Burundi: hope and fear

[anb-bia <anb-bia at village.uunet.be>]

Received from Amnesty International
and relayed by ANB-BIA, Brussels
Paolo
-----------------------------


AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
22 March 2001

AI Index AFR 16/011/2001 - News Service Nr. 48

                       Burundi:  Between hope and fear

In a report published today, Amnesty International appealed to all parties 
in Burundi's civil war to immediately halt deliberate killings of unarmed 
civilians and to act responsibly to prevent a slide into human rights 
catastrophe.

Amnesty International's report, Burundi: Between fear and hope, paints a 
deeply disturbing picture of the inexorable rise in killings of unarmed 
civilians, "disappearances", torture, arbitrary arrests and massive 
population displacement. The report also looks at the legal protection the 
peace agreement should provide, and argues that "without justice, there can 
be no future accountability, and no long term security."

Since the signing of the Arusha peace agreement on August 28 2000, violence 
has escalated leaving hundreds of civilians killed. "Signature of the peace 
agreement has in no way changed patterns of human rights abuse in Burundi," 
the organization said. "However, whatever its shortcomings, the peace 
agreement represents a key moment in Burundi's political history which 
could serve as an opportunity to break decades of violence and impunity."

The peace agreement, which is yet to come into force, represents the best 
opportunity in recent years to ensure better respect for human rights in 
Burundi. It provides a framework to acknowledge and investigate past human 
rights abuses and to reform and strengthen institutions such as the 
judiciary and armed forces.

"The alternative of continued and escalating conflict, of generalized 
violence and further human rights crisis, must be avoided at all costs", 
said Amnesty International. "The hundreds of incidents of human rights 
abuses and violence since August underline the desperate  need to find a 
solution to Burundi's precarious situation."


Recommendations

The Amnesty International report calls on all parties in the conflict to:

- take immediate action to prevent further unlawful killings of unarmed 
civilians;

- investigate allegations of human rights abuses made by the security 
forces and armed opposition groups, and bring the perpetrators to justice;

- stop recruiting children or forcing them to perform work in support of 
the military or armed opposition operations;

- undertake reforms to ensure a functioning and impartial legal system;

- protect the rights of internally displaced persons and refugees;

- guarantee that employees of humanitarian and human rights organizations 
are not threatened, arrested or killed, and can freely carry out their work.

The report also calls on the international community to use their political 
influence and financial resources to support programs to promote and 
protect human rights in Burundi. "The ability of the Government of Burundi 
and inter-governmental agencies to implement these recommendations will be 
seriously diminished without the support of key donor agencies," Amnesty 
International added. "We also urge the international community to recognize 
and support the key role which national human rights groups play in 
defending human rights."
\ENDS

public document
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Note to editors
The audio-visual media team at Amnesty International has a short video on 
Burundi available for broadcast use in English and French. "Caught in the 
Crossfire: The Struggle for Human Rights in Burundi" covers the following 
issues: population displacement, prison conditions, deaths in custody, 
'disappearances' and torture.

Please, note that certain copyright conditions apply. To order copies, 
please contact World Images:
        Tel: 00 44 117 930 4099
        Fax:00 44 117 930 4088
        e-mail: world.images at worldtelevision.com
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For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in
London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW   web :
http://www.amnesty.org

\ENDS


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