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UN to vote on resolution condemning killings and torture in Burundi UN to vote on resolution condemning killings and torture in Burundi
(about 2 hours later)
The UN security council is to vote on a resolution condemning the killings, torture and human rights abuses plaguing Burundi amid fears that the language used by the government to describe its opponents is reminiscent of the rhetoric that paved the way for the Rwandan genocide.The UN security council is to vote on a resolution condemning the killings, torture and human rights abuses plaguing Burundi amid fears that the language used by the government to describe its opponents is reminiscent of the rhetoric that paved the way for the Rwandan genocide.
Thursday’s draft resolution – which also includes the threat of possible sanctions against those responsible for the violence – comes as the UN and the African Union (AU) discuss whether to bring in peacekeepers who are currently deployed in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).Thursday’s draft resolution – which also includes the threat of possible sanctions against those responsible for the violence – comes as the UN and the African Union (AU) discuss whether to bring in peacekeepers who are currently deployed in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Related: Burundi facing mass atrocities unless UN acts swiftly, experts warnRelated: Burundi facing mass atrocities unless UN acts swiftly, experts warn
It asks the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, to present options to the council within 15 days on actions that could be taken to end the violence.It asks the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, to present options to the council within 15 days on actions that could be taken to end the violence.
At least 240 people have been killed in the central African country since protests began in April against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s ultimately successful quest for a third term. Some 200,000 are estimated to have fled to neighbouring states.At least 240 people have been killed in the central African country since protests began in April against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s ultimately successful quest for a third term. Some 200,000 are estimated to have fled to neighbouring states.
Burundi ended a 12-year civil war in 2005, when Hutu rebels fought the army led by Tutsis, the same ethnic divide that led to Rwanda’s 1994 genocide in which 800,000 people were massacred.Burundi ended a 12-year civil war in 2005, when Hutu rebels fought the army led by Tutsis, the same ethnic divide that led to Rwanda’s 1994 genocide in which 800,000 people were massacred.
Statements last week by government officials echoing language used in the Rwandan genocide have raised alarms at the UN. On Tuesday, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, asked the security council to consider all possible options for preventing the violence, including asset freezes and travel bans.Statements last week by government officials echoing language used in the Rwandan genocide have raised alarms at the UN. On Tuesday, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, asked the security council to consider all possible options for preventing the violence, including asset freezes and travel bans.
The commissioner said that describing political opponents as “enemies of the nation” and issuing orders for local authorities to identify and deal with “elements which are not in order” recalled the incendiary rhetoric heard two decades ago.The commissioner said that describing political opponents as “enemies of the nation” and issuing orders for local authorities to identify and deal with “elements which are not in order” recalled the incendiary rhetoric heard two decades ago.
“Phrases such as these recall the language that this region has heard before, and should not be hearing again,” he said. “Phrases such as these recall the language that this region has heard before, and should not be hearing again,” he said. “They could signal the imminence of much worse, and more widespread, violence.”
“They could signal the imminence of much worse, and more widespread, violence.”
Related: A life of escaping conflict: 'I don't feel like a Burundian – I am a refugee' | Nicole LeeRelated: A life of escaping conflict: 'I don't feel like a Burundian – I am a refugee' | Nicole Lee
Scott Campbell, the head of Central and West Africa at the UN human rights office, said earlier this week that Burundi was “slipping and sliding … down a very ugly slope” and warned that the UN had to learn from what had happened in Rwanda. The mood in the capital, Bujumbura, is tense and fearful. Far from reassuring residents, the armed police deployed on every street are only increasing the anxiety felt by many people.
“The security council is looking at how to react quickly should there be a need to move in forcefully with troops with preventive capacity,” he said. Last month, a taxi driver was shot dead for not stopping at a police roadblock – one of many such incidents recorded since April.
“But I think there’s a huge lesson to be learned about the risks of being passive and actually withdrawing from situations of conflict.” In Mutakura and Cibitoke, two neighbourhoods considered to support the opposition, a tiny percentage of residents remain – perhaps just 5%, according to the estimate of a solitary fruit vendor.
In neighbourhoods that are considered pro-government, meanwhile, houses are stuffed to the rafters because they are considered safer.
Residents say that neighbourhoods such as these are more secure, ironically, because of the presence of armed Imbonerakure, the much-feared, militant youth wing of Nkurunziza’s CNDD-FDD party. The Imbonerakure stand accused of gross human rights violations, including the intimidation and murder of opposition members.
One political analyst working for a European country in Bujumbura said that sending in peacekeepers could have a powerful effect on the security situation.
“If peacekeepers are deployed in opposition neighbourhoods to protect people against the police, there won’t be fighting. Dialogue will become possible,” said the analyst.
“[Nkurunziza] is waiting now to witness either weakness or strength – if there is a strong decision, he will have no choice, he will follow. But he knows China and Russia will be against it and veto it.”
The analyst said the president was a shrewd man playing a clever game. “He is testing the international community. He knows they are not united in the UN. In Europe, they are more united, but in Africa they are not, and in Burundi there is no consensus.”
Nkurunziza, he added, was a fighter and a man used to violence because of his experiences in the country’s civil war. “His objective is to end his third term and to prepare his successor. He will kill people, but he will make sure that it’s not large scale. He knows he has support from African leaders because there are others in his position.”
Britain’s UN ambassador Matthew Rycroft, the security council president, said members were meeting “to ensure that we are doing everything possible to increase the pressure on the authorities in Burundi to warn against the dangers of mass atrocities”.Britain’s UN ambassador Matthew Rycroft, the security council president, said members were meeting “to ensure that we are doing everything possible to increase the pressure on the authorities in Burundi to warn against the dangers of mass atrocities”.
The deployment of peacekeepers from DRC is one of several possible strategies for halting the violence.The deployment of peacekeepers from DRC is one of several possible strategies for halting the violence.
“One option is to get Monusco [The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] troops from the DRC across the border into Burundi,” one security council diplomat told AFP. “One option is to get Monusco [The UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] troops from the DRC across the border into Burundi,” one security council diplomat told AFP.
The 20,000-strong Monusco force in the DRC is backed up by a rapid reaction brigade made up of elite troops from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania that could also be deployed, he said.The 20,000-strong Monusco force in the DRC is backed up by a rapid reaction brigade made up of elite troops from South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania that could also be deployed, he said.
On Sunday, Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, also implored Burundi not to repeat the ethnic violence that his country endured 21 years ago.On Sunday, Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, also implored Burundi not to repeat the ethnic violence that his country endured 21 years ago.