S/PV.6439 Security Council

On behalf of the Council, I welcome the Minister for External Relations and International Cooperation of Burundi, His Excellency Mr. Augustin Nsanze. On behalf of the Security Council, I extend an invitation under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Charles Petrie, Executive Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi. It is so decided. On behalf of the Security Council, I also extend an invitation under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure to His Excellency Mr. Paul Seger, Chair of the Burundi configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission and Permanent Representative of Switzerland. It is so decided. Participants have before them document S/2010/608, which contains the seventh report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi. I now give the floor to Mr. Charles Petrie. Mr. Petrie: The report before the Security Council (S/2010/608) provides an account of the main advances over the past year and the challenges that lie ahead for the people and the Government of Burundi. It also outlines the proposals of the Secretary–General on the mandate and structure of the post-United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB) presence. Political activity during the period under review was essentially dominated by the preparation and holding of general elections and related developments. Based on a consensual calendar set forth by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), the communal, presidential, legislative and collinaire elections were held from 24 May to 7 September. The United Nations has provided support throughout the electoral process, including support to the delivery of free identity cards and other forms of technical assistance to CENI. Meanwhile, the twin mechanisms established in 2009 to support the elections — the Consultative Strategic Committee and the Technical Coordination Committee — continued their activities with a particular focus on encouraging dialogue among all political actors. A basket fund managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was established to cover most of the electoral budget and the Peacebuilding Commission helped to mobilize international support. Initially scheduled for 21 May, the communal elections were held on 24 May, due partly to technical challenges. With 64 per cent of the votes, the Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces nationales pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD- FDD)had a landslide victory in the communal elections, followed by the Forces nationales de libération (FNL), which obtained 14 per cent; the Union pour le progrès national (UPRONA), 6 per cent; the Sahwanya-Front pour la démocratie au Burundi (Sahwanya-FRODEBU), 5 per cent; the Mouvement pour la solidarité et la démocratie (MSD), 4 per cent; and the Union pour la paix et le développement (UPD), 2 per cent. National and international observers stated that the elections were conducted in conformity with international norms and that the irregularities observed were not significant enough to call into question either the results or the credibility of the polls. A crucial issue was that 12 opposition political parties, calling themselves the Alliance démocratique pour le changement-Ikibiri (ADC-Ikibiri), which included FNL, Sahwanya-FRODEBU, CNDD, MSD and UPD, rejected the results. They called for a re-run of the elections, boycotted the rest of the electoral process, and instructed their members not to take up their seats in communal councils. During his official visit to Burundi on 9 June, the Secretary-General encouraged all parties to pursue dialogue and called upon the ADC-Ikibiri to channel its claims through existing national legal mechanisms. In addition, the Special Representative of the African Union and I repeatedly engaged ADC-Ikibiri and its constituent members to encourage their return to the electoral process. With the exception of UPRONA, which participated in the parliamentary elections, the main opposition parties boycotted the subsequent polls. President Nkurunziza was re-elected, and the CNDD- FDD obtained a large majority in both houses of Parliament. (spoke in French) A particular concern addressed in the report concerns the threats and intimidation of members of the political opposition. A number of opposition leaders, included the most well known, have left the country out of fear of persecution. Furthermore, following persistent rumours concerning his imminent arrest, FNL President Agathon Rwasa went into hiding on 23 June. On 23 September, he addressed a letter to the Secretary-General requesting his intervention in re- establishing the legitimate leaders of the FNL. In his report, the Secretary-General notes his concern with respect to the prevalent climate of impunity, in particular regarding acts of torture identified during the reporting period. Human rights violations continue. They are marked, inter alia, by significant restrictions on the freedoms of expression and association of political parties and civil society organizations. We have also noted reported cases of extrajudicial killings and/or politically motivated assassinations. Thus, State-building remains deficient in view of the numerous challenges still to be met. However, dialogue between the Government and the United Nations concerning cases of human rights violations is going extremely well. Recent developments indicate a slight fall in the number of arrests and other politically motivated human rights violations. Furthermore, national consultations on the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms have come to a close, and the report thereon was recently published. The Burundi National Security Council held its third meeting on 19 November to assess the security situation in the country. Among other things, the Council reaffirmed the need to severely sanction the members of the security forces found guilty of violating the people’s human rights. During the reporting period, the security situation was relatively stable but remains worrisome. Furthermore, rumours regarding the development of an armed movement have fuelled fears of a return to the violent past. (spoke in English) Despite the aforementioned concerns, it is important to underscore that remarkable progress has been made in Burundi. The elections have highlighted the affirmation of an independent and vocal civil society that continues to play an important role in the country. Furthermore, the absence of large-scale violence during and after the electoral period is indicative of the population’s political growth and of the fact that violence is being progressively renounced as a means of political expression. It has also highlighted the extent to which the nature of the violence has transformed and is no longer drawn along ethnic lines. The United Nations supported several programmes and initiatives to strengthen the capacity of women and encourage their active participation in the electoral process. As a result, the 30 per cent constitutional quota for women in the National Assembly was attained and even exceeded by 2 per cent. Moreover, 46 per cent of senators are women. The number of women in Parliament and Government has significantly increased since 2005. With regard to good governance and economic development, the Government has committed to fighting corruption, which is a major challenge to the country’s economic development. In this regard, some steps have already been taken, such as the dismissal of corrupt senior officials of some public companies. The Government also launched the drafting process for the second poverty reduction strategy paper in the second semester of 2010. A most welcome development is the steady progress recorded in the reintegration of ex-combatants. In May, through the World Bank-supported Emergency Demobilization and Transitional Reintegration Project, the Government completed the payment of the final instalment of reintegration assistance to 6,504 demobilized FNL and FNL dissident combatants in their respective communities. Under the community recovery programme funded by the United Nations Development Programme, approximately 3,781 former adults associated with FNL combatants are employed in labour-intensive infrastructural projects. In addition, following the release of the last group of children associated with armed groups, Burundi was removed from the list of countries monitored under resolution 1612 (2005) in April. Meanwhile, the community reintegration of 626 children formerly associated with armed groups ended successfully on 31 July. Another positive development is that Burundi pursued its integration into the East African Community (EAC). A full-fledged customs union, which aims at eliminating internal tariffs among EAC member States, was established on 1 January. Moreover, on 29 April, Burundi ratified the EAC common market protocol that provides for the free movement of labour, goods, services, capital and the right of establishment. Burundi assumed the presidency of the EAC on 22 November and will lead discussions on further integration over the next year. (spoke in French) At the request of the Government to redefine the role of the United Nations in Burundi following the 2010 elections, the Secretariat has launched discussions with the Burundian authorities. We have also consulted with civil society, the diplomatic corps, regional and subregional organizations, the Bretton Woods institutions and the United Nations family in Burundi. Following these consultations, it was recommended that BINUB be replaced by a lighter structure in order to support democracy-building efforts and to lay the foundations of sustainable development. The Secretary-General therefore recommends in his report before the Council today the establishment of a United Nations office for a period of one year under a renewable mandate. In 1994, I was deployed to the Great Lakes region for the first time, serving as a United Nations official in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. I then spent three years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the principal representative of the Secretariat to the rebel groups active in that country. I witnessed suffering and violence beyond compare, and I am therefore able to a certain extent to gauge the progress that Burundi, its people and leaders have made. This transformation is fragile and reversible, however, and it is therefore crucial at this critical stage that the democratically elected authorities be supported and assisted in the hope that they will continue to resolve their differences through dialogue and cooperation. It is this model that will enable Burundi to meet the political challenges it faces and to embrace sustainable development. As Council members know, this is my last briefing in my capacity as Executive Representative of the Secretary-General for Burundi. It has been an honour to serve the Secretary-General and to enjoy the confidence of the Security Council as I have carried out my duties in Burundi. I should also like to take this opportunity to convey my gratitude to the Government of Burundi and all actors in that country for our excellent working relationship and the trust that they have placed in me. I cannot forget to thank our international partners, and in particular the Special Representative of the African Union, Ambassador Bah — a great man of surpassing wisdom. They have all assisted in the implementation of BINUB’s mandate.

I thank Mr. Petrie for his briefing. On behalf of the Council, I should also like to express our gratitude to Mr. Petrie, who, as he just mentioned, has made his last briefing to the Council in his capacity as Executive Representative of the Secretary-General for Burundi and head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi. We have appreciated his effective leadership of that important Office and his service to the United Nations over the years. We wish him every success in his future endeavours. I now give the floor to Mr. Paul Seger.

On behalf of the Burundi configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, I thank you, Madame, for this opportunity to address the Security Council today. I am speaking in my capacity as Chair of the Burundi configuration. I would also like to convey my thanks to the Secretary-General for his report (S/2010/608), which covers all the pertinent aspects of peacebuilding in a comprehensive and balanced way. To finish my thanks, I join with your thanks, Madam President, to Charles Petrie, his team and his predecessors for the excellent work they have done. I have personally greatly benefited from Charles’ support, and I will miss him. I can only hope that his successor will be as competent and excellent. I believe that the Burundi configuration and the United Nations need a strong personality in Burundi. As the Council knows, in resolution 1902 (2009) the Security Council welcomed the configuration’s commitment to continue its work in Burundi and requested it, with support from the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi, to lay the foundations for sustainable peace and security, reintegration and development in Burundi and to mobilize resources to that end. In my report, I will briefly touch on the activities of the Burundi configuration, assess the current situation and try to set out a vision of the configuration’s future tasks. In the interest of time, I will summarize my written statement, which, I believe, will be distributed, and I would simply ask Council members to refer for the details to the statement. With regard to the activities, Charles Petrie has already mentioned several. I would first like to express my gratitude for the excellent cooperation with the Burundi Government, which has greatly facilitated our work. I count on continuing that excellent cooperation in the future. As Charles said, during the past year in the configuration we basically focused on the facilitation of the elections in Burundi, the entire election cycle. We concentrated chiefly on financial aspects. The donors within the Burundi configuration contributed greatly to the success of the electoral process. Just to give a few figures — of the $46.5 million that the elections cost, the greatest part was paid by the contributors. Burundi assisted with $7.9 million. Also, the Peacebuilding Fund contributed $3 million to the elections. Furthermore, we continued to help with political support for the country. My predecessor Peter Maurer and I visited the country. We also held meetings with the Burundi Government and the configuration here in New York. Thirdly, I also visited the World Bank to try to involve the Bank in the economic and social development process. I believe that there are important elements in merging the peacebuilding and socio- economic efforts, because I am of the view that there is no peace without development, nor is there development without peace. Hence, fusing the political efforts of the United Nations with those of the World Bank seems important to me. Very briefly, with regard to the assessment of the current situation, first of all, we fully share the excellent analysis contained in the Secretary-General’s report. I believe that now, after the electoral cycle process — which concluded to the satisfaction of the observers — a new phase, a new chapter, has opened in Burundi. There are several positive aspects. There is the establishment of a democratically elected, stable, recognized Government and, in particular, the prospects for Burundi’s integration into the East African Community, and others. I believe that for that progress to continue, it will be necessary to promote an institutional and political environment conducive to economic and social development and, above all, to create a stable environment attractive to foreign investment. In other words, it seems to me that we must continue to work on two elements: the economic and social aspect, on the one hand, and the political and institutional aspect, on the other. On the economic and social side, I believe that above all it is necessary to be aware of the fact that the people of Burundi expect what I would call a peace dividend. Now, following the elections, they want the economic and social development to continue. I believe that we have a task — a moral and political obligation — to support them in that. I am thinking in particular of the young people, who are rightly expecting results. On the political and institutional side, in my view it is necessary to continue to improve the situation in the areas that Charles rightly mentioned. Among others, I will mention the fight against corruption — which, moreover, is a priority of the Government — but also sectors such as transitional justice. There are important and useful elements there that can be developed. It also seems important to establish and encourage a culture of political dialogue in the country. The election process and the boycott by the opposition have left wounds. I believe it is necessary now to encourage the moderate groups that are calling for reconciliation and dialogue, in order to isolate potential radical elements that could advocate violence and oppression. I primarily refer to the politically motivated acts of violence that are mentioned, as the Council will no doubt have read, in the Secretary- General’s report, and even cases of extrajudicial executions. I should also say that there a several members of the configuration that are particularly concerned about an appreciable increase in human rights violations, which is also mentioned in the Secretary-General’s report, including cases of torture. What is positive is that the country — as I realized during my visit in July — has a vibrant, active and very committed civil society, as well as a very involved media. I believe that in the configuration we also have the task of supporting that civil society, supporting freedom of expression and supporting the media. We have the will and are ready to work with the Government on those points. That brings me to the vision, perhaps by way of a preliminary comment. The goal of the configuration is to contribute to the country’s achieving a degree of stability and security sufficient to terminate the configuration’s help. In other words, my mandate is to make myself obsolete. So we are working with the Government towards that goal, but I believe that there is still work to do, and I think the Minister agrees with me. I touched on the socio-economic, political and institutional aspects that we should address together. I think that we will be able to do that now in the context of the current Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding, which will be completed in early 2011. We are working with the Government towards that. To sum up, I think that I see four areas on which the configuration could work. First is to support the country in its integration into the East African Community. I believe that is an important element for the economic and political stability of the country. Secondly, I think that it is necessary to incorporate conflict-sensitive aspects in the socio- economic aspects, that is, in the poverty reduction strategy, in order to implement the principles of there being no peace without development nor development without peace. Thirdly, the rule of law, institutional issues and human rights aspects must be addressed. We talked about the issues of corruption, the rule of law and human rights that, I believe, we should improve and further support. Fourthly and lastly is perhaps the most delicate and difficult issue; I am not sure. That is to promote that culture of dialogue among the various parties in the country. I think it important to consolidate and stabilize the country politically and to help the parties that support moderation and reconciliation. That is more or less my vision for the future and we will endeavour to broaden it with the Government. I also express my gratitude for the Security Council’s trust in the configuration to work with Burundi. As I said from the outset, I believe that a strong and active political presence of the United Nations is important. In that context, it is important to appoint a new United Nations Special Representative soon. I conclude by reiterating that I greatly appreciate this opportunity to speak before the Council and hope the tradition will be maintained in the future. I believe that the famous document S/2010/507 offers an opportunity for the Chairs of the country-specific configurations to speak more regularly to the Council and to help it with its task. I remain fully available to do so at any time in the future.

I thank Mr. Seger for his briefing. I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Augustin Nsanze.

It is my honour and pleasure to take the floor following the presentation of the seventh report (S/2010/608) of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB) to the Council. Allow me to thank the Security Council and the Secretary- General for having invited the Government of Burundi to this meeting on the presentation of the report. On the eve of the expiration of BINUB’s mandate, the President of the Republic has entrusted me to express to you, Madame President, and to the Secretary-General the Government of Burundi’s gratitude for the support provided by the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi over these past four years. The Government of the Republic of Burundi is also grateful to the Secretary-General for BINUB’s efforts to ensure the success of the donors round table of May 2007. Indeed, through the United Nations integrated support strategy for Burundi for 2007-2008, the implementation of which extended into 2009, BINUB was the Government’s primary partner in peacebuilding on the ground, which was the main priority of the institutions emerging from the 2005 elections that followed the socio-political crisis, which had lasted for more than a decade. When the Government had asked the Secretary- General for the Organization’s coordinated support for the electoral process, the primary responsibility for carrying out that task at the country level fell to BINUB. The Government highly appreciated BINUB’s excellent advocacy to ensure that the Independent National Electoral Commission enjoyed all the resources necessary to organize the various elections, including the allocation of resources to women’s organizations, civil society and the Burundian media to enable them to respectively participate in, observe and cover these elections. As a result, the electoral process in Burundi was successful with respect to participation, security and transparency. All national, regional and international observers noted this and so reported. As to the post-electoral situation covered by the Secretary-General’s report, the Government is in no way responsible for the exile of political party leaders who boycotted elections. Almost all of them chose the path of exile. Having gone into hiding outside the country, they declared that their security had been threatened. On the issue of the forum for dialogue demanded by political leaders, I recall that the parties themselves created the Permanent Forum for Dialogue among Political Parties, where all political parties can speak. Most of their elected officials participate in the political life of the communes through communal councils in which they have chosen to participate and where they are able to express their disagreements with their leaders, who decided without consulting their followers to boycott the last four elections. Therefore, it begs belief that these political party leaders claim not to have a framework for dialogue with the Government. Turning now to residual insecurity, the Government is aware of this. That is why it has continued its campaign to disarm civilians and has acquired equipment to mark and track weapons so as to control their movement. It has also revised the law establishing the national commission on land and other assets and provided the Commission with additional resources to enable it to settle land disputes more effectively and as rapidly as possible. It is unfortunate that overzealous media have claimed the existence of a new rebellion without naming its political leaders or objectives. As far as human rights are concerned, the Government wishes to recall that the issue of establishing an independent national human rights commission, which had been delayed due to the electoral process, is on the current agenda of this parliamentary session. Technical and financial partners still harbour differences with the Government in their interpretation of the Paris Principles, but we hope to achieve a compromise in compliance with the United Nations Charter and national sovereignty. It is also disturbing to read in the report that the electoral period was marked by a lack of freedom of expression and association, when the media freely covered the elections and civil society deployed its observers and monitors throughout the country without hindrance. Furthermore, the Government always punishes its officials if it has been established that they are guilty of human rights or gender-based violations. A toll-free telephone number was set up by the police and a special unit established to punish those found guilty of sexual violence. The independent expert on the human rights situation in Burundi recently visited Burundi and took note of this. In the medium term, the Government will continue to improve the professionalization of its defence and security forces with the support of its partners, first and foremost the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland. Along these same lines, the rights of children are of great concern to us. One of the pillars of the programme that UNICEF will carry out in Burundi over the coming four years concerns better protection for children. Parallel to this, the President of the Republic recently expanded free education to cover the three post-primary years in order to guarantee the fundamental right to primary education and to ensure that children resist the temptation to work before reaching the legal age. Another disputed issue is that of so-called arbitrary or irregular arrests. Without denying that some may occur, subject to the results of investigation at each occurrence, I must point out that those detained deliberately attempt to sow the seeds of confusion with respect to their actions. Instead of assuming responsibility for the crimes for which they were arrested, they automatically claim that they are members of a political party or civil society organization, as if that characteristic should exempt them from their civic duties. Everyone knows that attempts to undermine public order or to slander public institutions, inter alia, are punishable under the law. The case of Mr. Jean- Claude Kavumbagu — who denigrated our national defence and security forces with regard to such a serious situation as the terrorist threat posed by Al-Shabaab — is typical of those sorts of cases. In the area of justice, the report criticizes staff movements in the Ministry of Justice done without consulting the High Judicial Council. Unfortunately, this confuses the competence of the management bodies responsible for that staff. The High Judicial Council manages the promotion of judicial personnel, while daily management responsibility falls to the Government entity involved. We must also bear in mind that the reform of the judicial system should produce the ethnic balance foreseen in the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. Moreover, the time required for the preparation of certain cases, such as that pertaining to the assassination of Ernest Manirumva, has led certain partners to the conclusion that there is an atmosphere of impunity. My Government believes that to be a hasty conclusion, given that the General Prosecutor’s office has not finished its investigation. And given that civilian cases can take several years to prepare, is it not normal to take the necessary time in a murder case to ensure that innocent people are not found guilty? I should like to take this opportunity to inform the Security Council, the Secretary-General and the Peacebuilding Commission that the report on the national consultations on the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms was submitted to Burundi’s President by the tripartite steering committee last Tuesday, 7 December. The report’s main recommendation was that the Government of Burundi and the United Nations should finalize an accord on outstanding issues and agree on a timeline for the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms. A few weeks ago, our Parliament elected an ombudsperson. In short, therefore, there exists an institutional framework for good governance, security sector reform and the rule of law. There is now a need to strengthen its capacities to improve its performance. With regard to the economic situation in Burundi, the report is pessimistic about the possibility of eliminating hunger and extreme poverty. I would like to say to the Council that Burundi will meet that challenge. I should also like to point out that, at the time that Burundi faced post-conflict instability, thanks to the peacebuilding process and the implementation of our first-stage strategic growth framework and poverty reduction strategy, our country was able to achieve tangible results, including reaching the completion point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative, increasing our gross domestic product and stabilizing the inflation rate. My Government has just begun to prepare its new strategic framework for growth and poverty reduction, whose implementation will enable our country to develop its agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, energy and information and communications technologies sectors. The Government has already adopted a national agricultural policy and has identified promising sectors, including tourism. An energy policy is currently being developed. With regard to energy, infrastructure and information and communications technologies, Burundi will endeavour to benefit from its integration into the East African Community, the Economic Community of the Great Lake Countries and other regional and continental organizations. I would like to take this opportunity to inform the Council that Burundi has just assumed the 2011 chairmanship of the East African Community. We count on the support of the United Nations to succeed in that regard. There is also a need to begin to attempt to permanently reintegrate populations affected by conflict, which is another enormous challenge. A strategy already exists, but implementing the plan of action will require more than $250 million in financial resources. The Government of Burundi would like in advance to thank the Assistant Secretary-General responsible for the Peacebuilding Support Office for her promise to mobilize funds for an initial programme that will begin during the first quarter of 2011. The Government of Burundi very much appreciates the consultations that took place with the United Nations with regard to the end of BINUB’s mandate and the establishment of the new United Nations Office in Burundi to continue our cooperation. The Government is quite pleased with the consensus reached with the Secretary-General’s team with regard to the mandate, format and name of this new partnership structure between the Secretariat and Burundi. As conceived, the United Nations Office in Burundi will be a new body tailored to current realities that will coordinate the work of United Nations agencies in Burundi in connection with the implementation of development support programmes during the period 2010-2014. However, the report does not define the difference between previous international public opinion on the situation in Burundi as being precarious — namely, that the outcome of the elections was uncertain — and public opinion today. What does the report mean when it refers, in paragraph 60, to establishing accountable and responsive institutions? Will there be a need for the United Nations to issue further reports with regard to the human rights situation in Burundi, given that our country will soon have its own national independent human rights commission? With regard to strengthening civil society, there is a need to remind civil society that its role is, first and foremost, to strengthen the ability of the population at the local level, rather than to serve as an echo chamber for certain opposition political parties. In addition, elsewhere in the world, belonging to civil society does not mean systematically being hostile to institutions or behaving unpatriotically. Civil society must serve as a stabilizing factor, rather than being a set of small groups covertly financed by ill-intentioned backers. With regard to the staff of BINUB, unfortunately, the suggestion made by the report is very difficult to implement. Stabilizing salaries is one of the conditions for support from the Bretton Woods institutions for the Government of Burundi. In addition, returning to public service is governed by our country’s civil service statute and employment laws. With regard to the private sector, it is not a function of the Government to issue edicts about how it should manage its human resources. Lastly, I should like to request that those who drafted the report correct the errors that have unfortunately crept into the text and have the potential to distort its interpretation. For example, in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the report the reference should be to the CNDD-FDD, rather than simply the CNDD. Paragraph 13 of the French text contains a typographical error: CNDD-FDP instead of CNDD-FDD. In paragraph 23, Burundi has been mentioned as a new member of the African Union Peace and Security Council, although in fact this was not Burundi’s first election. I would like to thank the Council again for inviting us to the presentation of the Secretary- General’s seventh report on BINUB. The Government of Burundi is ready to cooperate with the new United Nations Office in Burundi, for the good of the people of Burundi. It would be remiss of me to conclude without conveying my heartfelt gratitude and that of the Government of Burundi to Mr. Charles Petrie for the quality of his work as Executive Representative of the Secretary-General in 2010.

I thank Minister Nsanze for his statement. There are no further speakers inscribed on my list. Therefore, in accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.