Burundi, 2013

On this

special occasion, when I have the honour to speak to

various delegations that have come from the four corners

of the world to participate in the General Assembly at

its sixty-eighth session, I would like, on behalf of His

Excellency Mr. Pierre Nkurunziza, President of the

Republic of Burundi, and on behalf of my delegation, to

express our congratulations to His Excellency Mr. John

Ashe on his election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixty-eighth session.

To Mr. Vuk Jeremi., his predecessor, we wish to

say how much his work as President at the sixty-seventh

session was very much appreciated in my country, and

we take this opportunity to relay to him our sincere

congratulations for having very ably presided over that

session.

It is also our great pleasure to congratulate

His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon for his excellent

achievements in a difficult and often turbulent

international sociopolitical and economic context. Our

best wishes and our continued support will accompany

him throughout his second term in office, so that he can

continue with the same momentum the work started in

all priority areas on the United Nations agenda and in

particular, that of the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs), the central concern of the current session.

It is for us an opportune moment to take the floor to

address the Assembly to talk about the situation in my

country, on the one hand, and to mention some current

issues that are presently of concern to the international

community, on the other hand.

With regard to my country, my statement will

focus on the political and economic situation and on

our progress regarding the Millennium Development

Goals, for which we are called upon to establish new

benchmarks.

In the political area, we are preparing to hold general

elections in 2015. As we have always said, including

during our previous elections, we have promised to the

people of Burundi and the international community to

hold transparent, free and peaceful elections. Burundi is

seeking to set up a truth and reconciliation commission

soon, as was provided for in the Arusha Agreement for

Peace and Reconciliation, in order to shed light on the

massive human rights violations after our independence

and to create a more stable and democratic society.

With regard to socioeconomic concerns, in December

2012 Burundi adopted a strategic policy instrument

entitled “Vision Burundi 2025”, which sets out what

Burundi will look like in 2025. Its main pillars are

the goals to promote strong leadership at all levels of

the State apparatus, to provide good living conditions

for the population, to rely on an educated population

that enjoys good health, to promote accelerated and

double-digit economic growth and to make the most

of regional integration so as to increase and diversify

the economy of Burundi. Other goals include putting

in place an aggressive demographic policy aimed at

limiting the population growth rate to 2 per cent in

2025 and gradually restoring social cohesion and giving

pride of place back to the fundamental cultural values

that have always characterized Burundian society. One

could also cite the goals of setting up a village and

urbanization policy aimed at significantly increasing

the urbanization rate to 40 per cent, as well as creating

synergies among the various development stakeholders

and promoting a good context for dialogue and

consultation with respect to planning for development

financing and implementing Vision Burundi.

Along those same lines, Burundi has also adopted

a second policy instrument, the Strategic Framework

for Growth to Combat Poverty 2012-2016, launched

in February 2012. Its goals are the consolidation

of peace, security and the rule of law, managing

population growth, increasing agricultural production

and marketing, improved efficiency in public spending,

a dynamic and efficient private sector, a sufficient

increase in energy production, and strengthening

development capacity.

Since the central theme of this debate pertains to

the post-2015 development agenda, it is appropriate

for my delegation to review Burundi’s socioeconomic

achievements. As the Assembly is aware, the

Millennium Development Goals are the promise that

we made to the poorest and most vulnerable people of

the world. The MDGs have managed to place human

beings at the heart of the development agenda. I should

now like to turn to the status of the implementation of

MDGs in my country, which I will review one by one.

With regard to MDG 1, on the eradication of extreme

poverty, we have seen relatively good progress since

2006. Even so, we must note that, although generally

the rate of poverty has steadily decreased from 81 per

cent in 1998 and to 67 per cent in 2006, it is nonetheless

unlikely that Burundi will reach its target.

With respect to MDG 2, achieving universal

primary education, many improvements have been

noted in terms of the net enrolment rate in primary

school education in Burundi, which rose from 52 per

cent in 1990 to 96 per cent in 2010. That occurred as a

result of policy measures, in particular the presidential

measure taken in 2005 regarding free schooling, and

because the restoration of peace has enabled even

children beyond school age to be enrolled in school.

It is therefore possible that the second MDG will be

achieved in 2015.

Concerning MDG 3, on gender equality and the

empowerment of women, there is near parity of girls

and boys in primary school, but disparities have

increased in secondary school. In higher education, the

ratio of girls to boys has improved. In State institutions,

we have seen an increase in the number of women in

Parliament, with 43 per cent in the National Assembly

and 50 per cent in the Senate. Those figures far

exceed the stipulation in the 2005 Constitution, which

established a quota of 30 per cent for women in political

institutions.

With respect to the MDG 4 target of reducing the

under-five mortality rate, that rate has decreased by

35 per cent, going from 88 deaths per 1,000 live births

in 1990 to 57 per 1,000 in 2010. Despite that progress,

we are still far from the hoped-for 13.5 per cent, which

was our aim in order to achieve the target of reducing

by two thirds the under-five mortality rate. The relative

improvement is due to more people going to health-care

facilities, because we have made health care free for

children under 5.

With regard to MDG 5, on improving maternal

health, the target is to reduce by three quarters the

maternal mortality rate by 2015. The mortality ratio has

undergone a downward trend since 1990. It decreased at

a rate of 30 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births per

year, amounting to a reduction of 54.5 per cent between

1990 and 2010.

As to MDG 6, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and

other diseases, a survey conducted in 2010 shows that

the HIV prevalence is estimated at 1.4 per cent in the

population aged 15 to 49 years, while among women

ages 15 to 24 years old it is 0.8 per cent, as compared

with 3.5 per cent in 2007. Nonetheless, we see a

downward trend of HIV prevalence among women ages

15 to 24, according to the sentinel surveilance system.

With regard to the status of HIV orphans, the available

data show that the number of deaths has gone from

12,000 per year in 2004 to fewer than 6,000 per year in

2011. That is a decrease of approximately 50 per cent.

With regard to MDG 7, ensuring environmental

sustainability, in Burundi the percentage has gone from

70 per cent to 72.5 per cent in 20 years. Data show that

the proportion of the population using an improved

sanitation system remained stagnant, at around 46 per

cent, between 1990 and 2010.

In terms of MDG 8, on a global partnership for

development, Burundi does its utmost to mobilize

domestic resources and external support — estimated

at $75 billion — in order to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

Concerning Burundi’s position vis-à-vis the post-

2015 agenda, it is evident from national consultations

with all segments of the population that a post-2015

development agenda should focus on the following

areas: governance, inequality, conflict and fragility;

economic growth and employment; energy, water

and a sustainable environment; access to basic social

services; and food security.

Substantial progress has been made with respect to

the strategic framework for peacebuilding, and a third

phase of the programme is currently being developed by

the Government, in conjunction with the United Nations

Office in Burundi and the parent office in New York. In

view of the notable progress that has already been made

since our country was first placed on the agenda of the

Peacebuilding Commission, Burundi considers that it is

now time for it to withdraw gradually from that agenda

in order to make way for other countries whose need is

currently greater.

At the same time, my Government has expressed

the wish to see the United Nations Office in Burundi

convert in February 2014 to a Burundi country team

office. That would enable Burundi to work in close

collaboration with the United Nations team and with

other partners to meet the socioeconomic challenges

with which it is currently faced.

Having summarized my Government’s achievements,

I shall now talk about Burundi’s role regionally and

internationally.

With regard to its international role, Burundi was

one of the first two countries to take the courageous

decision to participate in the African Union Mission in

Somalia (AMISOM), where it has served since 2007. I

should emphasize that Burundi is proud of the progress

towards normalization in Somalia, but we call upon all

the partners to strengthen the operational capacity of

AMISOM so that it may complete its mission.

Burundi is also participating in peacekeeping

operations in Cote d’Ivoire, Haiti and the Sudan. Soon,

it will be participating in Mali and the Central African

Republic. The recent election of Mr. Boubacar Keita

as the country’s President is undoubtedly a decisive

step in re-establishing the principles of democracy

that governed the country in the past. That is the

right path towards normalization. In our view, those

successful elections are an important step in terms of

Mali’s recovery. A Burundian contingent is ready to be

deployed in that country.

With regard to the security situation in the eastern

part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi

aligns itself with other members of the International

Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and

partners such as the African Union and the United

Nations to ensure peace in that country. In that regard,

we reaffirm our commitment through the terms of

the agreement of 15 December 2006 and the relevant

protocols of the ICGLR, as well as statements and

decisions made by Heads of State and Government of

member States in Addis Abeba and Kampala. At the

regional level, we reaffirm our commitment, under the

Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the

Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region,

signed in Addis Ababa on 24 February.

With regard to the very unstable situation in the

Central African Republic, Burundi, as a member of

the Economic Community of Central African States, is

ready to work with other nations to deploy a military

contingent there in order to participate in re-establishing

peace.

Concerning the situation in Egypt, Burundi hopes

that the Egyptian people find a swift way out of the

crisis. With our African Union and United Nations

partners, we are prepared to ensure that the Arab

Republic of Egypt and its people revive their democratic

institutions.

With regard to Syria, Burundi believes that the

international community must do all it can to help

all parties reach a ceasefire in order to settle their

differences peaceably.

With regard to the conflict in the Middle East,

Burundi reiterates its support for a negotiated solution

that leads to two States living side by side in peace and

mutual respect, in line with the relevant resolutions of

the Security Council.

Terrorism in its various forms has become a source

of daily concern. Not even a week goes by without an

act of terrorism being carried out somewhere in the

world. Barbaric acts strike indiscriminately, affecting

innocent people who have had the misfortune of finding

themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Government of Burundi would like to take this

opportunity to condemn, in the firmest way possible, the

cowardly and arbitrary terrorist attack at the Westgate

Mall in Nairobi. That heinous act has plunged into

mourning not only Kenya, but the entire international

community, given the different nationalities of the

victims. We would like to convey to our brothers the

people of Kenya and to their Government our sincere

condolences and to reassure them of our friendship

and solidarity. Burundi reiterates its full support for

the United Nations Global Counter-terrorism Strategy,

adopted by Member States in 2006.

With regard to the International Criminal Court,

Burundi would like to express its full solidarity with the

people of Kenya, who have just democratically elected

their leaders. Burundi would like the Court to review

how it functions so that it can benefit Member States of

the international community as a whole. Burundi calls

for a review of the Rome Statute at the next meeting

of States parties, which is to take place from 20 to

28 November. In the meantime, it is important that the

peace and reconciliation processes on our continent be

strengthened rather than weakened.

Burundi welcomes the ministerial meeting to be

held by the African Union on the sidelines of the sixty-

eight session of the General Assembly on 27 September,

as well as the announcement that a summit of Heads of

State will be held on 11 and 12 October in Addis Ababa.

We have renewed the commitment of the

Government of Burundi to achieve the Millennium

Development Goals and to ensure peace and security.

We would like to conclude our statement by reiterating

Burundi’s commitment to the ideals of the Charter of

the United Nations.

My Government hopes that cooperation between

the United Nations and the African Union can be

strengthened in terms of tackling issues related to

African countries in accordance with the letter and spirit

of the founding documents of those two institutions.