A/HRC/39/63 I. Introduction A. Mandate 1. The Commission of Inquiry on Burundi was created by Human Rights Council resolution 33/24, adopted on 30 September 2016, to conduct a thorough investigation into human rights violations and abuses in Burundi since April 2015, to determine whether any of them may constitute international crimes, to identify their alleged perpetrators and to formulate recommendations for ensuring that such perpetrators “are held accountable for their acts”. By its resolution 36/19, adopted on 29 September 2017, the Council extended the Commission’s mandate without modification for one year. 2. In 2018, the Commission placed special emphasis on the violations and abuses committed since 2017 in order to highlight developments in the situation as compared to the one prevailing in 2015 and 2016. The Commission also focused more closely on economic and social rights and the functioning of the judicial system. 3. On 1 February 2018, Mr. Doudou Diène of Senegal was appointed to chair the Commission following the resignation of the previous Chair, Mr. Fatsah Ouguergouz. On 5 March 2018, Ms. Lucy Asuagbor of Cameroon was appointed to serve as a member of the Commission to replace Ms. Reine Alapini Gansou, who was elected to the International Criminal Court. Ms. Françoise Hampson of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland continued to serve as a member of the Commission, as she has done since its inception. 4. The Commission presented two oral briefings to the Human Rights Council, at the Council’s thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth sessions. The present report summarizes the final conclusions of its investigations, which will be detailed in a separate document.1 B. Cooperation by Burundi with the Commission 5. By its resolution 36/19, the Human Rights Council urged the Government of Burundi to cooperate fully with the Commission of Inquiry, to authorize it to conduct visits to the country and to provide it with all the information necessary to fulfil its mandate. To this end, the Commission sent six letters to the Permanent Mission of Burundi in Geneva and one letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (annex II). It called on the Burundian authorities, including during its oral briefings to the Human Rights Council, to grant it access to Burundi and to share information on the human rights situation in the country, including information concerning attacks on agents of the State and members of the ruling party. As in the past, these requests have gone unanswered. The Burundian authorities have consistently disputed the content of the Commission’s briefings and reports and have taken a hostile attitude towards the Commission, threatening twice to take legal action against its members. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned this threat as being contrary to the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. C. Methodology 6. During the current mandate period, the Commission visited Belgium, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania. It also conducted a mission to Ethiopia to meet with representatives of the African Union. Through these visits and numerous remote contacts, in particular with individuals living in Burundi, the Commission conducted more than 400 interviews with victims, witnesses and 1 GE.18-13070 That document (A/HRC/39/CRP.1) will be available shortly on the website of the Human Rights Council and the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi (www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/ IBurundi/Pages/CoIBurundi.aspx). 3