Widespread human rights violations persist

In 2001, Burundi "remained profoundly affected by massive violations of human rights, in particular the right to life, due principally to the continued civil war between the national armed forces and the two principal armed [rebel] factions, the Front national de liberation (FNL) and the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD)", Ligue Iteka, a local human rights organisation, stated in its newly released annual report.

Iteka lamented that the installation of a transitional national government in November had not improved the situation. "A large percentage of the population remains sceptical of an improvement in the security situation in the absence of a cease-fire agreement, which remains the major challenge of the Burundi peace process," said Iteka.

Burundi's civil war began in October 1993 with the assassination of the country's first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, a Hutu. More than 200,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in fighting between the largely Tutsi army and two Hutu rebel groups, the FDD and the FNL. A peace agreement, signed in August 2000 under the mediation of South African former President Nelson Mandela, led to the establishment of a new transitional, ethnically balanced government on 1 November 2001.

Among Iteka's major findings for 2001 were:

- torture remained widespread, despite laws against it;

- prison conditions remained "very bad", due to overcrowding, deplorable hygienic conditions, poor dietary practices, and a general lack of medicine and health care;

- people have been detained in some cases for up to six months, when laws have set a limit of one to two weeks;

- freedom of movement remains "seriously compromised", with frequent ambushes on the roads resulting in killings, injuries, and robberies. Humanitarian assistance has suffered from this insecurity, making certain areas of the country inaccessible;

- freedom of expression was "frequently violated", as was freedom of the press, as journalists "were not able to exercise their right of expression", because some of them were "intimidated or threatened, whereas others were arrested or arbitrarily detained";

- violations of women's rights, in particular, were widespread on many levels, including land ownership, sexual harassment and violence, domestic violence, and lack of protection following divorce;

- ongoing armed conflict has resulted in the destruction of public infrastructure (health centres, schools, workplaces) and in the massive displacement of populations both internally and externally;

- the right of children to education remained largely unrealised, particularly for girls;

- access to health care continued to prove problematic, due to a lack of physicians and means to pay them, with malaria and malnutrition among the most commonly untreated ailments.

The report concludes with an appeal to the government, rebels, and the international community to remain actively engaged in the dire situation of human rights in Burundi, and offers each a set of specific recommendations for action they might take.

The complete report, available in French, can be found at http://www.ligue-iteka.bi