Thousands of Afghans were moved to UK in secret scheme after data breach    Trump says attorney general should release any 'credible' information on Epstein    Yemen postpones execution of Indian nurse on death row    Mike Waltz grilled over Signal leak at UN ambassador hearing    Saudi Arabia bans grocery stores from selling tobacco products    Saudi Arabia to expand railway network by over 50% under transport strategy    Health official warns against unsupervised use of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro    Saudi tech and innovation delegation explores AI and space partnerships in UK    SFDA refers illegal cosmetics facility to prosecution over expiry date tampering    King Salman chairs Cabinet session, endorses international cooperation and national development initiatives    King Fahad National Library extends weekend hours    GASTAT: Inflation remains stable at 2.3% in June    Saudi Arabia leads MENA in venture capital with $860 million in H1 2025    Biggest human imaging study scans 100,000th person    Beyoncé's unreleased music stolen from car during Cowboy Carter tour    First Harry Potter image released as production begins    Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Arabia as Al Nassr head coach on one-year deal    Jannik Sinner beats Carlos Alcaraz to win his maiden Wimbledon title    Chelsea defeat PSG 3-0 to win first expanded Club World Cup    Theo Hernández: Al Hilal can compete with Europe's best    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Torture, killings, lawlessness, still blight Burundi's rights record
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 17 - 09 - 2021

The people of Burundi continue to endure serious human rights violations including possible crimes against humanity, the majority committed by those with links to the ruling party, UN-appointed independent investigators said on Thursday.
Despite a pledge by President Evariste Ndayishimiye to address the situation in the country after years of violent repression, crimes including arbitrary detention and execution, torture and intimidation, have not stopped, according to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi.
"Not only have grave human rights violations continued to occur, but in some respects the situation has deteriorated", since President Ndayishimiye's took office in June last year, Commission chair Doudou Diene told journalists in Geneva.
These abuses happened against a backdrop of "multiple armed attacks" by opponents of the Government since August 2020, Diene explained.
"While seeking persons allegedly involved in the armed attacks or collaborating with rebel groups, the security forces targeted mainly members from the main opposition party, the National Congress for Liberty (CNL), former members of the Tutsi-dominated Burundian Armed Forces (ex-FAB), returnees and some of their family members. Some were executed, others disappeared or were tortured while detained arbitrarily."
Dire situation
The Commission noted that although the level of political violence in the Great Lakes nation decreased immediately after the 2020 elections — and with the country appearing to be "on the road to normalization" — the human rights situation remains "dire".
The national poll was held after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza, whose decision to stand for a controversial third term in 2015 sparked major protests and mass displacement, and ultimately the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry by the Human Rights Council, in 2016.
The political climate today is "highly intolerant of dissent", the Commissioners maintained in their fifth and final report to the Human Rights Council, highlighting how members of opposition parties — notably the CNL — have been targeted, in particular since June 2021.
Imbonerakure impunity
Many security officers and others linked to the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD, continued to go unpunished for their crimes, they added, pointing to agents of the National Intelligence Service (SNR), police officers — including from the Mobile Rapid Intervention Groups (GMIR) — and the Imbonerakure youth-league, whose brutality has been documented in previous Commission of Inquiry reports.
Individuals belonging to these groups are "the main perpetrators of those violations, some of which could amount to crimes against humanity", the Commission of Inquiry report said. "They continue to enjoy widespread impunity for their actions, as has been the case since 2015."
Justice reforms lacking
Highlighting the lack of promised structural reforms to promote accountability in the country, Commissioner Françoise Hampson said that the "rule of law in Burundi continues to erode, despite the stated intention of President Ndayishimiye to restore it".
In common with the Commission's previous findings, Hampson noted how testimonies gathered for its latest report pointed to an organized campaign "against those elements of the civilian population that were seen as or thought to be hostile to the government in power" — a potential crime against humanity. "Some of the violations that this year's report detail, seem to be a continuation of that policy," she added.
In Burundi, the judicial system could not be relied upon "to curb or remedy human rights violations", Hampson continued, warning that the newly elected Government "has only been strengthening its control over the judiciary".
For the past five years, the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi has documented, monitored and reported alleged human rights violations in Burundi. It has conducted more than 1,770 interviews, including remotely, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, as well as Burundi.
The Commission is scheduled to present its report to the Human Rights Council on Sept. 23, 2021. — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.