Examination of the Gaps in Human Rights Law During Internal Armed Conflict; a Case Study of Burundi (1993-2005).
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Date
2013-12
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Kampala International University, School of law.
Abstract
Burundian and UN representatives have been trying since March 2006
to agree on plans first set forth by the Arusha Peace Accord in 2000 to
establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Special
Tribunal within the Burundian judicial system. Despite commitments
made to high ranking UN officials/ such as the High Commissioner for
human rights/ Louise Arbou0 in May 2000 Burundian officials
continue to reject the UN's call for an independent prosecutor for the
tribunal.
Government officials have also publicly expressed support for amnesty
for serious crimes/ including genocide/ war crimes/ and crimes against
humanity. Under international law_, amnesty should not be offered for
the most serious international crimes/ which nations are obligated to
prosecute.
A process of "national consultations" to solicit the views of ordinary
Burundians on transitional justice mechanisms funded by donors and
led by a "tripartite" team of U~ Burundian government., and civil
society representative explicitly leaves out these key issues.
"The national consultations process should not distract attention from
the fact that in the nine years since Arusha/ the government has made
very little progress toward establishing transitional justice mechanisms
in line with international law_," Dutka said.
The absence of justice for past war crimes may contribute to a climate
in which members of the security forces continue to commit both
common and politically motivated crimes. Few of the crimes of this
nature carried out since the end of the serious fighting in 2006 have
been thoroughly investigated. The killings of over a dozen FNL
members and opposition party activists documented by Human Rights
Watch in 2008 and 2009 most recently of Emmanuel Minyurano/
whose murder in April has been attributed by witnesses to a man
known to work for the intelligence service have resulted in no
prosecutions. In another case/ army officers killed 31 civilians in
Muyinga province in 2006. Although a widely lauded trial in Dctober
2008 resulted in the convictions of 15 soldiers/ a number of civilians
implicated in the murders/ including intelligence and administrative
officials linked to the ruling party, have never been brought to trial.
Laws establishing a new police force and reformed army in 2004
pledged to exclude former soldiers and rebels found to be responsible
for war crime~ crimes against humanity, and torture. But because no
vetting mechanism was established, the police and milital}j like other
state institutions/ continue to employ individuals who may have
committed heinous crimes against civilians.
Description
A thesis presented to the College of Higher Degrees and Research Kampala International University Kampala, Uganda in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Masters Degree in Public International Law of Kampala International University.
Keywords
Human Rights Law, Internal Armed Conflict, Examination, Burundi