A/HRC/33/37
illustration, for the whole of 2015 only 27 cases of torture and ill-treatment are mentioned
in the report, in contrast to the 250 cases of torture and ill-treatment documented by
OHCHR between April 2015 and April 2016.
110. The Commission did issue a press release concerning the arrest of schoolchildren for
scribbling on pictures of the President. 30
111. The Commission, which is currently still accredited with A status, will be reviewed
in November 2016 by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions
subcommittee on accreditation in view of the allegations of partiality levelled by
international and Burundian human rights organizations against the institution.
D.
National commissions of inquiry
112. Since the beginning of the crisis, the Office of the Prosecutor General has set up
three commissions of inquiry into human rights abuses.
113. The commission charged with shedding light on the insurrectionary movement
triggered on 26 April 2015 established, in a report, only the responsibilities of individuals
and organizations involved in organizing the demonstrations, ignoring the human rights
violations committed by the security forces.
114. Another commission, set up to shed light on the deaths of 11 and 12 December 2015
and on the allegations of the existence of mass graves, concluded that allegations of the
existence of mass graves and the occurrence of extrajudicial executions were unfounded.
These findings contradict the results of the investigations carried out by the independent
experts.
115. The independent experts regret that the practice of setting up commissions of inquiry
appears to be a means for the Burundian authorities to circumvent accountability by State
perpetrators of grave violations of human rights.
E.
Lack of meaningful cooperation with the international human rights
system
116. In assessing the human rights situation in Burundi, the independent experts have
looked for indications of cooperation between State authorities and the international human
rights system. They are seriously concerned by the apparent increasing reluctance of those
authorities to engage with the international human rights system. A salient example is the
refusal of the Government to participate in the second session of dialogue with the
Committee against Torture (29 July 2016), the first time a State delegation has chosen such
a course of action.31
117. The independent experts note with concern the approach of the Government of
automatically offering a blanket denial of almost all alleged human rights violations.
30
31
18
Ibid.
See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20325&LangID=E.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents