intensify contacts and visits. It reaffirmed its support for the Convention of Government of 10 September 1994 -- the institutional framework for national reconciliation -- and again called on all parties, military forces and elements of civil society to fully respect and implement it.
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata is expected in Bujumbura, Burundi on Sunday for urgent talks with high-level Government officials on how to defuse the volatile situation in the country. Mrs. Ogata's visit is in response to a request by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
Meanwhile, in northern Burundi, the security problem has improved over the last week last week when there were attacks on humanitarian convoys and personnel. According to a UNHCR spokesman, the agency is now able to send convoys out to the refugee camps and also to nine locations where there are internally displaced persons. However, it is still concerned about the security situation in the country.
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The Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights situation in Burundi has recommended that the administration of justice in the country be urgently reformed to combat impunity, possibly through the assistance of magistrates from other African countries. He has also recommended that measures be adopted to combat insecurity in the country, particularly by creating a national rapid alert mechanism. Measures should also be taken to reinforce Burundi's civil society by supporting the efforts of local non-governmental organizations.
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The recommendations are contained in an initial report in which the Special Rapporteur noted that the general climate of insecurity, fear and hatred affected all segments of the population, both Hutus and Tutsis. Ethnic tension was reflected in the Government, in which the number of cases of blockage between the two ethnic groups had increased, resulting in a lack of effectiveness at all levels of State activity, including the administration of justice, the functioning of the army and the police, the economic management of the country and all levels of education.
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It could be a couple of months before the international civilian police force for Bosnia Herzegovina is fully deployed. A United Nations spokesman said today that of 50 countries approached to contribute personnel, only 15 have responded positively and the force now has half of the 1,712 officers needed.
Police serving with the force would normally be rotated out after one year of service, but this time the officers would probably be asked to stay longer, the spokesman said. A new group of civilian police will be sent to Bosnia next month, after five days of training in Zagreb. Currently, there were 110 police officers serving in 15 locations throughout the country, with about 30 of them in Sarajevo.
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