Country Report Burundi February 2011

The political scene: UN mission downsizes, and changes name and mandate

On Janurary 1st the BINUB became the UN Office in Burundi (BNUD), shedding much of its capacity and budget (maintaining only one-third of its original capacity). The UN mission also received a new mandate from the UN Security Council at the same time. The BNUD is charged with promoting and facilitating dialogue, supporting mechanisms aimed at ensuring greater public participation in politics, combating impunity and corruption, and the promotion and protection of human rights. The BNUD is headed by Karin Landgren, a Swedish national, who replaced Charles Petrie. Mr Petrie gave a final briefing to the UN Security Council in December, saying that while the country had moved away from its violent past and had made "remarkable progress", security remained concerning, and people were still being killed for "political reasons". The reduced scope and capacity of the UN mission at a time when local and international human-rights groups accuse the government of human-rights abuses, worryingly indicates that the international community may turn a blind eye to some of Mr Nkurunziza's excesses.

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