UN experts urge Security Council to prevent violence in Burundi

A group of United Nations human rights experts on Thursday urged the Security Council to take immediate action to prevent Burundi from sliding back into violent conflict ahead of presidential elections.

The experts said that Burundians, who live in the world's third poorest country, must be spared another cycle of violence and urged the Security Council to live up to its unique role in the prevention of mass atrocities.

According to the experts, thus far a total of 145,000 persons have fled to neighboring countries in fear for their lives and further crisis in the country will surely affect the other countries in the region, including Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The world is witnessing an escalating pattern of politically motivated violence in Burundi, enabled by the country's decades-long tradition of impunity," the experts warned.

"The international community must not simply stand by and wait for mass atrocities to unfold, thereby risking a major conflict of regional proportions before it finally decides to act," the experts added in a statement.

The experts warned that if the government persists in holding forthcoming presidential elections now scheduled for July 21 under the current circumstances, the elections are highly likely to result in major instability and confrontations in Burundi, with the potential to spread to the region.

On July 9, the situation on Burundi was most recently discussed by the Security Council.

"The Security Council has a unique role for peace and security and for preventing conflicts worldwide. This is a crisis that is eminently preventable -- everyone can see the risks. What is lacking is action," underscored the UN experts. Endit