“We call on the Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the UN Human Rights Council to ignore the request for a resolution of the Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, “said Ndaruzaniye Francois-Xavier, representative of the Izere Ntiwihebure League at a press conference which was jointly organized with the Association for Assistance and Legal Training of the Citizens (AFJC-Berintahe) on 22 August.
From left to right Venus Muyabaga, representative of AFJC-Berintahe and François-Xavier Ndaruzaniye of Izere Ntiwihebure League
Ndaruzaniye believes that extending the mandate of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi will impede remarkable efforts undertaken by Burundi government to restore peace and security and promote human rights situation.
On 8 August Burundian civil society organizations, in collaboration with African and European organizations, had issued a statement calling for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi.
The representative of Izere Ntiwihebure League accuses some of these organizations of having been struck off the list of civil society organizations operating in Burundi. So, they cannot make a request on behalf of Burundian people.
“Reports produced by the so-called commission of inquiry for which these organizations request mandate renewal are biased,” says Ndaruzaniye.
Gabriel Rufyiri, chairman of OLUCOME, one of local NGOs that asked for the extension of the mandate of UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi believes that every civil society organization has the right to express its opinion.
According to him, the two associations should write to the UN Human Rights Council asking it to attend the upcoming session so they can give their ideas. Rufyiri says that only the Human Rights Council has prerogative to adopt resolutions on Burundi. “No one can influence it.”
UN Commission of Inquiry of Burundi was created on September 2016 to investigate crimes committed in Burundi since April 2015. It was granted one year mandate which was renewed in September 2017. Burundian never allowed that commission to come to Burundi.
The Human Rights Council will hold the 39th session in Geneva, Switzerland, from 10 to 28 September 2018. During this session, the council will examine the human rights situation in Burundi.
IWACU Open Data
