24th UN HRC Special Session - Burundi
Delivered by Renate Bloem
Thank you Mr President,
CIVICUS and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) welcome the holding of this Special Session and the Council’s effort to address the escalation of violence and gross violations of human rights in Burundi.
We remain deeply concerned that state security forces continue to carry out widespread atrocities on a daily basis in a climate of impunity, including targeting civilians, representatives of civil society and members of the political opposition. The OHCHR has documented more than 240 deaths, while Burundian HRDs fear many more undocumented cases. Over 220,000 have fled the country to avoid persecution since April.
Reports indicate that members of the ruling CNDD-FDD party are undertaking a systematic campaign to eliminate perceived opponents. Dissenting voices are being violently silenced by militias and security forces and the judiciary has been further compromised to enforce political repression. The closure of all the major independent media agencies since May 2015 continues to severely undermine efforts to monitor and report on the conflict.
Moreover, to further restrict independent voices, the authorities have frozen the accounts and revoked the licenses of 13 CSOs on spurious grounds, while the accounts of two other CSOs and renowned radio station, Radio Publique Africaine, have also recently been frozen. The vast majority of human rights defenders have been forced to flee the country, and those still in Burundi risk their lives on a daily basis to monitor and document human rights violations.
Mr President, while we welcome the various regional mechanisms deployed to support a political solution, it is imperative that the Council take decisive and concerted action through the appointment of an expert investigative mission to document and hold accountable the perpetrators of human rights violations committed by all parties since the outbreak of the crisis.
As civil society organizations headquartered in Africa and with broad membership in Burundi, CIVICUS and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project strongly implore the African States represented in this Council to express their full commitment to support this imperative resolution and pave the way for a sustainable political dialogue and accountability for violations committed during the crisis.
