PRESS RELEASE Burundi Alert: Regroupment Efforts in Burundi Violate International Law and Constitute Crimes Against Humanity
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2002
Contact: Adriana Mourad
adriana_srintl@yahoo.com
Survivors' Rights International
1925 North Lynn Street
12th Floor
Arlington, VA 22209
Phone (703) 528-7113, Fax (703) 528-5776
www.survivorsrightsinternational.org

The Tutsi dominated government in Burundi waged a war against the Hutu opposition groups by committing crimes against humanity and genocidal atrocities against innocent Hutu civilians. To undermine the Hutu opposition, the government implemented a regroupment program that led to the movement of Hutu civilians into camps where many camp residents die from diseases and starvation due to unsanitary and poor living conditions. Moreover, rape and other violent crimes are committed against camp residents with impunity.

The regroupment program begun as an effort to gain political and military control of the Hutu opposition to the Tutsi dominated government. Since the regroupment program is a means of exterminating Hutu opposition, the government created the worst conditions imaginable for camp residents to prevent them from supporting the opposition groups. In other words, the government uses the regroupment policy to punish and instill fear among the civilian population, particularly when opposition groups attack the government or its military forces.

The government must implement three plans of action to ameliorate the problem. One is to improve the living conditions in the camps by distinguishing between civilians and combatants. International law obligates the Burundian government to protect civilians from acts of violence. The second plan of action is to provide legal remedies by submitting all acts of violence to criminal investigation and prosecution. Either the Burundian criminal courts should prosecute all acts of violence or the government should abide by international humanitarian and human rights law to settle disputes and protect camp residents. In either case, the courts should use officials trained in international humanitarian and human rights law. The last plan of action is for Burundian women to participate in the peace process since it is only through their recommendations that the problems women face in the camps will be acknowledged and addressed. However, an everlasting change in the political structure of Burundi is necessary to ensure the cessation of hostilities against civilians and ethnic strife.

Site development & hosting by Cyberian Frontier