Examination of the Gaps in Human Rights Law During Internal Armed Conflict; A Case Study of Burundi (1993-2005).

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.