NEWS RELEASE

‘Tradition of impunity’ threatens Burundi’s future, renders free elections impossible – UN expert warns

United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

GENEVA (19 June 2015) – The calendar for democratic elections in Burundi can only be determined by successfully establishing conditions for people to freely express their choice, said United Nations expert on transitional justice Pablo de Greiff. In an open statement* published today, he called for the fullest attention of the international community to the current situation in Burundi.

Mr. de Greiff, who visited Burundi last December, highlighted in his statement “the authorities’ blatant failures to respect freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, the pre-conditions for any credible democratic society.”

The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, warned that “the governing political party and its youth militia use violence, threats, gross limitations of press freedoms and hate speech to deliberately intimidate people and to obtain a particular electoral outcome.”…

Read the rest of the press release here.