‘Tradition of impunity’ threatens Burundi’s future,
renders free elections impossible – UN expert warns
GENEVA (19 June 2015) – The calendar for democratic
elections in Burundi can only be determined by successfully establishing
conditions for people to freely express their choice, said United Nations
expert on transitional justice Pablo de Greiff. In an open statement* published
today, he called for the fullest attention of the international community to
the current situation in Burundi.
Mr. de Greiff, who visited Burundi last December,
highlighted in his statement “the authorities’ blatant failures to respect
freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, the pre-conditions for any
credible democratic society.”
The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth,
justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, warned that “the
governing political party and its youth militia use violence, threats, gross
limitations of press freedoms and hate speech to deliberately intimidate people
and to obtain a particular electoral outcome.”
“Voters must be free to support or to oppose any
political party, including the ruling party, without undue influence or
coercion of any kind which may distort or inhibit the free expression of the
elector’s will,” he said, recalling the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, acceded to by Burundi in 1990. “Elections confer legitimacy
only under the assumption that voters can express their will freely.”
The expert stressed that democratic legitimacy does not
flow from elections alone in the absence of other guarantees. He warned that
those guarantees enshrined in the 2005 Constitution have been deliberately
circumvented. “It is deeply deplorable that the Burundian authorities have
departed sharply from the transition to a rule of law based society, after all
the major achievements that had been made since 2000,” he said.
“The conditions that enable legitimate elections call for
on-going opportunities to present ideas and proposals in an even playing field.
This requires not only the absence of coercion and repression, but also for
access to media and the possibility to organize meetings,” the expert added.
“In Burundi, the neglected violent past has become a
major obstacle for the country’s future,” Mr. de Greiff said, drawing attention
to “the lack of transparency in political parties, the instrumentalization of,
or outright disregard for, the judiciary, the absence of respect for the rights
of citizens, and the increased manipulation of ethnicity.”
The Special Rapporteur call for a break with Burundi’s
‘tradition of impunity’, which manifests itself yet again in the problems
around the elections. “The ignored past is ensnaring the present and
threatening the country’s future. Urgent measures are called for in order to
guarantee the non-recurrence of gross violations,” he concluded.
Looking forward, Mr. de Greiff called for the creation of
real opportunities to uncover the truth of past massive violations and abuses,
among other immediate measures.
The independent expert urged all sides to refrain from
violence and threats, and to ensure that any protest remain peaceful. He also
called on all parties to work constructively together to ensure that Burundi
will return to the encouraging path it had taken since the 2000 Arusha Peace
and Reconciliation Agreement.
(*) Read the Special Rapporteur’s Open Statement:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16098&LangID=E
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/b_EaoAKh1fQ
ENDS
Pablo de Greiff (Colombia) was appointed by the UN Human
Rights Council as the first Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth,
justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence in 2012.
He has extensive
professional and academic expertise on transitional justice issues, including
on the four measures under this mandate (justice, truth, reparations, and
guarantees on non-recurrence).
Mr. de Greiff has worked with different
transitional justice bodies across the world and has provided advice to a
number of Governments and multilateral institutions on international policy,
transitional justice, and on the linkages between justice, security and
development.
He was the Director of Research at the International Center for
Transitional Justice from 2001 to 2014. As of June 2015, Mr. de Greiff is
Director of the Project on Transitional Justice of the Center for Human Rights
and Global Justice at the NYU School of Law. Learn more, visit:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/TruthJusticeReparation/Pages/Index.aspx
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world.
Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.
They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page – Burundi: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/BIIndex.aspx
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