Statement by Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide on the situation in Burundi (25.08.2016)

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Adama Dieng, expressed his concern at inflammatory statements by public officials that could constitute incitement to violence including, most recently, by a senior official of the ruling CNDD-FDD political party.

NEW YORK, United States of America, August 25, 2016 – The United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, expressed his concern at inflammatory statements by public officials that could constitute incitement to violence including, most recently, by a senior official of the ruling CNDD-FDD political party.
In a statement on 16 August 2016 that was published on the CNDD-FDD website, Pascal Nyabenda, who was at the time President of the CNDD-FDD party and President of the National Assembly, suggested that the genocide in Rwanda was a fabrication of the international community, (“montages genocidaires contre le Gouvernement dit Hutu de Kigali”) that was used to remove the Hutu government that was in place at the time.
“This irresponsible statement could be interpreted as genocide denial”, Mr. Dieng said, “and has the potential to inflame ethnic tensions, both within Burundi and outside its borders”.  At the 20 August meeting of the party, a new head of the CNDD-FDD was appointed but Mr. Nyabenda continues in his role as President of the National Assembly.

The situation in Burundi continues to be marred by instability and reports of serious human rights violations, including allegations of extra-judicial killings, disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention of members of the opposition, civil society and those suspected of opposing the Government. Human rights defenders and journalists are among the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the country since April 2015.

In its concluding observations, issued on 11 August 2016 following a special report submitted at the request of the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT), the Committee’s international experts expressed deep concern over the hundreds of reports of torture received and called for investigations into all cases of killings, enforced disappearances and other violence motivated by the ethnic origin of the victim. The Committee urged the Burundian Government to refrain from making any public statements that could exacerbate ethnic tensions or incite violence or hatred and to ensure that public and law enforcement officials do not accept or tolerate such acts by other groups.

Special Adviser Dieng also raised concern that the youth wing of the CNDD-FDD party, known as the Imbonerakure, continues to be associated with human rights abuses and is reported to have threatened ethnic violence. He noted that the Minister of the Interior of Burundi had confirmed that the Imbonakure formed part of the national security strategy, as the CAT also pointed out in its concluding observations.

Special Adviser Dieng reminded the Government of Burundi of its obligation to protect its populations, regardless of their ethnicity or political affiliation, and to refrain from any action or discourse that could inflame ethnic tensions. He highlighted the importance of countering such messages with alternative speech to foster unity rather than further entrench divisions,  and called on all parties to prioritize inclusive dialogue to bring about an end to the protracted crisis.

Barclays and Standard Chartered picketed in London over Bidco business (23.08.2016)

Bidco Protest

Members of Prince Charles’ Banking Environment Initiative fail to cut ties with companies that deforest in Africa.

KAMPALA, Uganda, August 23, 2016 – East African protesters have taken to the streets of London to demonstrate against banks that do business with Bidco Africa, highlighting the connection between global financial institutions, The Prince of Wales and widespread deforestation in Africa.

Barclays and Standard Chartered saw their London headquarters picketed due to their funding of Nairobi-based Bidco, a company that cuts down thousands of acres of pristine rainforest in Uganda, and engages in human rights and tax violations in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Bidco Truth Coalition (No2Bidco.org), an activist alliance, has revealed that the Banking Environment Initiative (BEI), based at Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership under the patronage of The Prince of Wales, is failing in its mission to lead the banking industry in collectively directing capital towards environmentally and socially sustainable economic development.

The BEI’s nine member banks are Barclays, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Lloyds, Northern Trust, RBS, Santander and Westpac.

By signing up to BEI’s ‘Soft Commodities’ Compact, the nine banks have committed to only direct capital towards sustainable business models and achieve zero net deforestation among their client Companies.

Under BEI guidelines, member banks must drop clients that don’t measure up to socially and environmentally responsible policies.

Bidco Africa, which has engaged in multiple human rights, labour, tax and environmental violations, has publically stated that it does business with Barclays, Standard Chartered, Citibank, Equity Bank and Kenya Commercial Bank.

Bidco owns an oil palm plantation that has deforested 18,000 acres of rainforest in Uganda. Bidco has also grabbed land from over 100 smallholder farmers.

The environmental impact of the palm oil project has led activists to call on the UN Global Compact to eject Bidco from its roster of members.

In 2004, the World Bank pulled out of Bidco’s Uganda project, citing violations of the World Bank’s anti-deforestation policies.

But BEI has remained silent, and Barclays, Standard Chartered and other banks continue to do business with Bidco Africa.

The Bidco Truth Coalition calls on BEI, its patron, The Prince of Wales, and BEI’s nine member banks to publically state that they will no longer do business with Bidco and other companies that destroy the environment.

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (23.08.2016)

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The Secretary-General continues to follow closely the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in particular the political dialogue process. He takes note of today’s meeting of the preparatory committee to the national dialogue convened by the Facilitator of the African Union, Edem Kodjo.
The Secretary-General recalls that in resolution 2277 (2016) the Security Council underlined the importance of a credible and inclusive political dialogue to ensure peaceful, credible, inclusive, transparent and timely presidential and legislative elections, in line with the Constitution.
The Secretary-General once again calls on all political stakeholders in the DRC to engage in an inclusive political dialogue in good faith to overcome the impasse in the electoral process. He notes that there is no alternative to a credible political dialogue in the DRC and further urges all actors to refrain from any action that could increase tensions or lead to violence.

RDC: Communiqué de presse de la société civile du Nord-Kivu et coordination urbaine de Butembo (22.08.2016)

Nord Kivu 22.08.2016

Security Council press statement on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (17.08.2016)

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They expressed their deep concern regarding the persistence of violence in this region, where more than 700 civilians have been killed since October 2014.

NAIROBI, Kenya, August 17, 2016 – The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the killing of at least 50 civilians on 13 August in the area of Rwangoma village, North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), by suspected members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

They expressed their deep concern regarding the persistence of violence in this region, where more than 700 civilians have been killed since October 2014. They stressed the need for the Government of the DRC to conduct a thorough and prompt investigation into these attacks in order to ensure that those responsible are held to account.

The members of the Security Council called on the Government of the DRC to take further military action, in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable, and with the support of MONUSCO in accordance with its mandate, to end the threat posed by the ADF and all other armed groups operating in the region.

They recalled that drivers behind different armed groups’ activities are varied and that there is no purely military solution to the problem of armed groups, and emphasized the need for comprehensive military and civil responses to these armed groups.

The members of the Security Council reiterated their support to MONUSCO and called on all parties to cooperate fully with the Mission and to remain committed to the full and objective implementation of the Mission’s mandate.

Les partis politiques de l’opposit Nord Kivu demandent la destitut de Mapon Matata en react aux massacres de Beni (16.08.2016)

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Communique de l’UDPS No. 001/UDPS/PP/SG/2016: “tient Kabila pour responsable du massacre de Beni” (15.08.2016)

RDC PDP 15.08.2016

AR: Declaration de l’Alternance pour la Republique en Rapport avec le Massacre de Beni (15.08.2016)

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Said Djinnit: “I strongly condemn the recent attack on the civilian population of Beni” (15.08.2016)

DRC Rebel Attack

The attack, which is believed to have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) took place in Rwangoma, near the central town of Beni, on 13-14 August 2016.

NAIROBI, Kenya, August 15, 2016 –  United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, Said Djinnit, condemns the massacre of at least 36 people, including women, in the area of Beni, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The attack, which is believed to have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) took place in Rwangoma, near the central town of Beni, on 13-14 August 2016. The ADF, a rebel group of Ugandan origin operates mainly in eastern DRC.

“I condemn in the strongest terms this attack on civilians. I express heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of the DRC, and reiterate full support to the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) in their efforts to bring security to the affected areas in the country. This attack will not deter from the collective determination to neutralize all negative forces that continue to cause sorrow and atrocities in eastern DRC.”

Special Envoy Djinnit further notes that, “This cowardly attack reminds us of the urgency to implement the commitments of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework, and the decisions taken in that regard by the Heads of State of the region, including at the 6th Ordinary Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), held in Luanda, Angola, on 14 June 2016, under the chairmanship of President Eduardo dos Santos”. The UN Special Envoy also reiterates his readiness to continue to support ongoing efforts to end the plague of negative forces in the region, together with other

RDC: Declaration de Moise Katumbi suite au nouveau massacre a Beni le 13 Aut 2016 (14.08.2016)

Moise Katumbi 14.08.2016