On 26 April 2015, the first popular demonstration against the Burundi president’s announcement to run for third term was violently repressed. This marked the beginning of a cycle of violence that gradually led to a campaign to systematically eliminate all opposition, alleged or real. In two years, more than 1,200 people may have been killed. There may have been between 400 and 900 victims of forced disappearance, several hundred or even thousands of people tortured, and over 10,000 people arbitrarily detained. More than 400,000 people have fled to neighboring countries. These violations, some of which could amount to international crimes, remain unpunished.
Following a mission of inquiry in Burundi, FIDH and the ITEKA League published, in November 2016, a report that warned about the “genocidal dynamics” of the current repression [1]. Although it is almost impossible for independent observers – especially NGOs and journalists – to access Burundi’s territory, the report presents an alarming picture of developments that have occurred over the last few months.
All components of the State and of civil society are subjected to the same repression, orchestrated by a regime obsessed with retaining power at all cost. The political landscape is shrinking down to one party, the CNDD-FDD, whose discourse is increasingly bellicose and paranoid. The independent media are censored or blocked. The political opponents are systematically tracked down, persecuted, often killed. Human rights defenders and independent journalists are silenced. The purge and elimination of army troops contributes to political and ethnic tension within this body that is already deeply divided.
The Imbonerakure militia, whose role in the repression has grown considerably, is still spearheading the regime. The videos released in April and May 2017 showing dozens of members singing songs encouraging the rape of the women of the opposition were taken up by the media, for once. But the report shows that this is not an isolated case but an example, among others, of the militia’s ideological radicalisation. This ideological conditionning is coupled with increased training, militarisation and structuring of the Imbonerakure militia. A law adopted by the National Assembly in December 2016 could give the Imbonerakure the status of a reserve force, despite the fact that these troops are responsible for serious human rights violations (especially murders, rapes, forced disappearances, torture) that could amount to international crimes.
In this context, our organisations call upon the international community to recognise the gravity of the situation in Burundi. Our organisations are urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open as soon as possible an investigation into the crimes within its jurisdiction committed in Burundi since 2015 in order to identify and prosecute the main perpetrators, to prevent other crimes and to obtain justice and reparation for the victims. Our organisations also urge the African Union and the United Nations to join forces to:
• establish a protection mechanism for civilian populations, in compliance with the recommendations of this report;
• resume the political dialogue process, at a deadlock for the past two years;
• impose an arms embargo;
• adopt new individual sanctions targetting Burundi officials and all individuals contributing to the violence and/or preventing the resumption of the political dialogue process.
Background
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