THE East African Community (EAC) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes have agreed on a collective approach to assessing the security situations in Burundi and South Sudan.
EAC Secretary General Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko said here that he had held consultations with ICGLR leadership that was co-chaired by the ICGLR Deputy Executive Secretary, Ambassador Vincente Muanda as a follow-up to a bilateral meeting held in March this year, revisiting the Memorandum of Understanding concluded by the two sides with a view to renewing its implementation.
Ambassador Mfumukeko availed to The Daily News that on peace and security, the parties had discussed the Burundi situation,given the fact that a number of international bodies and organisations have been reporting on alleged human rights violations in the EAC partner state.
“It has been deemed necessary that an independent assessment by organisations based in the region may provide a much more credible and balanced narrative.
“To this extent the partnership between the EAC and ICGLR which is based in Burundi can be developed to address these concerns within a regional context and in line with mandate provided by the legal instruments governing each of the two organisations,” said the EAC executive.
However, Ambassador Mfumukeko noted that the situation in Burundi had tremendously improved and life is back to normal.
He noted that the EAC or ICGLR could not affirm that there are no human rights violations in the country, adding that EAC have really no data on that, but their partnership with ICGLR would help collect information on the issue since they are on the ground.
The meeting agreed on a close follow up mechanism that will ensure regular evaluation after every three months. While Burundi had experienced some incidents of killings after reelection of President Pierre Nkurunziza, South Sudan has had two factions – one led by President Salva Kiir and the other by former Vice President Riek Machar.
The UN Security Council heard in May this year from the Assistant Secretary-General, Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, that regional actors and international partners should press for confidence-building measures that would be conducive for holding an inclusive and credible political dialogue in the country. He had noted that the security situation remained fragile, with grenade attacks in the capital and intimidation by security forces and associated groups.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had continued to report targeted arrests, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of real or perceived opposition members and supporters, extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances.
He went on to discuss deterioration in the socioeconomic and humanitarian situation, with three million people requiring humanitarian assistance and 2.6 million facing acute food security.
Dailynews