BURUNDI

Case N° Bdi/02 - N. Nidhokuwayo	Case N° Bdi/19 - T. Sibomana
Case N° Bdi/03 - L. Ntibayazi	Case N° Bdi/20 - T. Bukuru
Case N° Bdi/04 - F. Banvuginyunvira	Case N° Bdi/21 - S. Murekambanze
Case N° Bdi/08 - A. Nahindavyi Ndanga	Case N° Bdi/22 - G. Nduwimana
Case N° Bdi/09 - I. Kubwayo	Case N° Bdi/23 - C. Manirambona
Case N° Bdi/10 - S. Nsabuwanka	Case N° Bdi/24 - S.Ntakhomenyereye
Case N° Bdi/11 - I. Bapfeguhita	Case N° Bdi/25 - D. Ngarukirinka
Case N° Bdi/12 - P. Nizigire	Case N° Bdi/26 - N. Ndikumana
Case N° Bdi/13 - P. Burarame	Case N° Bdi/27 - N. Ntahomukiye
Case N° Bdi/14 - S. Biyombera	Case N° Bdi/28 - C. Bucumi
Case N° Bdi/15 - J. Ndenzako	Case N° Bdi/29 - P. Sirahenda
Case N° Bdi/16 - D. Serwenda	Case N° Bdi/30 - A. Kirara
Case N° Bdi/17 - A. Ntirandekura	Case N° Bdi/31 - J.-P.Ntimpirongrea
Case N° Bdi/18 - D. Bigirimana

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

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Having before it the case of the above-mentioned parliamentarians, members of the - now suspended - Parliament of Burundi, 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",

Taking note of the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/159/11(a)-R.1), which contains a detailed outline of the case,

Recalling that Mr. Ndihokuwayo, Mr. Banvuginyunvira and Mr. Ntibayazi were seriously injured in the assassination attempts carried out against them in September 1994, September 1995 and February 1995, respectively; that Mr. Ndihokuwayo, fearing for his life, had to leave the country,

Recalling also that no serious investigation of these crimes has been undertaken so far,

Noting that, on 25 July 1996, the military took power in a coup d'Etat and placed Major Pierre Buyoya, who had lost the 1993 elections, at the head of the State; that he deposed President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya and suspended the Constitution, the political parties and the National Assembly,

Considering that the above-mentioned persons are all members of the National Assembly elected in 1993 on the FRODEBU ticket,

Considering also that Mr. Ndihokuwayo has found refuge in Senegal and that Mr. Isaïe Kubwayo and Mr. Alphonse Ndanga, who at the time of the putsch were abroad, have requested political asylum in Switzerland and Belgium, respectively,

Further considering that the situation of the other parliamentarians is unclear; that, in one instance, it was reported that Mr. Ntibayazi and Mr. Banvuginyunvira had sought refuge in an embassy in Bujumbura,

Bearing in mind that, according to reports of human rights organizations, ethnic and political violence has continued unabated since the takeover of Major Buyoya in July 1996,

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. Notes that, as a result of this measure, their constituents are deprived of representation, and considers this to be a violation of their right to participate in the conduct of political affairs as guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, to both of which Burundi is a party;

3. Most strongly urges the authorities immediately to restore the right of the above MPs to exercise the mandate entrusted to them by popular will, as expressed in the 1993 elections, and thus the right of the people to participate in the conduct of public affairs;

4. Wishes to obtain detailed information on the current situation of the parliamentarians concerned;

5. Urges the Government to take all necessary steps to allow the MPs who were obliged to go into exile to return to their country without fear for their lives and their personal safety;

6. Recalls in the strongest terms that it is the duty of every State to guarantee the right to justice and to prosecute and try the perpetrators of criminal acts, and wishes to ascertain the stage reached in the investigations regarding the attempts on the lives of Mr. Ndihokuwayo, Mr. Ntibayazi and Mr. Banvuginyunvira;

7. Requests the Secretary General to press these concerns with the new authorities and to invite them to convey the requested information;

8. Also 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).