This archive report was first published on 4 September 2019.
Published on September 4, 2019, a UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi reported a climate of fear in the country ahead of the 2020 elections.
The commission found that local authorities and the ruling party's youth league, the Imbonerakure, were committing gross rights abuses to intimidate people into joining and supporting the ruling party.
At least 1,200 people were killed and more than 400,000 displaced in violence between April 2015 and May 2017, mostly carried out by state security forces, the UN says.
Despite President Pierre Nkurunziza's surprise announcement that he would not stand for election in 2020, the ruling party has shown no indication it is ready to relinquish power.
The UN investigators lamented that a climate of fear prevailed throughout Burundi, with the stifling of all critical voices creating an illusion of calm.
"It is extremely dangerous to speak out critically in Burundi today," commission chief Doudou Diene said.
