S/PV.6918 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Burundi to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2013/87, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Argentina, France, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2013/36, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Office in Burundi. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2090 (2013). I now give the floor to the representative of Burundi.

At the outset, I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council — a responsibility that does honour to you and your country. The Council will undoubtedly benefit from your experience and leadership. Through you, Sir, I would also like once again to congratulate the new members of the Council, who are bringing in new blood and new ways of looking at the issues before the Council. I would like to point out that we, the partners, do not always understand things in the same way or at the same speed. In spite of the very real difficulties that Burundi faced in 2011, the Security Council considered that our country was on a good trajectory in overcoming the problems. The report of the Secretary- General (S/2013/36) notes outstanding improvement in all areas and sectors. Resolution 2090 (2013) refers to extrajudicial executions, politically motivated assassinations, a lack of public freedoms and so on. It even mentions the International Criminal Court. My delegation is not enthusiastic about the use of terminology that could cause misunderstanding with regard to the reality on the ground. We regret that lack of flexibility on the part of a number of delegations when it comes to such language. It seems to us unfair, given the efforts that our country has made in areas such as human rights and combating impunity. In his briefing to the Security Council on 24 January, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Burundi, Mr. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, said that “Burundi has continued to make further progress in consolidating peace and stability” and that “Burundi is a far better place to be in and to live in” (S/PV.6909, p. 2). Burundi has made very significant process in all areas. With regard to the democratic process, Burundi set up the National Independent Electoral Commission on the basis of consensus. We have also adopted a law on the opposition, which will allow for an ongoing political dialogue among political partners. With regard to strengthening good governance and national institutions, Burundi has adopted a zero- tolerance policy when it comes to combating corruption, set up an anti-corruption brigade and a State inspector general and established a revenue office. We have also set up other institutions, in particular a national council for communications, a national security council, a forum for ongoing dialogue among political parties, an ombudsman’s office and so on. With regard to peace and security, after the stunning success of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme for former combatants, Burundi undertook a security sector reform programme and established a national permanent commission to combat the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. In the area of justice and human rights, Burundi has established an independent commission on human rights, strengthened the independence of the judicial branch and put in place a mechanism for transitional justice. The latter concluded the preparation of legislation on the truth and reconciliation commission, which is now before the Parliament. We have accomplished many things — too many to enumerate here — that merit praise and commendation from the international community. Burundi has been on the agenda of the Security Council since 2004. In a few years, we have made great strides in putting our country back on track towards peace, security and stability. The Council is in a very good position to understand what that means. On the request of the Government pertaining to the end of the commitment of the United Nations Office in Burundi (BNUB) and its gradual conversion into a country team over 12 months, an official request was addressed to the Secretary-General and reiterated by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Relations and International Cooperation before the Council on 24 January. Resolution 2090 (2013) says nothing about that. The only mention of BNUB’s conversion into a country team relates not to the desire of the Government, but rather to the benchmarks that have been proposed — which some of our partners have judged as unmet for some time. That is why this resolution raises question marks and concerns. The resolution departs completely from the spirit and letter of the report of the Secretary-General to the Council (S/2013/36), which calls for more understanding and assistance for the leadership of Burundi. The people of Burundi, mindful of their past and confident of their vision for a better future under President Pierre Nkurunziza and his Government, are determined to make progress in fighting for good governance, human rights, democracy and development. The Government of Burundi takes note of today’s resolution and reiterates to the Security Council and the international community its full cooperation in addressing pending challenges.

There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.