The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi, Fortuné Gaetan Zongo, urged, in a statement on Wednesday, Burundi to overcome the divisions for a rehabilitation of the Arusha Agreement and to engage genuinely in national reconciliation, according to the UN news site.
This independent UN expert encouraged the government to show openness and to engage in a constructive and inclusive dialogue for a lasting reconciliation between Burundians and Burundians, given that the “social, economic and political situation remains worrying”.
According to him, “it is difficult to claim normalization, lasting peace if justice lacks independence and impartiality, if thousands of Burundians continue to live in exile, if the civic space does not allow civil society organisations, the media and political parties to work independently and that journalists are imprisoned for doing their job”.
Zongo believes that “Burundi over the years is becoming a forgotten crisis”. In this context, he considered it important that “all the guarantors of the Arusha Agreement, namely the European Union, the United Nations, the African Union, the East African Community, the International Conference on the Great Lacs support and accompany Burundi in a process of lasting national reconciliation and effective respect for all human rights”.
The Special Rapporteur also noted that Burundi is the only African country where a female journalist, Floriane Irangabiye, remains in prison for having hosted an online program and who was sentenced to ten years in prison for violating the integrity of the national territory.
Zongo paid a visit to Belgium, during which he held meetings with the Burundian diaspora and other stakeholders based in this European country. He will present his annual report to the Human Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly in September and October 2023.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1187 of 05/25/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
