A panel of experts warned the UN Human Rights Council of the risk of genocide in Burundi this week, calling for the establishment of a commission of inquiry.
The experts, examining events in the country over the last 14 months, said “gross human rights violations have and are taking place, committed primarily by state agents and those linked to them". "Impunity is pervasive," they added, after Pierre Nkurunziza ran for president for third term.
They went on to note that some of these human rights violations could amount to crimes against humanity.
"Given the country's history, the danger of the crime of genocide also looms large," the experts warned.
International action was needed to "prevent further mass violations with ethnical connotations," they added, calling for "robust engagement" from the international community. If not "the country's downward spiral is unlikely to be reversed," they stated.
See more from France 24 here.
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