Security Council calls for ceasefire

Members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday called on all parties to the conflict in Burundi to “immediately cease hostilities” and to respect human rights and international law. “Members of the Council reiterate their strong support for the Arusha agreement as the basis for the resolution of the conflict in Burundi and are united in the belief that there is no military solution to the conflict,” the current Council chairman, Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury of Bangladesh told journalists in New York. “Armed groups should not pursue their agenda through violent means”. Ambassador Chowdhury was speaking following a Council meeting to discuss Burundi.

He said that Council members also encouraged the dialogue between the government and the rebels and called upon the countries in the region to use their influence to bring the armed groups into the peace process. They endorsed the findings of the Council’s mission to Burundi, and repeated their call to the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) and Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) to enter into the Arusha process and refrain from any violent action.
Members also noted the progress made in advancing the peace process at the session of the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC) in Arusha from 28 May to 4 June. They also reiterated their full support for Nelson Mandela, the facilitator of the Arusha process, and regional initiatives to bring peace to the troubled country.