‘Burundi forces violating rights’

THE UN Human Rights Commission has accused Burundi’s security forces of being behind a series of rights violations, especially forced disappearances, targeted assassinations and rape, according to its report, which is to be discussed in Geneva.

A copy of the report indicates that if nothing is done in the near future, the situation will quickly deteriorate.

But the government of Burundi immediately rejected the contents of the report.

Spokesman Willy Nyamitwe called the UN experts lazy and accused them of using pub gossip to compile their reports on Burundi. Nyamitwe blasted the UN experts, saying they should run for opposition parties and some Western powers, who, he said, were opposed to President Pierre Nkurunziza and his government.

He said the UN report shared the same words as opposition propaganda, but failed to respond to specific allegations of human rights violations.

The final report of the UN Independent Investigation in Burundi was published on Tuesday in Geneva, and describes the “abundant evidence of gross human rights violations”.

The UN report also indicated that Burundi continued to deny the content of UN reports, suggesting there was repression behind closed doors.

The situation “possibly amounts to crimes against humanity by the government of Burundi and people associated with it”, the report reads.

In April, a year after Nkurunziza announced he was seeking reelection, the International Criminal Court said it was conducting preliminary probes over the killings.

At least 1200 people have been killed according to local rights groups, while more than 300 000 people have been forced to flee the country since Nkurunziza’s thirdterm mandate created chaos in the country.

The UN says nearly 470 have been killed since the crisis started in April last year.

The crisis has destroyed Burundi’s economy with economic growth under zero last year. – Foreign Service