OCHA Situation Report
Burundi
20 - 26 September 2004


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES
1 Burundi joins International Criminal Court

Burundi has become the 95th country to ratify the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (ICC). The instruments for ratification were
presented to the UN on Tuesday 21 September. International NGOs Global
Rights and Amnesty International and national organizations including the
human rights NGO Ligue Iteka, the Observatory for Governmental Action, and
the anti-genocide association, AC-Genocide Cirimoso, hailed the move.
Noting that the ICC does not replace national justice courts, AC-Genocide
legal representative Venant Bamboneyeho called on national courts to judge
past crimes without considering politicians' interests in order to reach
true national reconciliation.

2 IFAD and ADB lend support

On 20 September, Burundi Minister of Finance Athanase Gahungu, and
Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) Cyril Enweze, signed a loan agreement amounting to US $32.7 million
to rebuild livelihoods of rural communities in post-war Burundi. IFAD
announced from Rome that the programme would benefit about 370,000 people
living in the provinces of Bujumbura Rural, Bururi and Ruyigi. Of the
total program cost, IFAD said it would provide $16.3 million in loans to
be used for regenerating people's livelihoods and restoring food security
in about 74,000 vulnerable rural households. Meanwhile, five years after
freezing its cooperation with Burundi, the African Development Bank (ADB)
has resumed relations with the allocation of US $3 million for
administrative reorganization in Burundi.

3 Refugees update

On Thursday 23 September, 103 Congolese refugees were transported by UNHCR
to the new refugee site at Gihinga in Burundi's west-central province of
Mwaro, which was inaugurated on Tuesday 21 September. The majority of the
relocated refugees had been residing at the Karurama site (Cibitoke
Province), while only one family (4 persons) chose relocation from the
Gatumba site -- from which the majority of refugees had sought to return
to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) instead of being relocated
to the Burundi interior. UNHCR said that any new arrivals in Cibitoke
would be transferred to the new site in Gihinga.

Meanwhile, as of 26 September, 83,176 Burundian refugees (including 77,846
facilitated and 5,330 spontaneous returnees) had returned to the country,
according to UNHCR.

4 Meningitis in Rutana Province

As of 27 September in Bukemba Commune of Rutana Province (southeastern
Burundi), of 42 suspected cases, six were confirmed to be meningitis
serotype A. There have been three deaths among the six confirmed cases.
Investigation began after the deaths of 18 persons originating from the
collines of Ruranga, Gihofi and Bukemba. The cause of those deaths has not
been verified, but is under investigation. International Medical Corps
(IMC) has been managing suspected cases of meningitis in the province, as
well as tightening surveillance mechanisms with the Ministry of Health
(MoH). With the support of WHO and UNICEF, the MoH was to carry out a mass
vaccination campaign in the collines of Bukemba (24,000 beneficiaries) and
Gihofi (9,000 beneficiaries) from 25-29 September.

5 Agricultural season 2005-A launched

The FAO emergency coordination unit began its seeds distribution campaign
for agricultural season 2005-A, targeting the most vulnerable in the
provinces of Kirundo, Muramvya, Mwaro and Ngozi, as well as in outlying
neighborhoods of the capital, Bujumbura. 54,500 families -- an estimated
272,500 persons -- comprising returnees, displaced persons, people
affected by adverse weather conditions, unaccompanied orphans, elderly
widows and people living with HIV/AIDS, will benefit from the
distribution. Over the reporting week, some 10 associations received kits
that included vegetable seeds and hoes. Meanwhile, the production of
high-quality seeds (potatoes, beans, maize, soybean, peanuts and rice) is
also underway.

Meanwhile, WFP reported that distribution of Seeds Protection Rations
(SPR) continued in various provinces. Also during the reporting week,
1,055 mt of the total 1,700 mt of food assistance released was distributed
under the SPR operation in Cankuzo, Rutana, Ruyigi and Bujumbura Rural
provinces.

SECURITY

Bujumbura Rural, Isale Commune: following an FNL ambush of a military
position, fighting between Burundian armed forces (FAB) and FNL rebels
resulted in ten deaths (nine civilians and one soldier) in Masenga on
Sunday 19 September.

People in the communes of Muhuta, Mutambu and Kabezi in Bujumbura Rural
Province accuse Agathon Rwasa's FNL of violating their rights, with
murders and abductions. However, a return to calm has been noted in other
communes of the province, such as Mubimbi and Kanyosha -- although the
population has expressed fear of FDD forces, who accuse them of
collaborating with the FNL.

Bubanza Province, Gihanga Commune: on 21 September, some 40 houses were
looted as FNL rebels led an attack in "Village 6". Two persons were
wounded.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Burundi (ONUB) offered its condolences to
the family of a staff member who was shot to death on Saturday night (25
September) in Bujumbura. Abdoulaye Maiga, 33, a Senegalese national who
worked as an official volunteer with ONUB, was married and had two
children. ONUB said it was investigating the details of Mr Maiga's death,
and urged Burundian authorities to do everything they could to bring the
perpetrators of the killing to justice.

LATEST EVENTS AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

Burundi President Domitien Ndayizeye attended the 59th UN General Assembly
session, which opened on 21 September in New York. Ndayizeye called on the
UN to support sanctions against Agathon Rwasa's FNL, as decided on 18
August in Dar es Salaam by the summit of heads of state of the regional
initiative for Burundi, following the massacre of Congolese Banyamulenge
refugees in Gatumba, Burundi, for which the FNL publicly claimed
responsibility.

Two new political parties were authorized on 20 September: PARIBU -- the
Party for the complete renewal of Burundi, headed by Benoit Ndorimana, and
the Party for the restoration of the monarchy and dialogue in Burundi, led
by Prince Godefroid Kamatari, who told reporters that he believed a modern
monarchy could help to re-establish peace and rebuild the nation.

Pierre Nkurunziza, Minister of Good Governance, returned from a regional
tour of Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda on 21 September. Reacting to UPRONA's
plan to appeal to the Constitutional Court to protest the vote of the
post-transition constitution, he said: "We must respect the independence
of magistrates. The era for anarchy and disorder is over." UPRONA and five
other non-signatory parties of the 6 August Pretoria power-sharing
agreement accuse the head of state of violation of the August 2000 Arusha
Peace and Reconciliation Agreement and the transitional constitution.

Slight cabinet reshuffle on 21 September: Marie-Goretti Nduwimana
(People's Party) took over from Juliette Icoyitungiye Kavabuha
(Palipe-Agakiza, of Dr Etienne Karatasi) in the Ministry of Social Action
and Promotion of Women. Nduwimana previously led the ministry from
November 2001-November 2003.

COORDINATION

On 21 September, a joint mission including UNICEF, OCHA, the ONUB human
rights section, NGOs Gruppo Volontario Civile (GVC) and the International
Rescue Committee (IRC), visited Kabezi Commune of Bujumbura Rural Province
to discuss remaining steps for establishment of a new site with the local
administration.

On 22 September, OCHA conducted a follow-up mission in Gihanga, Rugazi and
Bubanza communes of Bubanza Province to assess the humanitarian situation
of IDPs. Following an FNL attack (21-22 September) in which around 40
families were looted in Gihanga Commune, the Burundi Pentecostal Church
community (CEPBU) has provided shelter for IDPs who recently returned from
Kagwema area. Meanwhile, IDPs in Randa (Bubanza) and Ruyange (Rugazi) were
found to be in need of shelter and suffering from a lack of healthcare.

During the habitat thematic group meeting held on 24 September, the
national commission to assist vulnerable populations (CNRS - Commission
Nationale de Rehabilitation des Sinistres) announced that they planned to
conduct a pilot survey on housing in Ruyigi Province with the support of
UNHCR. Meanwhile, 282.86 mt of Seeds Protection Rations were distributed
to over 24,900 beneficiaries from Gisuru, Nyabitsinda, and Kinyinya
communes of Ruyigi Province. Furthermore, Catholic Relief Services (CRS),
in collaboration with SOPRAD, a national NGO, are organizing a seeds
market for 15,000 families, including returnees in the Buyogoma region.

For further information and contributions to future updates:

Matthew Conway and Adelaide Habonimana
OCHA Information Unit
E-mail: conwaym@un.org and habonimanaa@un.org

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