Burundi: Extend the Special Rapporteur’s mandate

Ahead of the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC51, 12 September-7 October 2022), 54 NGOs are joining DefendDefenders in calling for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Burundi. 

“We believe that all components of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate can contribute to im­proving Burundi’s human rights situation,” the signatories write while stressing that the Special Rapporteur needs more time to fulfil his mandate. 

The Special Rapporteur succeeded the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Burundi, which investigated grave violations and abuses committed in the country since 2015. Some of these violations may amount to crimes under international law. 

The signatories conclude: “In the absence of structural improvements and as grave human rights violations and abuses continue to be committed with impunity, the Council should adopt a resolution that reflects realities on the ground and ensures continued monitoring, reporting, and public debates on Burundi’s human rights situation.” 

 

Read the full letter in English
Disponible également : version française.

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Human Rights Defender of the month:SHIMA BHARE

Shima Bhare Abdalla has never known the luxury and comfort of a stable and safe existence inside her country’s borders. When she was 11, her village was attacked and razed to the ground, sending her family and entire neighborhood scattering into an internally displaced People’s Camp, at the start of the Darfur civil war.

That was in 2002. Shima and her family relocated into Kalma refugee camp in Southern Darfur, where, alongside over 100,000 other displaced persons, they had to forge out a living, under the watch and benevolence of the United Nations – African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur, known as UNAMID. It is here that Shima’s human rights consciousness came to life. She enthusiastically embraced whatever little education she could access under the auspices of the humanitarian agencies operating in the camp, to be able to tell the story of her people’s plight.

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