Civil Society Urges Renewal of UN Rapporteur Mandate Amid Worsening Repression in Burundi

Human rights organisations denounce ongoing killings, torture, and political repression ahead of Burundi’s 2025 elections

M. Jean-Claude NTIBURUMUSI, legal advisor of ACAT Burundi, reading the oral statement.

On 19 September, the CCPR Centre, together with FIACAT and ACAT-Burundi, SOS Torture / Burundi and the World Organisation Against Torture took the floor during the interactive dialogue on the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burundi at the 60 th session of the Human Rights Council.

The statement, read by M. Jean-Claude NTIBURUMUSI, legal advisor of ACAT Burundi, urged the Council to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Burundi and to strengthen his resources.

Ten years after the bloody crisis of 2015, which left more than 1,200 people dead, 400 forcibly disappeared and around 400,000 people in exile, total impunity is still prevailing for the most serious crimes.

In 2024, the organisations recorded more than 170 people killed, 103 arbitrary arrests, the majority of which targeted political opponents, and 49 cases of torture and detention. This systematic repression was aimed at silencing any dissenting voices, while opposition parties saw more than 50 meetings banned or dispersed by the police, in a climate of constant fear. The situation worsened further in the run-up to the parliamentary and municipal elections on 5 June 2025.

In order to illustrate these repressive trends and their evolution, SOS-Torture Burundi has set up an interactive map to visualise the dynamics of repression and highlight the areas most affected, thereby strengthening independent and credible documentation.

The full statement is available here.

The webcast of the statement is available here.