| | | NAME OF MECHANISM | International Commission of Inquiry | | | | YEARS OF OPERATION | | September 1995 – July 1996 (10 months) | | | | MANDATE AND OPERATIONS | Mandate: Established by UN Security Council to investigate the assassination of the President of Burundi (Melchior Ndadaye) on October 21, 1993; and massacres and other serious related acts committed between October 21, 1993 and August 28, 1995 and to recommend measures to bring to justice those responsible and to end impunity and promote national reconciliation in Burundi. [PH] Staff: 5 Commissioners, all foreign. Structure: Commission limited investigation into massacres to cover a few days following the assassination (21-24 Oct). Heard 667 witnesses in total. | FINAL REPORT | The Final Report was submitted on June 7, 2002. [Click Here] | | LATEST UPDATE | All the documents and recordings of the Commission were given into the custody of the Secretary-General of the UN. [PH] January 2008: In the Arusha Accords of 2000, the parties asked the UN to provide an international commission to investigate serious crimes committed in Burundi since 1962. | | The Security Council did not act on this request until April 2004, when they sent a team to assess the feasibility of such a mechanism. The team recommended a two-part mechanism: | | 1. The establishment of the Truth Commission "to establish the historical facts of the conflict, determine its causes and nature, classify the crimes committed since independence in 1962, and idetify those responsible", and | 2. The establishment of a Special Chamber within Burundi's court system to "prosecute those bearing the greatest responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes". [UN News Centre] | | These recommendations were approved by the Security Council through resolution 1606/2005. | | Since then, negotiations have been held between the UN and the Government of Burundi on how these mechanisms are to be implemented, and in particular, which crimes would not be available for amnesty. However the most recent talks, in March 2007 still ended in stalemate, with the government rejecting some of conditions proposed by the UN. However the government refutes claims that the talks were a failure, stating instead that they have been suspended until further notice. [AFP] | They have agreed on the establishment of a TRC and a Special Tribunal (to replace the Special Chamber originally proposed) but they disagree on the relationship between the two bodies. The UN want to have an independent Special Tribunal with a Prosecutor who can on his own decision start investigation on any case which he believes fals under the mandate of the Tribunal. The Government of Burundi, on the other hand, is sticking to its idea of allowing the Prosecutor to start investigations only for cases sent to him by the TRC. | Meanwhile the UN and the Government of Burundi have agreed on the non-applicability of amnesty to crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, through letters exchanged in May and June 2007 between the Burundian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the UN Legal Counsel and the deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. Through the same correspondences they have also agreed on the fact that there should be a national consultation before the establishment of the TRC and that a tripartite committee of preparation of the consultation, comprising civil society, the UN and the government of Burundi, should be set up. In November 2007, a 3-party committee was set up to conduct public consultations concerning the setting up of the TRC and Special Tribunal. The committee consists of two representatives of the Burundian Government, two representatives of civil society and two representatives from the United Nations. The consultation period is expected to last "approximately six months", according to an agreement between the UN and the government. [Hirondelle News] | The representatives have already been chosen: Mr Joseph Ndayizeye and Mrs Eularie Nibizi for civil society, Mr Festus Ntanyungu and Mrs Francoise Ngendahayo for the Government of Burundi, and Mr I"smaël A Diallo for the UN. The national consultation was scheduled to start in September 2007, and to last for 6 months. |
It is worth noting that, to date, the UN and the Government have agreed that the TRC and the Special Tribunal should be made up of a mixture of foreigners and Burundians. But all this needs to be reaffirmed in a General Framework Agreement between the UN and the Governent of Burundi. [source: Didace Kanyugu,
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