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	Burundi: amid rising violence, UN calls for end to killings, start of inclusive national dialogue by UN News, Reuters, agencies   15 December 2015   Amid the “deadly escalation” of violence in Burundi, the United Nations human rights chief today sounded the alarm at the unfolding crisis in the country and urged all actors in the current crisis to take every step possible to stop the growing violence and engage in a meaningful and inclusive dialogue.   “More than ever before, there is an urgent need for decisive action from the international community to stop this senseless violence. We cannot turn our backs on the people of Burundi at this turning point of their history,” spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Cécile Pouilly told reporters in Geneva during a regular press briefing.   The latest call comes following the attacks on 11 December against several military camps in Bujumbura, which killed dozens of people in the course of heavy fighting prompting the UN Secretary-General to condemn the attacks and add that “such acts of violence can lead to a further destabilization of the situation in crisis-torn Burundi.”   According to Ms. Pouilly, the security forces carried out intensive house searches later in the Musaga and Nyakabiga neighbourhoods, where they arrested hundreds of young men, allegedly summarily executing a number of them and taking many others to unknown locations.   “With this latest series of bloody events, the country seems to have taken a new step towards outright civil war and tensions are now at bursting point in Bujumbura,” said Ms. Pouilly.   She added that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein urged all stakeholders to start inclusive dialogue and added that there is an urgent need for decisive action from the international community to stop this senseless violence. We cannot turn our backs on the people of Burundi at this turning point of their history.   Burundi has been in the midst of a political crisis that has driven countless people fleeing to safety in neighbouring countries since President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term earlier this year. UN officials have repeatedly called for calm and the resumption of the national dialogue that was suspended in mid-July.   UN Emergency Directors briefed media about their recent visit to the country and warned that “urgent action is needed to prevent a descent into catastrophic violence in Burundi.”   “Burundi is facing a critical crossroads. The levels of displacement and food insecurity are already concerning, but we risk another full-blown humanitarian crisis without urgent progress on the political front,” John Ging, the Emergency Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told reporters.   UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Emergency Director, Afshan Khan stressed that children are bearing the brunt of the violence in Burundi, as many have been killed wounded and arbitrarily detained and many more are living with the constant sound of gunshots and grenades.   “These violations against the children of Burundi must end now. Children must be protected from all forms of violence and their rights must be respected,” warned Mr. Khan.   According to UNICEF and OCHA, intensified violence in the country is worsening the humanitarian plight of an already vulnerable population, with over 80 per cent of families below the poverty line and 58 per cent of people chronically malnourished, placing Burundi at 184 out of 187 on the recently released Human Development Index.   Before the crisis, donor funding accounted for over half of Burundi’s budget, however, several bilateral donors have suspended budget support in response to the political crisis, which is further straining the provision of essential public services like health and clean water, warned the UN Agencies.   Free healthcare for young children and mothers has just been suspended, a cut which is likely to have severe public health impacts, they added.   “Action is needed now to prevent a descent into catastrophic violence. Worsening tension in a country with a history of deep ethnic divisions must be urgently addressed to protect civilians from further harm,” warned Mr. Ging.   http://www.unicef.org/media/media_86551.html http://reliefweb.int/report/burundi/least-87-killed-day-burundi-clashes-crackdown   Nov 2015   Joint NGO Statement urging coordinated Global Response to the escalating Human Rights Crisis in Burundi.   We, the undersigned organizations, urge a coordinated global response to the escalating human rights crisis in Burundi, before it is too late. With an increase in killings – many by the security forces –, inflammatory and threatening public statements by high level officials and provocative attacks on the security forces by armed opposition, the international community is being put to the test.   According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 240 people have been killed in Burundi since April, with bodies dumped on the streets on an almost nightly basis.   Speaking to the UN Security Council, Adama Dieng, Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, expressed his alarm at the “inflammatory and threatening language” being used in Burundi, noting that some of it was “very similar to language used before and during the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda.” Dieng warned that Burundi “appears on the verge of a descent into violence that could escalate into atrocity crimes,” adding that “the international community has a responsibility to protect Burundians.”   The High Commissioner underscored this urgency, recommending “all possible influence must be brought to bear to halt what may be an imminent catastrophe.”   Preventive diplomacy should be more than a slogan at the United Nations. It should be brought to life through decisive action aimed at preventing serious human rights violations and crimes under international law in cases like Burundi where, as the High Commissioner noted, “member states and the Security Council can intervene effectively to prevent the repetition of past horrors.”   We call on the Government of Burundi and the opposition to urgently de-escalate this dangerous situation, and in particular to end inflammatory rhetoric. We call on the UN Security Council to impose targeted sanctions against those who incite serious crimes in Burundi; to request regular public reporting on the human rights and security situation; to support the deployment of additional human rights observers to Burundi, including to monitor any hate speech in the media and social media; to consider a joint trip to Burundi with a representative of the African Union Peace and Security Council and to reinforce the UN presence in Burundi.   Burundi is on the brink. The UN Security Council has been put on notice that inaction could lead to an uncontrolled escalation. It is now incumbent on the Council to rise to this challenge with coordinated and timely action to avert further abuses.   Signatories:   Amnesty International; Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)   http://reliefweb.int/report/burundi/joint-ngo-statement-urging-coordinated-global-response-escalating-human-rights-crisis   November 2015   Burundi: amid rising violence, UN calls for end to killings, start of inclusive national dialogue.   Alarmed that bodies of dead civilians are turning up on a “regular” basis in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, and in the wake of the killing of the son of a prominent human rights defender, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein today called for an end to the killings and widespread impunity that has characterized the recent violence.   “The recurring violence and killings in Burundi must stop,” declared Mr. Ban in a statement issued by his spokesperson in New York, in which he underlines the responsibility of the Burundian authorities to protect the civilian population, regardless of political affiliation, “and ensure that the widespread impunity for these heinous acts is brought to an immediate end.”   The statement said the Secretary-General is alarmed that in recent weeks, the discovery of the bodies of civilian victims, many apparently summarily executed, has become a regular occurrence in several neighbourhoods of Bujumbura, where just today, Welly Nzitonda, the son of prominent Burundian human rights defender Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa was found dead following his arrest by the police in the morning.   Mr. Ban condemned public statements that appear to be aimed at inciting violence or hatred towards different groups in Burundian society.   “Inflammatory rhetoric is reprehensible and dangerous; it will only serve to aggravate the situation in the country.   The UN chief stressed the importance to intensify all efforts to find a political settlement to the crisis in Burundi and called on all parties, including the national authorities, civil society, and opposition, whether they are in Burundi or abroad, “to put an immediate end to the propagation of hate speech, renounce violence, and engage in good faith with the ongoing facilitation of the East African Community.”   The statement also called on all Burundians and Government leaders to create conditions for a credible and inclusive dialogue to address the deep political challenges the country currently faces.   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein also strongly condemned the killing of Welly Nzitonda and expressed alarm at the worsening situation in the country. “This is second member of Mbonimpa''s family to have been killed in recent weeks,” said Mr. Zeid in a statement.   “This assassination reinforces fears that there is a systematic policy of targeting members of the opposition, journalists, human rights defenders and ordinary citizens perceived to be opposing the Government. So far there has been complete impunity for these crimes,” said Mr. Zeid.   July 2015   U.N. says Burundi did not hold fair election, human rights violated. (Reuters)   Burundi''s parliamentary elections were not fair or free and human rights were violated, the United Nations reported.   Burundi has been locked in its worst political crisis since its civil war ended a decade ago, with protests erupting in late April against President Pierre Nkurunziza''s bid to seek a third term in office. Dozens have been killed.   The opposition boycotted the parliamentary election on Monday. A presidential vote is scheduled for July 15 and the UN and others have called for it to be postponed. Opponents say the president''s attempt to stand again violates the constitution.   U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said the preliminary conclusion of the U.N. electoral observer mission in Burundi was that "the overall environment was not conducive for free, credible and inclusive elections."   "Episodes of violence and explosions preceded and in some cases accompanied election day activities," Haq said. "The U.N. mission observed media freedom restrictions, violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms."   "This includes infringements to the right of the political opposition to campaign freely, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and acts of violence committed by armed youth groups aligned with political parties," he said.   About 140,000 people have fled the country, stoking concern in a region with a history of ethnic conflict, particularly in Rwanda, where 800,000 people were killed in 1994.   May 2015   UN Special Adviser urges all parties to engage in talks to calm tensions   At the conclusion of his visit to Burundi, Adama Dieng, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, warned of increased tensions and the risk of further violence, unless all parties engage in open dialogue to resolve the crisis and calm tensions.   “He urged the Government to guarantee respect for human rights, including freedom of opinion and expression, noting that the absence of independent voices through non-State media was contributing to tensions”.   During his visit to East African nation, Mr. Dieng held meetings with the President of Burundi and senior government officials, political party leaders, civil society, representatives of the media and other key actors.   They discussed escalating tensions in Burundi and the risk that what has been primarily a political crisis could escalate to a level that would pose a high risk of atrocity crimes being committed.   Leaders have also gathered in Tanzania for an East African community summit over the weekend in hopes to reinforce dialogue among the Burundian parties amid concerns raised by UN agencies that the current political instability could lead to a humanitarian crisis.   “Given Burundi"s history of ethnic violence and in light of ongoing fears of attacks based on ethnicity, the Special Adviser strongly encouraged Burundian parties to use their influence to prevent any action that could increase the risk of violence against individuals or groups on the basis of their identity, including political affiliation, religious and ethnic identity,” the note said.   Special Adviser Dieng emphasized the critical importance of ensuring respect for fundamental human rights and the rule of law, particularly during periods of tension, in accordance with international human rights obligations.   He also recalled that the primary responsibility for protecting populations from atrocity crimes lies with the Government of Burundi and warned that those responsible for serious human rights violations and atrocity crimes would be held accountable by national and international judicial bodies and if need be, by the International Criminal Court (ICC).   25 May 2015 (AFP)   Burundi"s main opposition parties said it was now "impossible" to hold free and fair elections next week and that the result should not be recognised if they take place.   "The country has sunk into a political and security mess which in no way can allow for peaceful, transparent, free or credible elections," Burundi"s main opposition parties said in a joint statement. "Having an election campaign or holding a vote is impossible" the statement said.   The Opposition parties also accused the ruling CNDD-FDD party of silencing independent media, detaining opponents and provoking a major refugee crisis.   The crisis surrounds the bid by Nkurunziza to stand for a third consecutive term in office, with opposition and rights groups saying this violates the constitution as well as the terms of a peace deal that ended a 13-year civil war in 2006.   Street protests have taken place for the past month, leaving at least 30 dead in a violent crackdown by security forces. The crisis intensified earlier this month when a top general staged a failed coup attempt.   The opposition parties said the crisis risked plunging the small, landlocked and impoverished country back into civil war.   The East African Community (EAC) -- a regional grouping of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and also Burundi announced plans to hold a second meeting on the crisis in Tanzania"s main city of Dar es Salaam.   May 13 (Reuters)   Protest organisers in Burundi urged African leaders meeting in Tanzania to demand that their president halt his bid for a third term, which has triggered the nation"s worst crisis since an ethnically fuelled civil war ended in 2005 with over 300,000 dead.   East African leaders and a top official from South Africa met in Tanzania"s capital Dar es Salaam to discuss the crisis that has already spilled over into a region with a history of ethnic conflict.   More than 100,000 people have fled to neighbouring states. The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said the crisis was heading towards a "worst case scenario" that could see 300,000 people fleeing, some to other parts of Burundi and others abroad.   Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, whose country played a key role in ending Burundi"s conflict, has criticised the third-term bid. In March he said that violating the constitution and Arusha deal risked violence.   Also among those attending will be President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, a nation with the same ethnic mix as Burundi that suffered a 1994 genocide in which 800,000 mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered.   Kagame has often said he would not allow another genocide in the region. Analysts say his nation could be pulled into any new conflict where Tutsis are targeted.   About half the refugees have fled to Rwanda, many of them Tutsis who say they feel threatened by Imbonerakure, the youth wing of Nkurunziza"s ruling party.   The United States has threatened sanctions on anyone involved in violence in Burundi against those protesting against the president"s bid for a third term and expressed alarm at the spread of weapons among youth militia loyal to the president.   More than 100,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled Burundi to neighbouring Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past month, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said.   8 May 2015   The eruption of pre-election violence in Burundi last month has seen over 100,000 people flee to neighbouring countries and threatens to undo some of the most promising developments in recent refugee history in Africa, the United Nations body tasked with protecting displaced people said in Geneva today.   “Many of these have crossed into Rwanda, but over the last week we have also seen a sharp increase in people seeking asylum in Tanzania after entry restrictions there were lifted,” said, Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), briefing journalists in Geneva.   “In addition, almost 8,000 people have crossed into South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In all these cases women and children, including a large number of unaccompanied children, are in the majority,” he said.   Mr. Edwards praised solutions found, following the end of Burundi’s civil war in 2005, to address the plight of many thousands of formerly displaced people after over a decade of conflict. These have included one of the world’s largest and most successful voluntary return programmes for Burundian refugees – with UNHCR helping the country to re-integrate almost half a million people into society.   Neighbouring Tanzania was among countries that hosted large numbers of Burundian refugees who fled violence in 1972. In recent years, Tanzania offered citizenship to around 200,000 of them and their descendants, which is the largest number of refugees UNHCR has ever seen locally integrated by a host country.   However, as protests have continued after the country’s ruling National Council for the Defence of Democracy – Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party nominated on 26 April Pierre Nkurunziza as its presidential candidate, Mr. Edwards pointed to reports of daily violence in the capital and the spreading of unrest to the capital.   He added that new arrivals in Rwanda spoke of harassment and intimidation by Imbonerakure youth militants. Many new arrivals came from northern Burundi but those leaving urban areas, including a number of high school and university students, has increased.   “Many people have experienced difficulties while trying to leave Burundi. Several women have reported threats of rape from armed men, and having to bribe their way through roadblocks. Some have walked for hours through the bush with their children.”   Mr. Edwards also described local efforts, supplemented by UNHCR support, in Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 7,661 Burundians have registered as refugees, and said 13,000 people were awaiting processing in Tanzania.   Concerns over the political crisis in Burundi turning into a humanitarian one were echoed by a spokesperson from the World Food Programme (WFP), who said she was also concerned about the tens of thousands of people leaving the country.   WFP is providing food and nutrition assistance to more than 25,000 Burundian refugees in Rwanda, said Elisabeth Byrs, with the agency and other humanitarian partners preparing to assist 50,000 to 100,000 refugees in Rwanda.   Resources are stretched by the influx, she said, adding that WFP is on the ground in a new transit camp and three transit centres providing food assistance to Burundian refugees, starting with High Energy Biscuits.   She said a quarter of the children arriving in the transit camp at Mahama are malnourished and WFP is providing meals and ready-to-use supplementary food to help them recover. Additionally, the WFP would start supplementary feeding for all young children as soon as possible to avert any further deterioration of refugees’ nutritional status.   Turning to the challenges that the WFP was facing, Ms. Byrs said that the WFP in Rwanda did not have enough resources to respond to the food needs of the increasing number of refugees from Burundi.   http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51097#.VXeXMlKpWzl http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50869#.VVkXolKpWzk http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50801#.VU_XnvCpWzk http://reliefweb.int/report/burundi/burundi-refugee-numbers-neighbouring-countries-reach-50000-violence-continues http://www.fidh.org/International-Federation-for-Human-Rights/Africa/burundi/report-avoiding-an-explosion-in-burundi http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/central-africa/burundi/224-elections-in-burundi-moment-of-truth.aspx http://www.afrobarometer.org/publications/ad30-african-publics-strongly-support-term-limits-resist-leaders-efforts-extend-their
	38 million people internally displaced by conflict and violence by Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre   6 May 2015   A record 38 million internally displaced worldwide as 30,000 people fled their homes each day in 2014 displaced within their own country by conflict or violence.   “These are the worst figures for forced displacement in a generation, signalling our complete failure to protect innocent civilians,” said Jan Egeland, secretary general at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).   Today, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), part of NRC, launched its Global Overview 2015: People internally displaced by conflict and violence at the United Nations in Geneva.   With internal displacement figures reaching a record high for the third year in a row, the report also documents how 11 million people were newly displaced by violent events in 2014 alone.   “Global diplomats, UN resolutions, peace talks and ceasefire agreements have lost the battle against ruthless armed men who are driven by political or religious interests rather than human imperatives,” said Egeland. “This report should be a tremendous wake-up call. We must break this trend where millions of men, women and children are becoming trapped in conflict zones around the world.”   Volker Türk, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, said that the staggering number of internally displaced people because of conflict and violence is a harbinger of movements to come.   “We know that more and more internally displaced have been forced to move within their country multiple times. The longer a conflict lasts, the more insecure they feel and when hopelessness sets in, many will cross borders and become refugees,” he said.   “As we have seen in the recent past, for example in the Mediterranean, despair drives people to take their chances and even risk dangerous boat journeys. The obvious solution lies in an all-out effort to bring about peace in war-ravaged countries,” Mr Türk added.   The report also highlights how long-lasting, or protracted displacement, contributes to this alarmingly high global total. In 2014, there were people living in displacement for ten years or more in nearly 90% of the 60 countries and territories IDMC monitored.   “As new or renewed crises emerge in countries such as Ukraine or Iraq, new caseloads of internally displaced people join an already massive global displaced population who seem blocked from finding ways of ending their displacement” said Alfredo Zamudio, director of IDMC.   The IDMC report also describes how displacement often reveals underlying structural challenges within a country, and how it can be prolonged by a government’s deliberate politicisation of the issue or its refusal to enter into a formal resolution of a crisis.   “38 million human beings are suffering - often in horrendous conditions where they have no hope and no future—and unless we challenge ourselves to change our approach, the shockwaves of these conflicts will continue to haunt us for decades to come,” said Egeland.   * The Global Overview 2015 outlines key displacement events in 2014, which included: The 38 million internally displaced at the end of 2014 represent a 4.7 million increase compared to 2013, when IDMC reported 33.3 million as internally displaced.   60% of people newly displaced were in five countries alone: Iraq, South Sudan, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Nigeria.   Iraqi civilians suffered the most new displacement in 2014, with at least 2.2 million people fleeing their homes.   At least 40% of Syria’s population, or 7.6 million people, have been internally displaced, the highest number in the world.   Boko Haram’s campaign to control territory and impose Islamic law in north-eastern Nigeria drove hundreds of thousands from their homes.   For the first time in more than a decade Europe had massive enforced displacement caused by the war in Ukraine, where 646,500 people fled their homes in 2014.   The report covers displacement occurring in 2014 and is based on data provided by governments, NGO partners and UN agencies. It documents the figures and analysis of internal displacement in 60 countries and territories as a consequence of conflict and generalised violence. This report deals with internal displacement within the countries, not to be confused with UNHCR’s Global Trends Report due in June 2015.   http://www.internal-displacement.org/media-centre/global-overview-2015-people-internally-displaced-by-conflict-and-violence http://www.internal-displacement.org/global-overview http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50785#.VUqsnPCpWzk Visit the related web page
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