Burundi: Criticized, the UN special rapporteur’s term is extended

It was this Thursday’s session which voted for the one-year extension of the mandate of Burkina Faso national, Fortuné Gaétan Zongo. The Special Rapporteur on Burundi is criticized internally by the government and local civil society, yet applauded by international organizations. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to a source in Geneva, the vote was not complicated or took a lot of time. “Final result: out of 47 countries, 20 voted in favor of renewing the mandate of the special rapporteur, 10 voted against while 17 abstained,” we learn.

Supporters of the mandate include USA, Belgium, France, Germany and even Ukraine. Those who opposed it include China, Cameroon, Algeria, Cuba, Eritrea, Gabon, Somalia and even Sudan. And the group of neutrals is made up in particular by Benin, Ivory Coast, India, Gambia, Malawi, Morocco, Senegal and even South Africa.

“Africa has displayed complicit neutrality. No African country voted in favor. They are either against it and largely neutral. So, how can we be neutral in a situation of human rights violation?” analyzes a Burundian activist.

Satisfaction…

Human rights organizations in exile and those with an international scope say they are satisfied.

“It’s a fight won, a deserved victory. We are grateful for the United Nations Human Rights Council which wants continued monitoring of targeted assassinations, killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence and the impunity enjoyed by those who commit these blunders,” comments lawyer Armel Niyongere, president of Acat-Burundi, one of the organizations which had contacted the UN body in favor of renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Burundi.

Disappointment…

For organizations on the ground in Burundi, the vote by the UN Human Rights Council is disappointing.

“We are very disappointed. We, more than 40 organizations, pleaded for the closure of this office. This so-called special rapporteur does everything to tarnish the image of Burundi. He gives biased, politically motivated reports without consulting us. He brings shame and should stop manipulating the human rights sector for hidden interests,” reacted Gérard Hakizimana, president of Folucon-F, a local organization campaigning against nepotism and favoritism, on behalf of his colleagues before asking to the government “not to give access to this supporter of the conspirators of the failed coup d’état of spring 2015”.

Non-event…

Gitega considers the vote a dismissal.

“It is rather the rejection of this politically oriented resolution and the abstentions (27) which won over the 20 countries which use human rights as a tool for regulating geopolitics in the Global South. Some of them voted against the right to development,” indicated the Burundian Minister of Diplomacy Ambassador Albert Shingiro on the X account (former Twitter), in the comments page in connection with the conclusions of the vote of the UN human rights council.

And to add: “the vote proves that its initiators have not yet definitively emerged from the period from 2015 to 2020 during which Burundi foiled with bravery and heroism a Machiavellian plan to overthrow the democratically elected institutions in Burundi.”

The UN instead hopes that Burundi, recently elected as a member of this council, will be able to “cooperate with UN mechanisms for the protection of human rights”.

Fortuné Gaétan Zongo also reiterated his request for a visa so that he could be an “eyewitness on the ground to the progress praised by Burundi in terms of human rights”. He also wants to set foot on Burundian soil to “engage in discussions with local partners and national institutions regarding the reforms necessary for the proper protection of human rights”.

Gitega risks refusing to accept his request.

“My country doesn’t want to hear from him anymore. We decry him and he will never have a visa to enter. Let him continue to make a pact with those who dictate words to him to tarnish the image of my country,” recently indicated Burundi’s ambassador to Geneva, Elisa Nkerabirori, before the General Assembly of the United Nations Human Rights Council after rejecting the annual report presented by the special rapporteur on Buruni.

His office took over from the UN commission of inquiry on Burundi in October 2021. Even the latter had not had authorization to visit Burundi during the five years of its existence.

The UN agreed to allocate additional funds to Mr. Zongo’s office.