On Burundi, ICP Asks UN 3d Time If Nduwumusi In AMISOM, Ban Ki-moon Spox Dujarric "Will Try" Again

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• published: 20 May 2016
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On Burundi, ICP Asks UN 3d Time If Nduwumusi In AMISOM, Spox "Will Try" Again By Matthew Russell Lee UNITED NATIONS, May 19 -- With Burundi troops accused of raping children as part of UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous' MINUSCA mission in the Central African Republic, as well as accused of abuses in Burundi itself, a new funding question has arisen, involving Commerbank. And the UN of Ban Ki-moon moved to evict Inner City Press, which is asking the question. It happened on April 16, video here and here (Periscope). The New York Times covered it on May 14, here. On May 17, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric this question about Audace Nduwumusi -- a name conveniently left out of the UN transcript here. On May 18, Inner City Press asked again, and Dujarric said, "I failed to get… I failed… I probably asked and I didn't have the answer. So, I will try to get you something tomorrow." But the next day, May 19, Dujarric announced nothing. So Inner City Press asked for a third time, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: Third day in a row on this deployment of Mr. [Audace] Nduwumusi to AMISOM [African Union Mission in Somalia]. You'd said that you would look into what the role is of the UN support to AMISOM given that this individual was in the leaked memo and there's now a second individual, Francois Niyonzima, who's said to have been involved in the Mugamba killings of late in Burundi. What is the UN's position… Spokesman: I don't have any information on the two individuals you gave me. What I was told is that under the UN human rights due diligence policy, UN support to non-UN security forces must be consistent with the UN's purpose and principles. Support cannot be provided when there's a real risk of the receiving entity coming… committing grave violations of International Humanitarian Law or Human Rights Law. The policy outlines the following steps the UN takes when it is requested to provide support, assess the risk and identify mitigation measures of the recipient committing violations, ongoing monitoring of the recipient support, establish procedures for intervention when violated… violations are reported, and in the case of AMISOM, risk assessments are regularly updated and the UN presence on the ground monitors AMISOM and is implementing a number of mitigating measures to prevent violations and ensure accountability when violations occur. Inner City Press: Sure. And I… and thanks for reading that out. My question is, if Mr. Nduwumusi appears in a UN-written leaked cable as a person that was distributing weapons to the youth wing of the ruling party in Burundi, doesn't his deployment to AMISOM to receive UN support…? Spokesman: I'm not debating your question, but I have no information or confirmation on the personnel issues. So, I will try to find out, and I will let you know. We'll see. Inner City Press previously published the leaked cable naiming Nduwumusi, here - and has been evicted by the UN, NYT here. On May 11, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Dujarric, Vine here, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: given the interest of the UN system in Burundi, I’m hoping that you have something on this. There were yesterday and today some 250 people arrested reportedly in Musaga, which is a… perceived to be an opposition neighbourhood. And there are pictures all over the internet. People are saying it’s another crackdown. And so I just wanted to know what is the status of the UN’s, I guess, monitoring, speaking, and engaging in this crisis? Spokesman: We continue to have people on the ground. We’re also eagerly awaiting a decision by the Security Council on the way forward for an increased UN presence. I think as the crisis grows every day, our concern grows about the need to have a political horizon and to ensure that Burundi moves in the right direction, that people’s rights are respected and their freedom of expression is also respected. Waiting for the Security Council, in which Ban Ki-moon's Herve Ladsous undermined proposal with a statement of delay the UN won't even confirm? On May 4... Spokesman Dujarric: I don't have anything on Burundi. That's an understatement.