Responding to mounting actions by President Pierre Nkurunziza [bbc profile], UN human rights experts condemned [UN news report] on Monday governmental hostility towards non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights defenders. The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights [official website] report cites numerous suspensions, including rights organization Ligue ITEKA and governance organization OLUFAD, as part of a troubling pattern that has culminated in disappearances [HRW report] and legislation passed in December seeking to control NGOs. The experts called the moves “just the latest in a series of attacks on the rights to freedom of expression and association in Burundi.”

Burundi has been the object of much international scrutiny over potential human rights abuses. Violence in Burundi began in the wake of Nkurunziza’s announcement that he would seek a third term of office, to which he was elected [JURIST report] in 2015. In October the National Assembly of Burundi [official website, in French] voted [JURIST report] overwhelmingly to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the midst of an ICC investigation against Nkurunziza. The UN Independent Investigation in Burundi (UNIIB) in September expressed its grave concern [JURIST report] about potential human rights abuses. Three human rights experts from UNIIB in June echoed [JURIST report] previous calls for a stop to ethnic violence after their second visit to the country.