Why Human rights reports on Burundi should be taken seriously in 2020?
Dear Readers,
When I was preparing and taking notes for this newsletter today, I came across a publication made by a new organization in the area of human rights monitoring called “ Burundi Human Rights Initiative” introduced as an independent human rights project that aims to document the evolving human rights situation in Burundi, with a particular focus on events linked to the 2020 elections.
I couldn’t help but ask myself a question that deserves an answer: “ When was the last time a Human rights report on Burundi was taken seriously?”, unfortunately, I couldn’t find an answer. Yet I know how important is to hear the voices of victims of abuses, and how it can be helpful for governments to improve the situation whenever concerns are raised.
(1 )Earlier in this century, the term “human rights” was defined as those rights guaranteed by the International Bill of Human Rights (comprised of the universal declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with optional Protocols).
Over the years, however, international and regional human rights instruments have made more explicit the rights set forth in the International Bill ofHuman Rights. “Human rights” are now defined with far more detail and specificity. International human rights law is, therefore, more protective of vulnerable individuals and groups, including children, indigenous groups, refugees and displaced persons and women.
In their first report titled “A façade of peace in a land of fear: Behind Burundi’s human rights crisis”, the Burundi Human Rights Initiative (BHRI) reveals :
“The ruling party has attempted to cover up brutal acts of political violence in which scores of government opponents have been quietly arrested, abducted or killed. Members of the ruling party youth league, the Imbonerakure, have discarded bodies under the cover of darkness and sometimes buried them in cemeteries, far from where the victims were abducted or killed.”
That’s a bold statement and for many readers, on one side it can be hard to believe that it’s true, on the other hand, analysts and activists may say that such a statement can be a relief for “victims” that can’t have a platform to share their stories.
I am among those who believe that at a certain time, especially in the 2015 context many of the Human Rights Reports on Burundi were biased and politically motivated (it doesn’t mean that all their contents were lies). In my view, this toned-down how serious and important is the concept of monitoring human rights abuse.
As no one can say that everything is fine in Burundi, [we’ve heard the news, saw the pictures, abuses, and event, the police often communicate about this too,] it is the same way none can endorse the accuracy and veracity of the whole content of such reports at 100%.
But the main concern is what do we do when we read Human rights reports, acknowledging that their content can’t be totally true nor false?
Since 2015, polarized views inspired a climate of cleavage, with a tendency to refute and condemn each position that doesn’t feed one’s beliefs on the current status of human rights in Burundi.
But as we enter a new decade every Burundian should take a step forward and learn that ( 2 ) it is everyone’s responsibility to respect and look out for each other’s rights. (This does not replace the primary responsibility of the state since states are the main mechanism through which people carry out their duties in regard to human rights and the mechanism by which their duties are coordinated and made effective.)
In his book “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the 21st Century” Gordon Brown writes this:
“Some commentators argue that rights-bearers often act irresponsibly in claiming human rights protections by being over-zealous in pursuing rights campaigns or by adopting the posture of victim. In our view, such commentary risks downplaying or soft-pedaling human rights abuses or blocking serious and important interpretive debates. Human rights are designed, among other things, to protect people from the worst evils that can be inflicted on them. They are designed to facilitate a clamoring for attention for victims of abuse, even when this is uncomfortable for other members of society. We must never lose sight of this”
So what to do when rights are being claimed by individuals who have already shown that they are socially irresponsible or who are accused of crimes or suspected of terrorism?
This is one of the debates Burundians need to have especially in the 2020 election context and ask what new leaders think about this because human rights reports on Burundi(balanced or not) are still coming...
Fabrice Iranzi, Editor
RegionWeek
Notes
1.https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/training7Introen.pdf
2. https://books.openedition.org/obp/3068?lang=en
3. https://burundihri.org/english/index.html
Image Credit: Suramnya HAM Di Nepal - REQnews.com
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