On August 20, 2025, ACAT-Burundi, alongside more than forty national, regional, and international organizations, sent an open letter to the member states and observers of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
In this document, the signatory organizations express their deep concern about the persistence of serious human rights violations in Burundi: extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, acts of torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and increasing restrictions on fundamental freedoms.
They recall that the legislative and municipal elections of June 5, 2025, took place in a climate marked by intimidation, exclusion of the opposition, and massive irregularities, leading to “elections without opposition.” This context, exacerbated by the militarization of the Imbonerakure militia and an unstable regional climate, increases the risk of criminal atrocities.
The letter calls on the Human Rights Council, at its 60th session (September 8–October 8, 2025), to:
• Extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi;
• Strengthen international monitoring and demand the cooperation of the Burundian government with independent human rights protection mechanisms;
• Ensure rigorous and continuous monitoring of the situation, with a view to the current electoral cycle, which will culminate in the 2027 presidential election.
ACAT-Burundi reaffirms, together with its partners, that the international community must remain vigilant and mobilized to prevent the crisis from worsening and to support victims and human rights defenders.
In this document, the signatory organizations express their deep concern about the persistence of serious human rights violations in Burundi: extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, acts of torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and increasing restrictions on fundamental freedoms.
They recall that the legislative and municipal elections of June 5, 2025, took place in a climate marked by intimidation, exclusion of the opposition, and massive irregularities, leading to “elections without opposition.” This context, exacerbated by the militarization of the Imbonerakure militia and an unstable regional climate, increases the risk of criminal atrocities.
The letter calls on the Human Rights Council, at its 60th session (September 8–October 8, 2025), to:
• Extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi;
• Strengthen international monitoring and demand the cooperation of the Burundian government with independent human rights protection mechanisms;
• Ensure rigorous and continuous monitoring of the situation, with a view to the current electoral cycle, which will culminate in the 2027 presidential election.
ACAT-Burundi reaffirms, together with its partners, that the international community must remain vigilant and mobilized to prevent the crisis from worsening and to support victims and human rights defenders.
Read the full letter here:
HRC60-Civil-society-letter-on-BURUNDI-English
