Three years after Evariste Ndayishimiye came to power, Burundi emerged from its voluntary isolation and this time hoped that the Human Rights Council would not renew the mandate of the UN special rapporteur for another year. for human rights, which he has contested since the 2015 crisis. Quite the opposite happened this Thursday in Geneva, to the great dismay of Gitega.
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This is a real disappointment for the Burundian government which was hoping for a completely different result after its brilliant election to the Human Rights Council for the period 2024-2026, three days ago at the UN General Assembly in New York. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs then rejoiced, on the X network, “ of an election which testifies to the increasingly growing confidence of UN member states “.
The UN Human Rights Council has come out in favor of extending monitoring of the situation in Burundi for another year, despite opposition from African countries and China. The renewal for one year of the mandate of the special rapporteur on human rights Thursday in Geneva had the effect of a cold shower for Gitega.
Twenty countries out of the 47 members of the Human Rights Council voted for the resolution which was presented by the European Union, 17 abstained and only 10 including China voted “no” as requested by the government delegation Burundian.
Burundi deplores “ a politicization » of this UN mechanism
The rapporteur “ highlighted in particular the shrinking space available to civil society and the persistence of impunity in the face of continuing violations », Underlined the representative of Spain, on behalf of the EU, when presenting the resolution. She deplored that Burundi refuses to cooperate with the UN expert and refuses to reopen the United Nations Human Rights Office in the country, which the authorities closed in early 2019.
“ We thank the seven African countries including South Africa and Morocco who abstained. Their choice allowed the renewal of the mandate of the special rapporteur for Burundi and even the increase in the budget allocated to him », welcomed the president of ACAT-Burundi, Armel Niyongere, who denounced “ the persistence of serious human rights violations in the country “.
The Burundian delegation did not let up on Thursday. The Minister of Justice, Domine Banyankimbona disputed what she called “ a politicization » of this UN mechanism.