BURUNDI

CASE N° BDI/01 - S. Mfayokurera CASE N° BDI/02 - N. Ndihokubwayo CASE N° BDI/03 - L. Ntibayazi CASE N° BDI/05 - I. Ndikumana CASE N° BDI/06 - G. Gahungu

CASE N° BDI/07 - B. Ntamutumba CASE N° BDI/26 - N. Ndikumana CASE N° BDI/29 - P. Sirahenda CASE N° BDI/33 - A. Nzojibwami CASE N° BDI/35 - G. Gisabwamana

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 167th session (Jakarta, 21 October 2000)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of the case of the above-mentioned parliamentarians of Burundi, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/167/12(c)­R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 166th session (May 2000),

Taking account of the information supplied by the Minister of Human Rights, Institutional Reforms and Relations with the National Assembly in his letter of 12 October 2000, and of that provided by the President of the Transitional National Assembly in his letter of 11 July 2000,

Recalling that Mr. Mfayokurera, Mr. Ndikumana, Mr. Gahungu and Ms. Ntamutumba, all of whom were elected in 1993 on a FRODEBU ticket, were assassinated on 20 August 1994, 16 December 1995 and in April and May 1996, respectively; that Mr. Gisabwamana was shot dead on 20 December 1999; also recalling the failed attempts on the lives of Mr. Ndihokubwayo and Mr. Ntibayazi in September 1994 and February 1995, respectively; recalling further the “disappearance” on 1 August 1997 of Deputy Sirahenda, who, according to eyewitness reports, was abducted by military personnel in the market town of Mutobo and taken to Mabanda camp, where he is alleged to have been extrajudicially executed,

Recalling the following information on file concerning the stage reached in the investigation into:

1. The murder in August 1994 of Mr. Mfayokurera: according to information provided by the authorities on 10 April 1999, a case was opened under N° R.M.P.G. N°1427/NA; and a certain Parfait Havyarimana was charged, but the case against him was suspended sine die as no prosecution evidence had been gathered;
2. The murder in December 1995 of Mr. Innocent Ndikumana: according to information provided by the authorities in May 2000, the assize chamber of Bujumbura Court, with which the case had been registered in June 1997, has referred the case back to the Prosecutor's Office for additional investigation;
3. The murder in April 1996 of Mr. Gahungu: according to information provided by the authorities in May 2000, the case is suspended sine die “for want of incriminating evidence ”;
4. The murder in May 1996 of Ms. Ntamutumba: differing information was provided by the authorities on the investigation: whereas the Minister for Human Rights reported in March 1998 that the case had been provisionally adjourned for want of evidence, the Minister of Justice stated in August 1999 that the investigation was still under way;
5. The disappearance in August 1997 of Mr. Sirahenda, reportedly extrajudicially executed: eyewitness accounts of his abduction in a military jeep allegedly exist; a special commission of inquiry was set up by the Prosecutor General to establish the truth; in August 1999, the Minister of Justice reported that it would seem “that the leads are difficult to follow”;
6. The murder in December 1999 of Mr. Gisabwamana: a commission of inquiry found that he had been killed by a member of the armed forces;
7. The attempts on the life of Mr. Ndihokubwayo in September 1994 and December 1995: a case has been opened regarding the first attack; in April 1997, the authorities reported that the suspect in this case was Mr. Havyarimana, and in March 1998 they reported that one of several suspects was abroad and others in preventive detention, albeit for other crimes;
8. The attempt on the life of Mr. Ntibayazi in early February 1995: no investigation was under way as no complaint had been lodged,

Considering the following new information on file regarding the above cases, as provided by the Minister of Human Rights and the President of the National Assembly, respectively, namely: (i) as regards the case of Mr. Gisabwamana, the presumed perpetrator of the crime has been taken into custody and the case is following its normal course; (ii) as regards the case of Mr. Mfayokurera, the investigations have resumed and the file was lodged with the Bujumbura assize chamber on 30 November 1997; noting that the Minister has not, however, provided any information about the outcome of the resumed proceedings,

Considering that, in response to its question about the possibility of an amnesty for Mr. Nephtali Ndikumana, who was sentenced in absentia in March 1997 to three years' imprisonment for having denounced abuses reportedly committed by the Armed Forces, the authorities stated that the issue of an amnesty was to be decided in the context of the overall Arusha negotiations; also considering that, in his letter of 12 October 2000, the Minister of Human Rights stated that there was no possibility of a review of Mr. Ndikumana's trial,

Recalling that three judicial cases had been pending against Mr. Nzojibwami, and considering that, according to information provided by the authorities, he had been acquitted in two cases and sentenced to a fine in the third, which he had paid, so that currently no proceedings were pending against him,

Bearing in mind that, under the “Agreement on the Political Platform of the Transition Regime” and the “Constitutional Act of Transition” of 6 June 1998, the transitional institutions were assigned, in particular, the task of combating impunity for crimes and promoting equitable and reconciliatory justice; mindful in this connection of the resolution adopted by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights at its 56th session (March/April 2000) in which it requests the Government of Burundi to put an end to impunity,

1. Thanks the Minister of Human Rights, Institutional Reforms and Relations with the Transitional National Assembly, as well as the President of the Transitional National Assembly, for the information provided;
2. Notes that the case regarding Mr. Gisabwamana's murder is following its normal course, and trusts that justice will be done;
3. Notes with deep concern that in none of the other cases has justice so far been done, even where there is ample evidence of State responsibility, as in the case of Mr. Sirahenda; fears that this may indicate a lack of resolve on the part of the authorities to bring the culprits to justice, and that the State may consequently bear indirect responsibility for these crimes; would therefore appreciate any information regarding possible State compensation for the victims' families;
4. Urges the authorities once more to do their utmost, as their duty commands, to ensure that impunity does not prevail, and reaffirms once again that the fight against impunity - a task taken on by the transitional authorities - is a prerequisite for full restoration of the rule of law and respect for human rights in the country;
5. Notes that the question of an amnesty for cases such as that of Mr. Nephtali Ndikumana is included in the Arusha negotiations, and would appreciate information on the likelihood of such an amnesty being adopted in the near future;
6. Reaffirms that, in denouncing on behalf of his party what it believed to be abuses by the armed forces, Mr. Ndikumana was in fact exercising his right to freedom of speech and fulfilling his parliamentary mandate; recalls also that, at the time, similar criticism of the conduct of the armed forces had been voiced by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Disappearance and Extrajudicial Executions; and considers that this adds weight to its call for an amnesty or annulment of the judgment handed down on Mr. Ndikumana;
7. Notes that no judicial proceedings are pending against Mr. Nzojibwami, currently Vice-President of the National Transitional Assembly, and consequently decides to close his case;
8. Requests the Secretary General to convey this decision to the competent authorities;
9. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (April 2001).

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