Burundi, 2012

It

is a great pleasure for me to address the representatives

here today and to express my congratulations to Mr. Vuk

Jeremić on his election as President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, and to his cabinet

as well. I also thank his predecessor, Ambassador Nassir

Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for his excellent work during

his presidency. In addition, I extend my appreciation

to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his work for

the good and well-being of Member States and their

peoples.

It is an honour and a pleasure for me to speak from

this rostrum about current issues of great importance

to my country and the world. It is a pleasure especially

because Burundi is right now at a decisive and historic

turning point. What I have to say Pierre Nkurunziza,

President of the Republic of Burundi, also spoke of last

year at the Assembly’s sixty-sixth session. A major turn

of events has placed a special stamp on our country’s

history since independence. Democratically elected

institutions now serve out the terms entrusted to them

by the people in peace, and then, at the end of their

tenure, give way to others, also democratically elected.

Over two years ago, in 2010, Burundi organized

democratic elections for the second time since

2005, from which were born our current republican

institutions, which operate with legitimacy in a restored

climate of peace and security. That development gives us

great satisfaction, and the Burundian people have every

reason to be proud of it. Indeed, whereas my country

faced crises on multiple fronts, under which the people

suffered economic depletion, social degradation and

political discord, seriously demoralizing them, those

same people are now steadily getting back on their feet

and rediscovering hope as they look to the future. That

positive trend demonstrates conclusively a complete

break with the spirals of violence and instability that

have for decades been our ongoing lot.

Thanks to the collective efforts, strength and spirit

of the Burundian people, as well as to the support of our

partners, I can confirm here and now that the policies

begun in 2005 and carried on after 2010 have produced

most encouraging results in many areas. As I said earlier,

in the political sphere our country has held democratic

elections twice in the recent past, in 2005 and 2010. We

have established democratic institutions — the executive

branch, the National Assembly and the Senate — all

of which are representative of the various elements

of Burundi’s population, in conformity with the

ethnic and gender balances agreed to in the Arusha

Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, which have

been incorporated into the Constitution governing

Burundians today. I take pleasure in pointing out that

our Senate’s composition shows a gender parity such

that out of all senates worldwide Burundi’s places

second in women’s representation. That is clearly a

significant and bold step forward, because, rather than

settle for the minimum set out in the Constitution, our

Government voluntarily made the deliberate choice to

go further, to ensure that the female majority in the

population is represented meaningfully in the country’s

institutions.

In its determined drive towards change, the

Government subsequently established an independent national commission on human rights and an

ombudsman’s office. It initiated a zero-tolerance policy

designed to eradicate corruption and misuse of public

funds, a scourge that has ravaged Burundian society

for several years, and also set up adequate enforcement

mechanisms. We still have a way to go, as is the case

in many other countries, but the structures to get there

are firmly in place. In October 2011 the Government

adopted a national good governance and anti-corruption

strategy for 2011-2015. Also, Government officials,

including those at high levels, have signed performance

contracts, laying the groundwork for a culture of

accountability, which is essential to democratic

systems. The members of the Administration and

high-level officials are periodically evaluated based on

those contracts. If they live up to agreed performance

standards they are retained, but otherwise they are

replaced.

The Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement

calls for transitional justice mechanisms. We are

working towards a transitional justice system

that carefully and rigorously balances national

reconciliation requirements and those of justice. We

need a mechanism that banishes the demons of the

past and at the same time affords no opportunity for

any type of vengeance or the settling of old scores; in

other words, a mechanism to establish the truth and

to ensure that there is no recurrence of the acts in

question. National consultations were held in 2009, and

the related report has been made public. A technical

committee was established with a mandate to pave the

way for a truth and reconciliation commission. That

committee proposed a methodology in its final report,

which was submitted through the proper channels in

October 2011. The Government had hoped to establish

the commission in January 2012, but that decision had

to be postponed for technical reasons owing to the fact

that further consultations were required, along with

specific proposals on the commission’s mandate and

composition, the selection criteria for its members and

matters related to its operating budget.

Besides those achievements in the political sphere,

the Government undertook a vast social construction

project that yielded positive results. Measures

providing free education for children of primary school

age enabled millions of little Burundians to attend

school, while free medical care for pregnant women,

nursing mothers and children under five years of age

significantly improved maternal and child health care

and will help us to reach the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) in that regard in the near future. Also,

with the participation of the population in communal

labour, 2,024 schools, 80 health centres and more than

2,000 potable-water wells were built in just three years.

With respect to socioeconomic development,

Burundi is continuing to improve its basic economic

infrastructure, including the management of public

finances, an improved business climate and good

governance. In addition, significant progress has been

made with respect to the gradual and orderly return

of displaced persons and the repatriation of refugees.

All those efforts have taken place within the Strategic

Framework for Growth and Poverty Reduction, Vision

2025 and the MDGs. Of the total of 800,000 counted

in the census of 2000-2001, all have returned to our

country with the exception of 37,000 from the Mtabila

camp, who are expected to return by 31 December. Many

internally displaced persons have already returned to

their homes. We have just finished a profiling survey

of those who remain on site, which, in the light of their

expressed wishes, will determine the most appropriate

and humane resolution of their situation.

The social and economic reintegration of former

combatants has yet to be completed and represents a

genuine security risk. While it is true that there have

been a few isolated instances of insecurity here and

there in the country, that is not unique to Burundi.

Banditry, which has taken place on a small scale in

Burundi, also occurs elsewhere, in many countries.

The Government is determined to stamp out all forms

of criminality, including armed robbery. It considers

security the sine qua non of all social and economic

progress, which is why it has embarked on reforms in

that regard. The professionalization of the defence and

security forces and of the justice system to guarantee

the rights of both citizens and foreigners on our soil are

among the measures that the Government has written

into its programme and will continue to promote as the

country moves forward.

In the area of regional integration, an

intragovernmental committee has been established to

develop a national strategy for regional integration, with

the goal of enabling Burundi to take best advantage of

its participation in subregional entities and reducing the

deficits and disadvantages that stem from belonging to

non-regional organizations.

The Strategic Framework for Growth and Poverty

Reduction has reached an advanced stage. The Government and the Вurundi configuration of the

Peacebuilding Commission have made visible progress

in a number of areas, as indicated in the outcome of the

fifth review of the Peacebuilding Commission, issued

on 26 April 2011. Positive results were noted in the areas

of political and institutional peacebuilding issues, good

governance, human rights, economic issues, vulnerable

groups and regional integration, as described earlier.

After this brief survey of the internal situation of

my country, I now turn to Burundi’s role and position

regarding certain international matters. With respect

to Burundi’s participation in peacekeeping operations,

I would like to say that Burundi was one of the two

countries to take part in the African Union Mission in

Somalia, and that it is pleased with the work accomplished

by its soldiers in that context. As the Secretary-General

has already done, my country commends the adoption,

in August, of the provisional Constitution of Somalia

by the National Constituent Assembly in Mogadishu.

It congratulates and encourages the Somali delegates

and leaders with respect to the new developments under

way, aimed at normalizing that country’s situation, and

to their commitment to ending the transition period and

establishing new political institutions that represent

all Somalis. Burundi stands ready to share with the

Somalis our experience on the question of national

reconciliation and in training a national republican

army.

With respect to the security situation in the

eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, Burundi, along with the other members of the

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region,

confirms its strong commitment to the terms of the

pact of 15 December 2006 and to its related protocols

guaranteeing security, stability and development. We

are also a signatory to the declarations agreed by the

heads of State and Government of the member States

of that organization in Addis Ababa on 15 July, and in

Kampala on 7 and 8 August and 7 and 8 September.

Along with the other countries of the region, Burundi

remains determined to seek solutions to that conflict

through existing regional arrangements and in

accordance with decisions already taken by the

countries of the subregion within the framework of the

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

The Assembly will have noted in the course of my

statement that the Government of Burundi has made

undeniable progress. Still, major challenges remain, not least of them the maintenance of economic growth.

Despite the unfavourable international financial and

economic context, Burundi, with the support of its

partners, must keep its head above water. It must increase

its economic growth with the aim of implementing

its economic and social development projects. It

goes without saying that lack of growth, along with

poverty, means fewer schools, fewer hospitals and

less progress in the areas of energy and transportation

infrastructure — in short, less development for the

country and its people. No leader worthy of the title

would bequeath such a disastrous economic situation to

future generations.

That is why, despite the troubling international

economic outlook, guidance and support are more

than ever necessary for economies as weak as ours in

Burundi. However sustainable it may be at the national

level, our economy is still very much dependent on

the global economy. I remain convinced that, with the

will, commitment and vigour of the people of Burundi,

supported by our friends, the scale of our political and

socioeconomic gains will continue to expand. For its

part, the Government will spare no effort to harness,

coordinate and collaborate with the efforts of all parties

to fight hand in hand for people’s well-being and

prosperity, in Burundi and around the world.

I would like to conclude by welcoming the actions

taken by the United Nations, which over the 67 years of

its existence has moved the world forward at an everaccelerating

pace. I would also like to see the institutional

changes envisaged for the Organization take the

interests of all Member States into consideration, with

all stakeholders taking part in the reform and updating

of the system..

Finally, I wish the President of the General

Assembly every success throughout his term of office.

Long live international cooperation! Long live the

United Nations! Long live Burundi!