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STORY: UN / BURUNDI
TRT: 02:17
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: 20 JUNE 2017, NEW YORK CITY
RECENT - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
20 JUNE 2017, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
“The Office of the High Comissioner for Human Rights, as well as human rights NGOs, continue to report targeted arrests, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of real or perceived opposition members and supporters, as well as extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances. Reports of incitement to hatred and violence have increased since April this year, with regular testimonies and video recordings of rallies by the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling CNDD-FDD.”
4. Med shot, delegates
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
“It’s of great concern, Mr. President, that these developments are taking place against the backdrop of widespread restrictions on civil liberties and political freedom. Implementing the proposed changes in the current climate will likely lead to an escalation of the crisis.”
6. Med shot, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
“The IMF projects a growth of zero percent and an inflation rate of over 12 percent in 2017. Severe fuel and electricity shortages further disrupt business and social activities and drive up prices. Blackouts lasting several days at a time have reportedly caused an uptick in criminal activities in some areas.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Albert Shingiro, Permanent Representative of Burundi to the United Nations:
“There is no longer a political crisis in Burundi in a genuine meaning of the term and I will explain. A political crisis implies an absence or paralysis of institutions or widespread insecurity within the country. Today’s Burundi has not experienced any of this. Democratically-elected institutions from bottom to top operate normally. Security is a reality.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Tayé-Brook Zerihoun said the situation in Burundi remained volatile adding that the implementation of proposed changes to the constitution in the current climate would “likely lead to an escalation of the crisis.”
Speaking at the Security Council today (20 Jun) Zerihoun said the security situation in the country was fragile as the UN human rights office (OHCHR) continued to report “targeted arrests, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of real or perceived opposition members and supporters, as well as extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances.” He said a recent video of its youth wing on social media prompted the ruling CNDD-FDD party to condemn the inflammatory lyrics and attributing the events to influences outside the party.
Zerihoun noted that the Burundian Government had not resumed its cooperation with OHCHR since it was suspended in October last year. He said the Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in Burundi has collected more than 470 testimonies of human rights violations allegedly committed in the country since 2015 and regretted the lack of access and cooperation by the government of Burundi.
Zerihoun recalled the recent conclusion made by the commission of the inter-Burundian dialogue (CNDI) that the majority in Burundi support a revision of the Constitution, the lifting of presidential term limits and changes to other provisions of the Arusha Agreement. He said the CNDI report and the creation of the constitutional review commission by the President were denounced by opposition parties, including CNARED, and civil society leaders in exile. Zerihoun expressed “great concern” that these developments are taking place “against the backdrop of widespread restrictions on civil liberties and political freedom.”
Zerihoun said that the socioeconomic and humanitarian situations in the country have also deteriorated. He said the IMF projects a growth of “zero percent and an inflation rate of over 12 percent in 2017” with severe fuel and electricity shortages further disrupting “business and social activities” He added, “Blackouts lasting several days at a time have reportedly caused an uptick in criminal activities in some areas.” He said the humanitarian community’s appeal for 73.7 million US dollars to assist a third of the estimated three million Burundians in need was only 35 percent funded, and stressed that the humanitarian community urgently needed additional financial support.
Burundian ambassador Albert Shingiro said inter-Burundian dialogue has experienced significant progress. He said the CNDI spent 600 hours listening to 26,000 Burundians and met with organized women, youth, and civil society groups among others. He said the Burundian Government was strongly wedded to this political process. Shingiro stressed that there was “no longer a political crisis” in his country. He added that “democratically-elected institutions from bottom to top operate normally” and “security is a reality” in Burundi.
