The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current situation in Burundi; and whether they are concerned that the present levels of violence could lead to genocide.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The current situation in Burundi remains grave. The number of fatalities is high with at least 130 killed in December 2015. There is a daily rhythm of violence during the nights followed by quiet mornings. We were deeply concerned to hear of allegations that the police and the ruling party’s youth league are responsible for much of the violence, including sexual violence. The conflict remains essentially political in nature. Whilst there have been some limited signs of ‘ethnicisation’ of the crisis, these have not yet formed the kind of pattern that was seen in the run-up to previous genocides. The immediate risk is of a decline into multi-sided civil war. We continue to work closely with African and international partners to bring an end to the violence.