BURUNDI

Case N° BDI/01 - SYLVESTRE MFAYOKURERA
Case N° BDI/05 - INNOCENT NDIKUMANA
Case N° BDI/06 - GERARD GAHUNGU
Case N° BDI/07 - BIBIANE NTAMUTUMBA

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council at its 159th session
(Beijing, 21 September 1996)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of the case, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/159/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 158th session (April 1996), concerning the situation of Mr. Mfayokurera and Mr. Ndikumana, of Burundi,

Having before it the case of Mr. Gahungu and Ms. Bibiane Ntamutumba, of Burundi, both FRODEBU party members of the - now suspended - National Assembly, which has been the subject of a study and report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, in accordance with the "Procedure for the examination and treatment by the Inter-Parliamentary Union of communications concerning violations of human rights of parliamentarians",

Considering that Mr. Gahungu had been the target of an assassination attempt by an armed group in February 1996 and that an investigation into this attack was reportedly opened; that he and his wife were assassinated in April 1996 in the Ngagara area of Bujumbura,

Considering that Ms. Ntamutumba was executed in May 1996 at her home by soldiers reportedly on the pretext that they were hunting down armed groups; that her husband and four children and some thirty other persons who had taken refuge in her house were also killed,

Recalling that Mr. Mfayokurera and Mr. Ndikumana were assassinated on 10 August 1994 and 16 December 1995, respectively, the latter by a gang of militia,

Recalling also that no serious investigation of these crimes has been undertaken so far; and further recalling in this connection the information supplied by the Prosecutor General and conveyed by the Burundi delegation to the 95th IPU Conference, namely that a man suspected of involvement in the murder of Mr. Mfayokurera had been arrested; that regarding the case of Mr. Ndikumana, persons suspected of the murder had been identified and arrest warrants issued; that, however, they had fled to a neighbouring country,

Bearing in mind the political change brought about in the country by the coup d'Etat of 25 July 1996, which resulted in the suspension both of the Parliament elected in the 1993 multiparty elections and of all political parties,

1. Condemns the suspension of the National Assembly, which is in itself a violation of the fundamental right of each of the elected members of the Assembly to perform the mandate entrusted to them by their constituents;

2. Recalls that it is the duty of every State, whatever its political system, to ensure the safety of its citizens and to respect their right to justice;

3. Also recalls in the strongest terms that impunity constitutes a violation of the right to justice and a dereliction of the duty of States to investigate human rights violations, to guarantee freedom from such acts within their jurisdiction and to ensure that they do not reoccur;

4. Urges, therefore, the authorities now in power to comply with their duties under national and international law to ensure that the perpetrators of the murders of Mr. Mfayokurera, Mr. Ndikumana, Mr. Gahungu and Ms. Ntamutumba are prosecuted and tried and the victims or their relatives provided with effective remedies;

5. Requests the Secretary General to resume contact with the authorities in power and to convey these concerns to them, yet again urging them to ensure that public officials fulfil their duties under national and international law, and to provide information on the stage reached in the investigations into the crimes in question;

6. Also requests the Secretary General to maintain contact with the United Nations bodies and commissions dealing with the human rights situation in Burundi in order to inform them of the Committee's work on these cases;

7. Further requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to pursue the examination of this case and report to it at its next session (April 1997).