Burundi to set up reconciliation commission and war crimes chamber News
Burundi to set up reconciliation commission and war crimes chamber

[JURIST] Burundi on Wednesday approved a United Nations plan to establish a truth and reconciliation commission with a special war crimes chamber to investigate decades of bloody conflict between local Hutus and Tutsis going back to the country's independence in 1962. Under the plan, Burundi and the UN would work together to establish a five-member commission [BBC report], with two Burundis, to establish facts and assign responsibilty. A special chamber would be set up within Burundi's court system to prosecute and try war crimes based on commission evidence. The establishment of the proposed commission must now be approved by the UN Security Council. Reuters has more. Earlier this week, UN officials censured Burundi for deporting [JURIST report] several thousand Hutu refugees from neighboring Rwanda.