UK Statement for the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Burundi. Delivered at the 60th HRC in Geneva.
Thank you, Mr. President.
We thank the Special Rapporteur for their latest update and continued efforts to monitor the human rights situation in Burundi. We urge the government of Burundi to allow him full access and to reopen the OHCHR country office.
Mr. President, following the recent elections, we again welcome the non-violent and timely way in which they were conducted. However, we note with concern the serious irregularities reflected in this report, including voter intimidation, fraudulent registrations, shrinking civic space, and the suppression of opposition voices. We call on Burundi to protect the freedoms of expression, assembly and association, including by revising legal frameworks that curtail media freedom.
We further call on Burundi to ensure accountability for human rights violations via impartial investigations and judicial independence, especially with regards to arbitrary arrests and detentions, and enforced disappearances.
To the Special Rapporteur we ask: how can the international community support Burundi to strengthen its democratic processes and to protect human rights, especially in the run up to the 2027 elections?
