A major coalition of NGOs signs a joint letter to the UN Human Rights Council requesting that the mandate of the Burundi Commission of Inquiry set up in 2017 be continued.
Next September, the Human Rights Council will meet in Geneva to decide on the future of this Commission, “The only independent mechanism documenting human rights violations and violations in Burundi”, according to these NGOs, which therefore fears the end of this Commission.
“It seems that there are some states that are not so keen on renewing the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry,” explains Carina Tersakian of the Initiative for Human Rights in Burundi, one of the signed NGOs. They seek to renew diplomatic relations with the Burundian Government, and may therefore fear that the renewal of this Commission could damage these diplomatic relations, as the Burundian Government is completely opposed to this Commission of Inquiry and has also refused to cooperate with the Commission’s inquiry since its creation. ”
“Go back” For Carina Tersakian, the progress made in recent months should not be the tree that hides the forest.
“There has been a positive development since the 2020 election,” she says. But there has also been a negative development, we have seen: an increase in arbitrary arrests, an increase even in cases of torture and forced disappearances, and this situation is very worrying, because it seems to be a step backwards. In our view, there must be an effective mechanism left, whether it is a Commission of Inquiry or an equivalent mechanism. “
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