The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Mr. Nephtali Ndikumana, Mr. Mathias Basabose, Mr. Léonard Nyangoma, Ms. Frédérique Gahigi, Mr. Pasteur Mpawenayo, Mr. Jean Marie Nduwabike, Ms. Alice Nzomukunda and Ms. Zaituni Radjabu, all serving or former members of the Parliament of Burundi, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/187/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 186th session (April 2010),

Taking into account the letter of the President of the National Assembly dated 14 September 2010, according to which the recently elected Burundian Parliament would participate and be available for a continued exchange of views with the Committee,

Recalling that the former and incumbentparliamentarians concerned were the target of apparently coordinated grenade attacks perpetrated on 19 August 2007 and 6 March 2008, and that the only suspect arrested (by the public at the scene of the attack on Ms. Nzomukunda’s house) was later released by the authorities,

Recalling that, despite initial encouraging reports from the authorities regarding progress in the investigations, the files for which appeared to have been passed on for action by the Public Prosecutor, in November 2008 the Attorney General informed the Director of the IPU’s Democracy Division that the initial investigations had been mishandled, having focused on the victims as the instigators of the attacks, that this premise had soon been abandoned but that the case, having started off on the wrong premise, had become complicated, making it very difficult to identify the perpetrators of the attacks, and would, he believed, be dismissed,

Considering that on 19 July 2010, the Minister of Defence, for the State of Burundi, requested the Attorney General to initiate criminal proceedings against Mr. Nyangoma in connection with statements made, in particular the press release of 11 July 2010 that Mr. Nyangoma issued as spokesperson of the Alliance des Démocrates pour le Changement au Burundi, which brings together the main political opposition parties; the press release denounces the government's military intervention in Ruziba on 10 July 2010, alleging in particular that excessive force was used and referring in this respect to "massacres carried out against the population which constitute a crime against humanity and to some extent resemble an act of genocide"; according to the source, on 21 July 2010 the Attorney General requested the Bureau of the National Assembly to lift Mr. Nyaongoma's parliamentary immunity to charge him on three counts of defamation and insulting the National Defence Force; it appears that the Bureau of the National Assembly met to discuss the case and tried in vain to locate Mr. Nyangoma; the source affirms that Mr. Nyangoma has been in hiding out of fear for his life,

Considering that parliamentary elections were held in Burundi on 23 and 28 July 2010 and that presidential elections took place on 28 June 2010; bearing in mind that in the speech he held on the occasion of his investiture as elected President of Burundi, Mr. Pierre Nkurunziza stated that “we shall ensure the protection of human rights by promoting a fair and equitable justice and by excluding any trend towards impunity”,

1. Welcomes the stated commitment of the President of the National Assembly to continued dialogue;

2. Also welcomes the stated commitment of President Nkurunziza to promoting justice and preventing impunity; stresses that it is precisely such action which is required in this case given the continued lack of results in the investigations;

3. Earnestly hopes therefore that the newly elected or re-elected authorities will now ensure that the competent authorities carry out without further delay a diligent and thorough investigation into the attacks and to examine all possible leads so that the crimes will not go unpunished; reiterates its wish to be informed of recent steps taken in the investigation and of any results obtained and to ascertain why the suspect in the case of Ms. Nzomukunda was released;

4. Considers that an on-site mission in this case would contribute to making progress towards a settlement of this case, and consequently requests the Secretary General to take the necessary steps to this end; is confident that, given their stated commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, the Burundi authorities will favourably receive such a mission which would also provide an opportunity to gather detailed factual and legal information on the matter of the Attorney General's demand for the lifting of Mr. Nyangoma's parliamentary immunity;

5. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the parliamentary authorities, seeking their agreement to the mission;

6. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 124th IPU Assembly (April 2011).

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