Burundi: violence continues.

"Civil war continues to rage in Burundi", Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali stated on 29 October. Despite the apparent lull following the coup d'etat of 25 July 1996, violence had unfortunately reasserted itself very quickly. It was more imperative than ever to get the process of negotiations under way, "for only this can offer any hope of an end to the fratricidal conflict" in the war-torn central African country, the Secretary-General stressed.

According to the report, Burundi armed forces had been recruiting an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 additional men and training some 2,000 high school graduates, which would bring their number up to nearly 30,000 troops. That figure indicated that the army, so far comprised primarily of the single ethnic group Tutus, had virtually doubled in size in one year.

Referring to the situation in eastern Zaire, the Secretary-General said recent incidents not far from the Burundi frontier and the movements of Hutu refugees, which were becoming increasingly difficult to control, "serve as a reminder to the international community that there are now all the ingredients present for a regionalization of a conflict that would engulf the entire Great Lakes region".

The United Nations human rights mission of observers continued to receive numerous allegations of massacres, killings, infringements of personal freedom and security, forced disappearances and arbitrary detentions in the interior of the country. However, the allegations had been difficult to verify due to security constraints. The mission had noted that the violations were, to a large extent, attributable to members of the armed forces. Nonetheless, a number of lethal incidents and massacres were also perpetrated by the rebels.

On 11 December, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Jose Ayala-Lasso said he was deeply disturbed by the deteriorating human rights situation in Burundi. He appealed to the authorities and to all parties to assure respect for all rights and fundamental freedoms, and to put an end to killings, arbitrary arrests and destruction of property.

Commission of Inquiry

In a 24 September letter (S/1996/780) to the Secretary-General on the International Commission of Inquiry, the Security Council President stressed that members continued to attach "the utmost importance to bringing to justice those responsible for the assassinations, the massacres and other acts of serious violence which occurred in and after October 1993".

The President also stressed that members "believe it is vital that measures to deal with the problem of impunity should be addressed in the context of a negotiated political settlement in Burundi".

Call for return to 'constitutional order'

The Security Council on 30 August, in adopting unanimously resolution 1072 (1996), again condemned the overthrow of the legitimate Government and "those parties and factions which resort to force and violence to advance their political objectives". It called on the regime in Bujumbura to ensure a return to constitutional order.

The Council demanded that all the political parties and factions initiate "unconditional negotiations immediately", with a view towards reaching a settlement. A possible consequence of a failure to engage in negotiations would be consideration of the imposition of measures under the Charter of the United Nations to further compliance, possibly including a comprehensive arms embargo and other measures targeted against regime leaders and factions "who continue to encourage violence and obstruct a peaceful resolution of the political crisis in Burundi".

The Council also declared its readiness to assist the people of Burundi with appropriate international cooperation to support a comprehensive political settlement. It underlined the importance of convening a Regional Conference of the Great Lakes Region, under the auspices of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity.