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During a Security Council debate on the Burundi issue last Friday, the US representative Nancy Soderberg noted that “hardliners” were trying to derail a “broad-based negotiating process that offers the country’s best hope for lasting peace”. According to a UN press release, she called on the UN to “reassert its leadership” in protecting the rights of individuals and providing guidance and direction for NGOs operating in Burundi. She said the US urged the Council to “recognise Burundi’s desperate economic situation and call for the donor community to expand economic assistance and deliver needed help as soon as possible”.
The Canadian representative, Robert Fowler, said that with the movement of Interahamwe and ex-FAR troops from the DRC to Burundi, the frontline in the DRC war “in essence, has now moved into Burundi”. “It is imperative that efforts to restore peace throughout the sub-region receive the full support of the international community,” he added.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions