UN Human Rights Council -60th Regular Session

Agenda Item 4: General debate on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

Joint Statement by: Association Ma’onah and Geneva International Centre for Justice

Delivered by: Patricia Jjuuko

Thank you, President.

We thank the Special Rapporteur for his comprehensive report. We share his concern over the grave allegations regarding the killing of three members of RED Tabara in a detention center in Cibitoke between 6 and 9 October 2024, following reports of torture. We deeply regret that these allegations have not been subjected to an independent investigation, which, as the Special Rapporteur highlights, entrenches impunity within the security services and reflects the State’s persistent failure to meet its obligations under the Convention against Torture.

We also echo the Special Rapporteur’s alarm regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation. The influx of over 67,000 Congolese refugees since February 2025 has been met, as the report notes, with discriminatory practices, particularly targeting Banyamulenge and Tutsi communities. Arbitrary arrests, including those of Congolese students in Bujumbura, starkly contravene Burundi’s obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention, its 1967 Protocol, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

In line with the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations, we urge Burundi to urgently establish the National Preventative Mechanism against Torture, overdue since 2014, and to ensure the protection of all refugees and asylum-seekers without discrimination.

Finally, we ask the Special Rapporteur: in the absence of independent investigations at the national level, what concrete measures can the Human Rights Council and the international community take to support accountability for torture and ill-treatment in Burundi?

Thank you