“Burundi is astonished to hear about the precipitated pathway of the UN Security Council to vote for the 2303 resolution”, declares Philippe Nzobonariba, the spokesperson of the Burundian Government in the statement issued on 2 August. The Council adopted on 29 July a new resolution with a recorded vote of 11 in favor, with four abstentions (Angola, China, Egypt and Venezuela), which authorized the deployment of a UN police component of up to 228 officers. However, continues the statement, Burundi government position has been communicated before the UN Security Council vote for the resolution.
Concerning the deployment of the UN police, Burundi Government reminds the UN that to adopt each resolution, in article 6 of the UN charter, the UNSC must have the consent of the concerned country.
According to the UNSC, the police would be placed under the authority of a Senior Adviser to the United Nations and be deployed in the capital, Bujumbura and throughout Burundi.
As for observers and experts from the African Union (AU), the full deployment of 100 AU human rights observers and 100 military experts is still welcomed by the Burundian government.
In its 18 points raised in the statement, Burundi Government states that the resolution should instead be directed to neighboring Rwanda as it is accused of providing military trainings to armed groups that aim at destabilizing Burundi.
In addition, Burundi government is accusing France of seeking to establish a kind of “operation turquoise” that it implemented in Rwanda; thus, giving rise to the 1994 genocide.
The UN Security Council has adopted that resolution following the ongoing deterioration of security situation in Burundi.
The crisis broke out a year ago when President Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term in office. To date, hundreds of people have been killed, more than 240,000 have fled the country, and thousands more have been arrested and possibly subjected to human rights violations according to the UN.
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