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G e n d e r P r of i l e of t h e C on f l i c t i n B u r un d i W om e nW a r P e a c e . o r g

G ender Profile of the Conflict in
..................Ge n d e r P r o f i l e o f t h e C o n f l i c t i n
Burundi

“Women’s status in Burundi should be the barometer of peace and
security in the country.” Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director, UNIFEM

Introduction
Introduction
The internal political struggles following independence in
1962 has impacted women through the disruption of social
and economic development for close to four decades. Gross
atrocities against civilians included genocide, war crimes
Contents : and other crimes against humanity. Many of the crimes
against humanity involved the rape, torture and
 I nt ro du ct io n
enslavement of young girls and women. and tThe vast
 Th e I mp a ct o f t he majority of internally displaced persons are women and
Co nf l ic t o n children, with . M many women have been widowed and
B ur u nd i a n W om en left with no legal rights regarding divorce, property or
 Wom e n' s P e ac e marriage.
B ui l d in g Act i v it ie s
On April 2 1991, with the country in political, economic and
i n B u ru n di
civil crisis, the Government of Burundi ratified without
 Wh at U N IF EM is reservation the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
do i ng i n B u ru n d i of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The
 U N C o un tr y T e am government of Burundi had adopted certain measures to
G en d er ensure the advancement of women by guaranteeing their
Pr og r a mm i ng fundamental freedoms and individual rights based on
 La te st U N equality. The government also encouraged the
Doc u me nt s establishment of women’s associations and development
projects for women. HOW?
 En dn ot e s

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The 1990’s saw continued conflict and civil war in Burundi. In June of 1993 Melchior Ndadaye,
defeated Pierre Buyoya in the first country’s first presidential elections and became the country’s
first Hutu president. Ndadaye was assassinated in October of 1993 and in 1994 and his successor
Cyprien Ntaryamira, also a Hutu, was killed in a plane crash with the president of Rwanda. 1 These
two incidences sparked renewed ethnic violence and civil war and precipitated the genocide in
Rwanda. Since 1993, more than 300,000 people have been killed in Burundi's war. The three
years following the death of Ntaryamira were filled with ethnic genocide and large-scale
massacres, while the two opposing forces struggled to gain political control. In 1996 Buyoya
again takes political control and is sworn in as president in 1998. Tutsi paramilitary groups and
the government agreed to a resolution in August 2000 in Arusha, Tanzania.
During the Arusha negotiations, which began in 1999 under the auspices of former Tanzanian
president Julius Nyerere, women’s participation in the peace process increased dramatically.
Together with the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation and with support from the UN Department of
Political Affairs (DPA), the Department of Public Information (DPI), and the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), UNIFEM convened the first All Party Burundi Women’s Peace
Conference in 2000. More than 50 Burundian women presented a common vision for peace and
reconciliation to former President Nelson Mandela, who took up a mediation role in 2000.Key
recommendations made by the women included the establishment of mechanisms to punish and
put an end to war crimes such as rape and sexual violence; guarantees for women’s rights to
property, land and inheritance; measures to ensure women’s security and safe return; and
guarantees that girls enjoy the same rights as boys to all levels of education.
Nineteen of the Burundi women’s recommendations were included in the final peace accord
incorporating a strong recognition of the centrality of women’s rights and opportunities to
democracy, governance, peace and security, and reconstruction. The successful integration of
gender equality into the Arusha process by Burundi women was pivotal in demonstrating to the
world that women’s participation can make a tangible and substantive difference to peace
processes. This played an important role in bringing the Security Council, in October 2000, during
Namibia’s Presidency, to convene its first open debate on Women and Peace and Security.
Despite women’s involvement in the Arusha accords, peace was slow to return in Burundi. The
Government of Burundi and the largest rebel group, the Forces for the Defence of Democracy did
not sign agree to a ceasefire until 2002. President Buyoya stepped down in May 2003 in line with
the Arusha accords but fighting continued unabated2. Ongoing fighting and instability led to the
deployment of the African Union’s first peacekeeping force, The African Mission in Burundi (AMIB)
in late 2003.3 In May 2004, the Security Council unanimously passed resolution 1545 on the
situation in Burundi, mandating the deployment of the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB).
Resolution 1545 recalls resolution 1325 and calls on ONUB to consider the different needs of
women across several sectors.

The Impact of the Conflict on Burundian Women
The Impact of the Conflict on Burundian Women

Political and Security Impact

 Human Rights Watch reported in 2003 that government soldiers and the Forces for the
Defense of Democracy (FDD) forces, the main Hutu rebel group, raped Burundian women on a
grand scale during the past decade of war. Human Rights Watch reported that soldiers harassed
and attacked women as they fled fighting. Women in their seventies were reportedly raped by
4
combatants.

 Since the December 2002 ceasefire, women’s security continues to be threatened by rebels
who have frequently raped women according to the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Rape has emerged as a weapon of war in that it is used to terrorize
and subdue the local population. Women have reportedly been robbed and then raped, or vice
versa, as rebels loot and pillage communities. Many accounts of multiple rapes have been
5
recorded by OCHA.
 When formal peace negotiation began at Arusha in 1999 under the leadership of Nelson
Mandela, women were barred from entering the room. Two years later, women made significant
6
inroads by convincing all 19 parties to accept their demands for recognition of gender issues.
 Women delegates at the Arusha negotiations put forward the following demands to the
nineteen parties represented at the conference:
A Woman's Charter to be included in the main constitution and all-discriminating laws to be
eliminated.
The use of affirmative action to ensure women's participation at all decision-making levels
during and after the transition period. They recommended a 30% quota in the legislature,
the judiciary and the executive branches of government and in all bodies created by the
peace accord.
Special measures to be put in place to ensure women's security, safe return and
reintegration of refugees and internally displaced persons and those living in regroupment
camps.
Women's rights to property, land and inheritance should be explicitly protected and
addressed in the final agreement.
Women's efforts and sacrifice in sustaining communities and their contributions to the
economy should be acknowledged, rewarded and supported.
Women and girls should be guaranteed equal access to education at all levels.
An end to the impunity on war crimes such as rape, sexual violence, prostitution and
domestic violence that have gone unrecognized and unpunished.
Mechanisms to ensure that the commitments proposed by women are adequately budgeted
and realized.
Only three out of twenty-nine members of the Arusha Agreement Implementation
7
Monitoring Committee are women.
 In 2003, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burundi reported that, although the
overall situation of women in Burundi has not improved, they are better represented in political
structures than in the past with 45 national assembly seats and 11 senate seats. Two Burundian
8
ambassadors are women.
 As of March 2004, the total number of combatants, excluding the Burundian Armed
Forces, was estimated by UN IRIN News Service to be 35,000. Reports of women and children
soldiers in the armed groups have been made by UN IRIN News Service, but no official figures
have been confirmed. In March 24 child soldier, including two girls, from vigilante groups in
Bururi, were handed over to their families. 9
 Since the cessation of major hostilities, UN IRIN News has reported increased cases of
rape, attacks, ambushes and harassment have increased among the refugee and displaced
populations. Decreased hostilities have lead to increased criminality fuelled by the thousands of
weapons in circulation. Women, children and the elderly continue to be the primary victims of
violent acts, which continue to be perpetrated with impunity. Incidents of rape, including gang
rape against women, girls and boys are on the rise and individuals accused of witchcraft have
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been killed by mobs, 20 in Ruyigi province alone.10

Humanitarian Impact

 The World Bank reported in 2002 that up to 70% of Burundian refugees and IDPs are
11
women and children.
 UNICEF officials maintained in July 2003 that rapes of women and girls at gunpoint in
12
IDP camps have reached “epidemic proportions.”
 According to Refugees International, two-thirds of Burundian girls in refugee camps drop
out of school between fourth and sixth grade (ages eight to twelve). In 2002, girls accounted for
13
only twelve percent of secondary school pupils in refugee camps.
 UNICEF reported in June 2003 that women living in IDP camps are the most likely to
14
contract HIV/AIDS due to the prevalence of sexualized violence. Young widows, who comprise
one-quarter of all IDP household heads, are particularly vulnerable as they search for relationships
with men as a means of family survival and psychological escape from daily stress according to
15
Forced Migration Review.
 Human Rights Watch reported that Burundian women in Tanzanian refugee camps
experienced widespread and pervasive sexualized violence in 1998 and 1999. Burundian women
were assaulted, often by their domestic partners, with shoes, knives, bottles and machetes.
Although domestic violence was commonplace in the rural areas of Burundi from which many
women fled, the stress and uncertainty that accompanied flight often increased the frequency and
severity of attacks. Human Rights Watch criticized the Tanzanian government for its slow and
16
ineffective response to the daily dangers women face in camps within Tanzanian borders.
 Human Rights Watch found many Burundian male refugees in Tanzanian camps to be
irresponsible with their aid packages, selling them or giving them to their girlfriends. This
behaviour often left their wives and dependents with no food. Although women could file with
UNHCR for their own ration cards, women were often reluctant to do so for fear of violent reprisals
from their husbands. Furthermore, polygyny, which is strictly forbidden in Burundi, was taken up
17
by some men in the Tanzanian camps, thus eroding wives’ access to resources and security.
 Burundian women living in Tanzanian refugee camps are much more likely to suffer poor
pregnancy outcomes as a result of scare neonatal care, poor humanitarian conditions and bad
sanitation as reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Nearly 23 per cent of
pregnancies in one camp were found to result in low birth weight as compared to 14 per cent of
underweight infants in the Tanzanian population at large. 18
 A decade of civil war has destroyed much of the already limitedly available reproductive
health care. According to UNFPA, over ninety percent of Burundian women give birth at home.
19
Only one percent of Burundian women use modern contraceptives.
 Burundian women account for 55.8% of HIV/AIDS infections according to the World
20
Bank. The Government of Burundi reported to CEDAW that it expects the life expectancy of
21
Burundian women to fall from 60 to 39 by 2010 due to the spread of HIV/AIDS.
 Save the Children UK found that many women and girls are forced to engage in sexual
activity with soldiers and other personnel in exchange for food and other necessities. This form of
violence speeds the spread of HIV/AIDS. Save the Children UK also reported that the "virgin sex
myth," or the belief that having sex with a virgin will cure the HIV/AIDS virus, is causing the
22
seduction, rape and infection of increasingly younger girls.
 According to Refugees International, large-scale repatriation in 2004 is leaving returning

women particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and food deprivation at the hands of the
militaries that are mandated to protect them during their return. 23

Human Rights Violatio ns, including Violence against Women

 The Human Rights Commission appointed Special Rapporteur on Violence Against
Women, Radhika Coomaraswamy, found that Burundian rebels abducted scores of women during
their retreat from Bujumbara in 2001, forcing abductees to be domestic and sexual slaves.
 Burundian women continue to face discriminatory practices in inheritance laws, credit
granting and political representation despite constitutional provisions guaranteeing gender
equality. A report to CEDAW in 2001 showed that, despite legislation prohibiting discrimination,
24
Burundian men are often preferred to women in employment.
 Widows face particular discrimination in Burundian law. They are unable to inherit
property and are prone to illness and disease due to their precarious living conditions.
Discrimination against women arouses special concern due to the increased prevalence of female
headed-households in the post-conflict period. Furthermore, the Arusha Accords make special
provision for the protection of widows and female-headed households, but as of a 2001 UN Special
Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burundi report, such protection has yet to impact the vast
25
majority of the targeted population.
 One displaced Burundian woman told Human Rights Watch in 2000 that, “a wife is just
like a child in Burundi. She is not supposed to question her husbands decisions.” As a result,
displaced women have had even less access to resources and less capacity to demand equality
and fair governance as their traditional inferior status has been exacerbated by deteriorating
26
economic, social and political circumstances.
 The 2001 UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burundi reported that the promises
made to women in the Arusha peace process were not being fulfilled. Citing tradition and lack of
education as plausible justifications, the Special Rapporteur noted women were not represented in
decision-making structures and that women were still facing extreme poverty and human rights
27
abuses in the wake of the 2000 Agreements.
 The Arusha Accords called for The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which began
probing into ethnically-based violence since 1962 in May 2003, to draw membership from
women’s organizations. The Arusha Accords also recall CEDAW and make several references to
28
equality of women and men being a prerequisite for reconciliation and good governance.
 Rape victims in Burundi face extreme social stigma in Burundi according to UN IRIN
News. Girls have been chased from schools and women and girls who become pregnant are
rejected by their families. These social attitudes make it less likely that women and girls will seek
appropriate medical attention or report their perpetrators to the authorities.29
 Burundian women, who make up a majority of people living with HIV/AIDS, face extreme
stigmatization in their communities once their HIV status becomes known. UN IRIN News found
that some religious sects require HIV tests before marriages can occur. As a result, many
Burundian women are reticent to be tested because of the discrimination they will face.30
 Despite the signing of a power sharing agreement, Burundian women continued to
experience widespread rape in the latter part of 2003. Human Rights Watch received reports that
many Burundian women had taken to sleeping in the forest to avoid being attacked in their huts.
31

 According to a 2004 Amnesty International report, the scale of rape in Burundi indicates
a deliberate strategy at times by belligerents to use rape and other forms of sexual violence
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against women as a weapon of war, to instil terror among the civilian population, and to degrade
and humiliate people. Various armed forces have committed scores of rapes in Ruyigi province, as
well as other human rights abuses and looting, in a pattern of reprisal and counter-reprisal. Many
women have also been raped in front of their families including their children, adding to the
trauma. The near total impunity granted to members of the armed forces - whatever their crime -
discourages many from even attempting to begin legal action against members of the armed
forces. Additionally, the continuing stigma attached to sexual violence and fear of coming forward
prevents some victims of sexual violence from accessing the few available health services. 32

Impact on Economic Security an d Righ ts

 UNICEF reports that only five percent of Burundian girls are enrolled in secondary school.
UNICEF partly attributes this to the absence of a national policy to address the discrimination and
33
harassment girls face in school.
 Burundian women, who provide the bulk of the agricultural labour in rural areas, have
found tending their fields and flocks very difficult since the failure of the December 2002 ceasefire
according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Women have had to make
long journeys between the fields and towns, sometimes herding animals, so as to spend nights in
camps and compounds and days in grazing fields. Women fear hungry rebels will rape them
otherwise. Since the December ceasefire, pillaging rebels have repeatedly stolen Burundian
34
women’s livestock, food and even cooking utensils in the Ruyigi region.
 According to Refugees International, two-thirds of Burundian girls in refugee camps drop
out of school between fourth and sixth grade (ages eight to twelve). Girls account for only twelve
35
percent of secondary school pupils in refugee camps.
 In 2000, the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children found that of the
one third of Burundian children involved in economic activity, child labour affects girls more
36
profoundly as they are forced into domestic or sex work.
 The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burundi reported in 2001 that child
prostitution was reaching “disquieting proportions.” Causes for child prostitution are often war-
related, such as the destruction of traditional community support structures, increased numbers of
orphans due to combat, HIV and abandonment and the inaccessibility of other means of financial
37
sustenance.
 World Bank statistics indicate that urban female-headed households are poorer and have
lower levels of literacy than male-headed households. Child-headed households, which have
38
increased greatly in number since 1993, are the most likely to fall in the poorest category.

W o m e n ''s P e a c e B u i l d i n g A c t i v i t i e s i n B u r u n d i
Women s Peace Building Activities in Burundi

 The All-Party Burundi Women's Conference met in July 2000 for three days before the
arrival of chief negotiator, Nelson Mandela. The Conference focused on issues such as ending
impunity for gender-based violence, training defense and security personnel to understand their
responsibilities towards women and children, guaranteeing women's rights in the constitution,
enacting laws regarding sex discrimination and ensuring women's equal participation in political
processes. The Conference yielded a set of recommendations to policy makers and negotiators. In
a historic move, all nineteen parties agreed to implement recommendations provided by the
Conference. UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer commented that, “The inclusion of
women’s proposals in the Arusha accord make the peace agreement one of the strongest in
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recognizing the centrality of women’s rights and opportunities to democracy, peace, security and
39
reconstruction. It is a model for peace efforts worldwide.”
 The Burundi Women Refugee Network was granted observer status at the Arusha
negotiations. Having been barred from formal negotiations, Chairperson Emilliene Minani and
colleagues intercepted political representatives in hallways and urged them to integrate a gender
40
perspective into the official peace plans.
 In collaboration with UNIFEM, AFRICARE Burundi supported a four month reconciliation
program for women IDPS, returnees and stayees in Gitega and Kausi in 2002 focusing on
concepts of conflict resolution and peace building with an emphasis on communication, networking
and both gender sensitive and culturally appropriate values that promote reconciliation and
41
peace.
 The Coalition of Women's Organizations and NGOs (CAFOB) acts as an umbrella for
women's organizations across Burundi. In response to men's assertions at the Arusha Conference
that there were not enough qualified women to justify a legislative quota, CAFOB compiled a list of
women with the education and skills necessary to serve in the government. CAFOB enlisted the
support of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Nelson Mandela to convince delegates at the
Arusha Conference to enact a 30 percent gender quota in the legislature.

 The Burundi Women's Journalists Association (BWJA) was founded in 1997. The main
objectives of BWJA are promoting women’s rights, the freedom of the expression and the liberty
of the press. All members are encouraged to contribute to the Association’s activities. The BWJA
also provides training in proposal writing and fundraising to members.
 In March 2003, sixty traditional midwives were trained, with help from the ICRC, to help
women who were attacked during the fighting. The midwives were taught how to recognize
gender-based violence survivors and respond to their needs in a gender-sensitive manner. This
training expanded midwives' role among women who would not have otherwise sought help for
42
the physical and psychological trauma they suffered.
 In February 2004, representatives of women's organisations in the Great Lakes region
recommended the formation of a regional women's network, which would ensure their effective
representation at women's meeting to be held in May in Rwanda and at an international
conference for the Great Lakes, planned for later in the year. The representatives held a one day
brainstorming session in Nairobi to devise a strategy for inclusion of women’s issues and gender
perspectives in the Great Lakes strategy.43

What UNIFEM is doing in Burundi
What UNIFEM is doing in Burundi

 UNIFEM has had programmes in Burundi since 1994 and helped form the Federation of
African Peace Networks (FERFAP). Using the language of CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for
Action, UNIFEM convened a briefing with heads of all nineteen parties taking part in negotiations
in June 2000. At the briefing, a six-member UN team briefed the delegates on ways to strengthen
women's participation in the peace process and addressed issues such as the protection of
women's rights under the constitution, women's contribution to the economy and the importance
of women's roles in conflict resolution and reconstruction. The UN team included experts from
Eritrea, Guatemala, Uganda and South Africa, who had engaged women in the peace processes of
the their respective countries. Following the briefing, delegates from all nineteen parties
committed themselves to take gender into account and guarantee that women would be directly
involved in implementing the peace accord. The commitment is reflected in the fifty protocols of
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the Arusha agreement. 23 of the recommendations put forth by the women were included in the
final Peace Accord.44
 The second stage of engendering the peace process was the organization of the All-Party
Burundi Women's Peace Conference held in for four days in July 2000 in Arusha, Tanzania. The
Conference, which was held alongside the Arusha talks, brought together female members from
the nineteen negotiating parties, observers, refugees, internally displaced women and diaspora to
develop a common vision for Burundi's peace and reconstruction. Nearly eighty participants
presented their recommendations to President Mandela, heads of negotiating parties and the
facilitation team. Participants created a written proposal to engender the Arusha accords as well
as a Final Declaration of their position. UNIFEM also produced a paper entitled, "Engendering the
Burundi Peace Process." In his role as mediator for the peace talks, Nelson Mandela invited a
representative from the conference to sign the peace accord. Some of the key recommendations
made were the following: the establishment of mechanisms to punish and end war crimes such as
rape and sexualized violence, guarantees for women's rights to property, land and inheritance,
measures to ensure women's security and safe return and guarantees that girls have the same
rights as boys to all levels of education. Noeleen Heyzer, director of UNIFEM, called the proposals
generated at the Conference, "a model for peace efforts worldwide."

 In 2002, UNIFEM continued to provide support to the Government of Burundi in the
development of a national gender policy. In collaboration with AFRICARE Burundi, UNIFEM
supported a four month reconciliation program for women IDPs, returnees and stayees in Gitega
and Karusi focusing on concepts of conflict resolution and peace building with an emphasis on
communication, networking and both gender sensitive and culturally appropriate values that
promote reconciliation and peace. A network of activists called INAMAHORO was formed and the
workshops were closed with a ceremony to welcome back the returnees. The Gender Equality
Project executed by UNIFEM on behalf of UNDP and the Ministry of Social Affairs supported the
launching of a network of key ministries working in the area of gender; gender focal points have
been set up in all government industries. ACCORD was also subcontracted to conduct gender
training for civil servants in all ministries. Through advocacy facilitated by UNIFEM, there has
been considerable success in gender mainstreaming in high profile national decision-making
institutions. Media campaigns to support greater highlighting of gender related issues have
produced and disseminated 1000 fliers on gender equality in the national language, Kirundi, a
calendar as an advocacy tool for gender equality and gender mainstreaming in policies and
programs and brochures and videocassettes to broaden the outreach. UNIFEM supported
widespread publicity on CEDAW and its translation into Kirundi.

UN Country Team Gender Programming
UN Country Team Gender Programming
Members of the UN Country Team in Burundi: UNDP, FAO, WFP, WHO, UNFPA,
UNHCR, UNESCO, World Bank, OCHA, UNHCHR, UNAIDS, UNOB

 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): has been operational in Burundi
since 1960. Gender equality project details:
 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): In 1999, UNICEF provided therapeutic
feeding to malnourished women and children. UNICEF also began procuring anti-retroviral drugs
to give to pregnant women. UNICEF provided iron folate for 100,000 pregnant women and
distributed 400,000 doses of TT vaccine to health clinics. UNICEF included advocacy on women's
and children's rights as part of its emergency humanitarian appeal in 2001. This advocacy was
focused on helping the government enforce CEDAW and disseminating CEDAW and CRC in local

languages. In 2002, UNICEF launched the Girls' Education Plan, which provided for the
rehabilitation of schools with separate latrines for boys and girls. The plan was based on
discussion with parents and community leaders regarding facilities that would foster girls'
enrollment in school. In August 2002, UNICEF supported a workshop bringing together women
leader through the umbrella organization CAFOB. The workshop aimed to increase capacity and
knowledge in the area of project management and funding
 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): UNFPA's programme in Burundi for 1999-
2000 focused on building national capacity for instituting population goals. UNFPA provided
support at the national level to train medical personnel in the area of reproductive health,
especially emergency obstetric procedures. UNFPA provided reproductive health services and
funded the rehabilitation of reproductive health centers. UNFPA also contributed to UNAIDS work
in Burundi
 World Food Programme: At social centers throughout Burundi, the WFP provided
special food aid from 2000 until 2002 to vulnerable groups including widows, orphans and street
children
 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): UNHCR has taken steps
to ensure that unaccompanied women and female heads of households receive special attention
during the repatriation process to ensure their safety. In 1999, UNHCR reformed the protocol in
Tanzanian refugee camps to ensure greater visibility and, therefore, greater protection of women.
The process ensures greater representation of women in food distribution. UNHCR will issue ration
cards in a woman's name upon her request
 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): The 2002
Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal (CAP) outlines the priorities and programmatic plans for
Burundi. The CAP process is a means of ensuring coordination between UN agencies in Burundi.
 World Bank: In July 2002, the Government of Burundi and the World Bank signed a
US$36million agreement to support a multi-sectoral project to combat HIV/AIDS in Burundi. The
project includes a component to integrate AIDS orphans into society and subsidize their
education. Money is also being channeled into grassroots and NGO efforts who engage in AIDS
control activities

Latest UN Documents
Latest UN Documents

Security Council Resolutions
 1545 (21 May 2004): The Security Council authorizes the establishment of the United
Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) under Chapter VII, for an initial period of six months as
from 1 June 2004. ONUB will be headed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
(Ms. Carolyne McAskie), who will also chair the Implementation Monitoring Committee for the
Arusha Agreement. The resolution recalls resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and
security, 1379 (2001), 1469 (2003) and 1539 (2004) on children and armed conflict, and 1296
(2000) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The resolution welcomes the
recommendations of the Secretary-General in his report of 16 March 2004 (S/2004/210), which
recommended, among others, the deployment of gender, child protection and HIV/AIDS advisers
in the office of the SRSG. The mission, to be initially composed of rehatted African Mission in
Burundi (AMIB) forces, will consist of a maximum of 5,650 military personnel, including 200
observers and 125 staff officers, up to 120 civilian police personnel, as well as the appropriate
civilian personnel. Under operative paragraph 5, the Council authorizes ONUB to use all means
necessary to, inter alia: Undertake the disarmament and demobilization phases of the national
DDR program; Contribute to a secure environment that will allow for the provision of
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humanitarian assistance and facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and IDPs; Contribute to
the successful completion of the electoral process stipulated in the Arusha Agreement, by
ensuring a secure environment for free, transparent and peaceful elections to occur; Protect
civilians under imminent threat of violence.

In operative paragraph 6, ONUB is required to provide advice and assistance to the transitional
government and relevant authorities, among others, to Carry out institutional reforms as well as
the establishment of the integrated national defence and internal security forces and, in particular,
the training and monitoring of the police, while ensuring that they are democratic and fully
respect human rights and fundamental freedoms;Proceed with electoral activities; Implement the
reform of the judiciary and correction system, in accordance with the Arusha Agreement; Ensure,
in close liaison with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the promotion and
protection of human rights, with particular attention to women, children and vulnerable
persons, and investigate human rights violations to put an end to impunity.

Operative paragraph 7 calls on ONUB to work with the government of Burundi to extend state
authority throughout the country, including the judicial institutions and civilian police and in
carrying out the national program of DDR, including for combatants returning from DRC and
paying particular attention to the needs of women and children.

Operative paragraph 8 requests that the Special Representative for Burundi tofacilitate
coordination between national, regional and international actors of activities in support of the
transition process, while ensuring that ONUB’s personnel give special attention to issues
related to gender equality, as well as to the specific needs of children.

Operative paragraph 16 reaffirms the need for all parties to regroup and canton combatants in a
timely manner, and to begin implementing the programme to dismantle all armed groups,
including the militias, and the DDR programme, giving particular attention to the specific
need of women and children, and to proceed as well in parallel with the restructuring of the
armed forces and the internal security forces.

Operative paragraph 17 reaffirms the need to promote peace and national reconciliation and
foster accountability and respect for human rights. It also calls on the government and other
relevant actors to accelerate efforts to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as
provided for in the Arusha Agreement.
 1375 (29 October 01): Reaffirming that the Arusha Accord remains the most viable
resolution to the conflict and expressing deep concern over the ongoing violence and instability in
Burundi, the Security Council reaffirms its strong support for the installation of a transitional
government. The Security Council calls on all parties, especially the FDD and FNL, to end violence
against civilians. The Security Council urges the FDD and FNL to enter negotiations and calls on
the international community to continue its financial and technical support to Burundi.
 1286 (19 January 00): The Security Council expresses concern over the dire
humanitarian situation and the ongoing violence despite the accession of the Arusha Accords. The
Security Council warmly endorses the appointment of Nelson Mandela as chief facilitator of the
Arusha accords and commends Burundian parties working towards the realization of the Arusha
agreement. However, the Security Council strongly condemns the murders of UNICEF and WFP
personnel and the ongoing violence against civilians. The Security Council calls on all parties to
ensure the safety of humanitarian and human rights workers and urges the international
community to continue to support humanitarian and human rights work in Burundi.

Reports of the Secretary -General to the Security Council
 16 March 2004: The Secretary-General reported his pleasure regarding the progress
made towards peace in Burundi. The Secretary-Generals assessment mission to Burundi took
place in late February and the findings of the mission will inform the planning of UN intervention.
The Secretary-General reiterated that the Arusha Accords (2000) serve as the basis for political
settlement in Burundi. According to the Secretary-General, “while the assessment mission
received reports of women and child soldiers in armed groups, exact figures could not
be confirmed.”

 14 November 2001: The Secretary-General reported that Nelson Mandela would
continue his involvement in the peace process by acting as a moral guarantor to the Arusha
agreement. The Secretary-General decided against submitting a recommendation for the
expansion of UN activities in Burundi due to the refusal of the FDD and FNL to engage in peace
talks. The Secretary-General appointed his SRSG, Berhanu Dinka, to serve as the chairman of the
Implementation Monitoring Committee, which monitors the implementation of the Arusha accord.
The Secretary-General reported that the challenges of economic instability and lack of recovery
opportunities have worsened the dire humanitarian situation. HIV/AIDS infection has increased at
an alarming rate and recurrent droughts have further decimated agricultural production. The
Secretary-General highlighted Mr. Mandela's "indefatigable dedication" to the Arusha accords and
the resulting progress the accords have made. The Secretary-General pointed out that the Arusha
agreement calls on the international community to support the consolidation of peace in Burundi.
The Secretary-General called on all actors to facilitate the safe movement of humanitarian
personnel.

Presidential Statements of the Security Council

 18 December 2002: The President of the Security Council iterated that the Security
Council welcomed the signing of the cease-fire agreement between the transitional government
and the CNDD-FDD. The President paid tribute to the efforts of Buyoya and the representative of
CNDD-FDD in coming to the agreement. The Security Council called on the FNL to also submit to
negotiations immediately. The Security Council requested the Secretary-General to study ways of
urgently responding to the requests of the parties and of the facilitator to provide advice,
expertise, logistical support and financial assistance to the African peacekeeping mission to be
deployed in accordance with the cease-fire. The Security Council expressed its thanks to Nelson
Mandela for the historic role he played in facilitating the negotiations. The Security Council also
expressed serious concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

Human Rights Commission Reports and Resolution s

 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burundi: 25 February 2003.

 Resolution 2003 /16: “Condemns the intensifying violence, especially acts of rape
committed against women and urges all parties to the conflict to end the cycle of
violence and killings, especially blind violence against the civilian population.”

 Note by the Secretary-General: 26 September 2002.

 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burundi: 7 March 2002

 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burundi: 19 March 2001.

CEDAW

Burundi submitted its initial report to the CEDAW Committee in 2000.

ENDNOTES:

1
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2
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3
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4
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http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/burundi/burundi0203.htm#_Toc34131812
5
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6
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7
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8
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14
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30
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34
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