Joanna Cherry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joanna Cherry on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Burundi on (a) ending political violence and unrest and (b) alleged extra-judicial killings, torture, lack of freedom of expression and other human rights abuses in that country.

James Duddridge

I am extremely concerned about the situation in Burundi. During my visit to Bujumbura in December 2015 I emphasised to the Burundian Government that killings, torture and other abuses must stop and that they must take action to end impunity. I underlined the need for media, opposition and civil society to be allowed to operate freely and that all sides must renounce violence and participate fully in the dialogue. I repeated these messages in my letter to the Burundian Foreign Minister in May. Our Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region reiterated these points in meetings with Burundian ministers in Bujumbura last week and during her visit to Arusha in May for the second round of the dialogue facilitated by former Tanzanian President Mkapa.