Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development

Sous-comité des droits internationaux de la personne du Comité permanent des affaires étrangères et du développement international

For immediate release

Ottawa, February 15, 2017 -

On Wednesday, February 15, 2017, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development presented to the House of Commons a report prepared by its Subcommittee on International Human Rights (the Subcommittee) entitled “Division and Human Rights Violations in Burundi.”

Testimony highlighted that, in its struggle to hold on to power, the Burundian regime has systematically targeted voices of dissent and committed gross human rights violations which could amount to crimes against humanity. By contravening the term limits imposed by the Arusha Accords, the Burundian regime has halted a process of healing after a long history of genocide, reprisal and civil war. The regime has actively reopened old wounds, sowing social division through ethnically-charged language and actions. A pervasive climate of fear—fear of a return to civil war or acts of genocide—has prompted mass displacement, and has exacerbated socio-economic hardship for Burundians, which itself is becoming a driver of crisis. The Subcommittee learned that addressing Burundi’s culture of impunity in particular is crucial to breaking the cycle of violence that has afflicted the African nation.

The actions of President Nkurunziza, his security forces and youth militia, have rightly raised alarm among the international community. Yet, to date, the international community has been ineffectual at deterring human rights violations in the face of an increasingly intransigent regime. During the course of the Subcommittee’ study, Burundi announced its withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and ended cooperation with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Burundi.

Through this Report, the Subcommittee has made 18 recommendations to the Government of Canada. The Subcommittee’s recommendations aim to address the root causes of the crisis, strongly rebuke Burundi’s human rights violations, insist that Burundi reengage with multilateral institutions, and emphasize that the Burundian regime must be held accountable for its actions. Above all, the Government of Canada should keep the situation in Burundi on the international agenda and provide its assistance in seeking a resolution to the conflict.

QUOTES

"The Burundian regime has systematically violated its citizens’ human rights, and has disengaged from numerous multilateral institutions in the process. President Nkurunziza and his government must be held accountable for their actions, and the international community, with Canada’s steadfast support, needs to work to prevent further destabilization in the region."

- Michael Levitt, MP, Chair

"The human rights violations suffered by the people of Burundi are unconscionable. In particular, the lives and futures of Burundi’s youth have been stolen from them by the current regime. As a first step, Burundi must allow humanitarian organizations and members of the international community access to the country to provide key support and assistance to the country’s most vulnerable populations."

- David Sweet, MP, Vice-Chair

"Canada and other like-minded members of the international community have an obligation to keep the disgraceful human rights situation in Burundi high on the international agenda. Cooperative, decisive and urgent action is needed to protect Burundian civilians from the continued violation of their human rights."

- Cheryl Hardcastle, MP, Vice-Chair