A/HRC/45/32 IV. International crimes A. Constituent elements and types of crimes 86. The Commission still has reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity, as defined in the Rome Statute, have been committed in Burundi. These crimes include murder, imprisonment or other severe forms of deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity and political persecution.30 87. The Commission has documented violent incidents committed during the electoral process in various provinces by different perpetrators who had similar types of modus operandi and a common objective, namely to prevent the political opposition from winning the communal, legislative and presidential elections of 20 May 2020 and to allow the CNDDFDD party to remain in power. Such incidents can therefore be described as “systematic attacks” deliberately targeting civilians. The objective of winning the elections by any means and staying in power was regularly reiterated by representatives of the Government and the CNDD-FDD party, as well as by local authorities. The fact that the candidates, agents and local officials of the CNL were almost exclusively targeted shows that there was a strategy against the party, considered to be the main rival of the CNDD-FDD party in the elections. The alleged perpetrators of these international crimes are necessarily informed of this objective, which means that they must understand the backdrop against which they act. B. Individual responsibility 88. The Commission has updated its list of alleged perpetrators of crimes against humanity, which remains confidential in order to protect sources and to respect the presumption of innocence of the alleged perpetrators. However, the Commission reserves the right to share the list. The Commission is extremely concerned about the fact that some of the individuals on the list hold senior positions in the new Government and have been promoted within the defence and security forces since the new President, Mr. Ndayishimiye, took office. V. Risk factors 89. Common risk factors of criminal atrocities indicating a possible deterioration of the human rights situation in the context of the electoral process have diminished with the current political transition, but none have entirely disappeared. The structural ones remain unchanged.31 It is still crucial to take tangible measures to bring about positive change. 90. Risk factor 1, relating to an unstable political, economic and security environment, is still present: the security situation remains volatile, as evidenced by various incidents that have taken place since October 2019 and recurrent tensions with some neighbouring countries; many Burundians, both inside and outside the country, are in a humanitarian emergency; the country is going through a serious economic crisis and the majority of the population is living in abject poverty; and some political tension remains, with allegations of massive electoral fraud and repression of the CNL. One way of mitigating political tension is for the authorities to stop violations of the rights of political opponents. 91. Risk factors 2 and 3 relate to the general impunity enjoyed by the main perpetrators of serious human rights violations. They are linked to the weakness of State structures capable of preventing or stopping such violations. To reduce their occurrence, it is indispensable to ensure the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. However, it is difficult to foresee positive developments in this regard as long as the perpetrators of the violations, including the Imbonerakure, continue to enjoy nearly total impunity. 30 31 16 A/HRC/36/CRP.1, paras. 682–691. See A/HRC/42/49. GE.20-10689