annual report 2011
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Images from left: In September 2011 the Technical Committee responsible for preparing for the establishment of a TRC in Burundi visited the IJR in September 2011 to learn from South Africa’s experience. A policy brief on the opportunities for a Burundian TRC published in 2011.
Policy Brief Number 3 | December 2011
(Original French title: L’opportunité de la mise en place de la commission vérité et réconciliation au Burundi)
By Astère Muyango | Edited by Jean Pierre Misago | Summary compiled by Margot Champeix
After four decades of ethnic violence and serious violations of human rights, Burundi is now at a suitable stage in its history to begin revisiting its past and constructing the foundation for the building of a new future. Burundian society needs to shed light on past events in order to avoid the reappearance of conflict. The main argument brought forward by the author in this policy brief is that that the current socio-political context is favourable for setting up transitional justice mechanisms and specifically for setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The article briefly assesses the conflict in Burundi after which it delves into the peace and reconciliation process of the 2000 Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi. The agreement stipulated the formation of an International Commission of Inquiry to conduct investigations, an International Criminal Tribunal to prosecute perpetrators of serious crimes and a National Truth and Reconciliation Commission in charge of establishing the truth of Burundi’s longstanding and violent conflict. The author explains that the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission was prevented from being set up as a result of criticism and opposition expressed by some politicians. In 2005, the report of an International Commission of Inquiry recommended the creation of only one commission made up of national and international members instead of the two commissions as suggested by the Arusha Agreement. Meanwhile, a Tripartite Steering Committee (consisting of the Burundian Government, the United Nations and Civil Society) was created in order to conduct national consultations. The objective was to involve Burundian society and to take into consideration its views regarding the implementation of transitional justice mechanisms. With regards to the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Burundians expressed their views in respect of the period of investigations, the composition of the Commission, the mandate and the operating procedures in general.
Platforms to engage and debate policy processes In June, the government of Burundi appointed a Technical Committee, mandated to undertake preparatory work for the establishment of a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This follows the completion of national consultations in 2009, which overwhelmingly recommended the creation of a truthtelling mechanism to deal with Burundi’s conflict-ridden past. As the Technical Committee will make recommendations on the establishment of its national TRC, the IJR was invited to travel to Burundi in July to participate in an expert briefing for the Committee. Subsequently, the Technical Committee travelled to Cape Town in September, with the aim of gathering knowledge and insights on South Africa’s TRC process. The Committee was hosted by the South African Department of International Affairs and Cooperation (DIRCO), as well as the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ & CD). The two departments requested the IJR to convene a two-day Consultation Programme for the Burundian delegation, and in response the IJR invited former commissioners of the South African TRC, academics and civil society representatives to share their insights. The meetings were hosted at IJR’s offices and facilitated by the IJR staff members, with the commissioners and other experts addressing the most important questions. They also discussed the expected challenges of the drafting process, which gave the Committee a good basis upon which to proceed and produce the final report to the Burundian President, Mr Pierre Nkurunziza. The consultation process proved to be a positive exchange of views for the members of the Burundi Technical Committee. It focused on South Africa’s experience of its TRC and the areas where it may have bearing on the Burundian situation. This was an important initiative that contributed to the framing of the Burundian government’s thinking around the establishment and operationalisation of its own TRC.
Justice and Reconciliation in afRica PRogRamme
Opportunities for setting up a TRC in Burundi
In his closing remarks, the head of the Technical Committee, Ambassador Laurent Kavakure, said: ‘The insights gained from the two days will enable us to provide informed advice to the President on the establishment of the TRC.’ The Ambassador also requested the IJR to ‘continue to follow and support the process of establishing the Burundian TRC’. The Institute furthermore received a written letter of appreciation from the Director-General of DIRCO, in which he said: ‘I would like to thank you for your kind facilitation of, and participation in the arrangements made for the recent visit by the Technical Committee on the establishment of the TRC in Burundi ... the delegation has expressed their heartfelt thanks with regard to the highly informative and helpful workshop. It is our intention and hope to continue the excellent cooperation and rapport between our two organisations in our future endeavours together.’