NAME OF MECHANISM

International Commission of Inquiry for Burundi

PERIOD OF OPERATION

September 1995 – June 2002. The commission completed its investigation in 1996, but only submitted its final report to the United Nations (UN) in June 2002.

MANDATE AND OPERATIONS

Mandate: Established by UN Security Council Resolution 1012 of 1995 “to establish the facts relating to the assassination of the President of Burundi on 21 October 1993; to establish the facts relating to the massacres and other related serious acts of violence which followed; … to recommend measures with regard to the bringing to justice of persons responsible for those acts; to recommend measures of a legal, political or administrative nature, as appropriate, after consultation with the Government of Burundi, to prevent any repetition of deeds similar to those investigated by the Commission and, in general, to eradicate impunity and promote national reconciliation in Burundi.”

Staff: Five international commissioners selected by the UN secretary-general: Edilbert Razafindralambo (chair, Madagascar), Abdelali El Moumni (Morocco), Mehmet Güney (Turkey), Luis Herrera Marcano (Venezuela) and Michel Maurice (Canada).

Budget: The commission received the following financial contributions: Ireland, US$150,000; United Kingdom, US$431,250; Norway, US$49,983 (plus an additional amount available for communication equipment and user fees); Spain, US$10,000; Belgium, US$336,553; Sweden, US$73,784; Netherlands, US$250,000; Denmark, US$49,200; United States, US$500,000 [Final Report | 2002].

RESOURCES

UN Security Council Resolution 1012 [1995]
International Commission of Inquiry for Burundi Final Report [2002]

RESULTS

The International Commission of Inquiry for Burundi received testimonies from 667 witnesses in total [USIP | 2002]. It found that acts of genocide had been perpetrated against the Tutsi minority in Burundi in October 1993 and recommended prosecutions of those responsible for these crimes, as well as the 1972 genocide, once the situation in the country became more stable and secure. It also found that Hutus are heavily discriminated against in Burundi and recommended that the government implement anti-discrimination measures and institute reforms to the judiciary and security sector that would result in more ethnically balanced and independent bodies, as well as accountability for human rights violations that occurred in 1993 and earlier.

BACKGROUND

From independence, Burundi was under a series of military dictatorships dominated by the minority Tutsi community. In 1993, Melchior Ndadaye, Burundi’s first elected president and Hutu leader, was assassinated by Tutsi army officers. In response, Hutu civilians began massacring Tutsi neighbours, which prompted the Tutsi army to kill thousands of Hutus. Violence against Tutsis was exacerbated by the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

SOURCES

[United States Institute of Peace]