Statement by the delegation of Ukraine after the vote on the draft resolution on Burundi

Statement by the delegation of Ukraine after the vote on the draft resolution on Burundi

Statement by the delegation of Ukraine after the vote on the draft resolution on Burundi

(29 July 2016)

Mr. President,

Let me begin by congratulating you and the Japanese delegation for the effective presidency this month and welcome the adoption of this important preventive resolution. We would like to express our gratitude to the French delegation for a hard work on its draft and taking on board a number of suggestions, including ours.

Recognizing the continued violations of human rights and deterioration of humanitarian situation in Burundi, our delegation strongly supports the deployment of the United Nations police component in the country. In our opinion, sending 228 police officers is a bare minimum of the moment.

We strongly condemn extrajudicial executions and torture committed by the Burundian security forces from the outset of the crisis. Unfortunately the latest report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documents an increase of cases of forced disappearances and acts of torture in the country. And all of this happened after our own visit to Burundi. In this regard, we urge the Burundian authorities to return to respecting, protecting and guaranteeing human rights and fundamental freedoms for all and to bring to justice all responsible for such crimes.

Since only 32 human rights observers and 15 military experts out of 200 previously agreed were deployed from the AU in Burundi, we call upon the Government of Burundi to ensure full implementation of an adopted resolution without delay and reconsider its position regarding the deployment of the police component.

Considering sanctions as an effective enforcement tool we fully support the Council’s intention to pursue targeted measures against all actors who threaten the peace and security of Burundi.

At the same time, Ukraine is convinced that the peaceful resolution of the Burundian crisis is possible only through an inclusive political dialogue. We would also like to emphasize the need to strengthen coordination between all relevant international and regional stakeholders to find solutions to stabilize the situation in Burundi.

Thank you, Mr. President.