Burundi: UN presence should be reconfigured to support new activities, Annan says

With the recent establishment of a transitional government in Burundi the United Nations presence to support the country's peace process would need to be consolidated, refocused and strengthened, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report released today at UN Headquarters in New York.

The report says that the UN Office in Burundi will need to have its staffing and resources increased as it supports UN activities, particularly in view of the repatriation to Bujumbura of the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC), which is chaired by Ambassador Berhanu Dinka, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for the Great Lakes.

The Secretary-General also reaffirms the UN's determination to do everything possible to help bring about a negotiated settlement of the conflict. "The grave humanitarian consequences of the conflict, its adverse effect on an already troubled region and the ever-present danger of an upsurge in ethnic violence make it necessary for the international community to continue to give priority attention to Burundi," he says.

The progress made on the transitional arrangements highlight the urgent need to cease hostilities to allow the full implementation of the Arusha peace agreement, Mr. Annan adds, reiterating his call for the armed groups to negotiate a stop to the fighting and to join the peace process.

On the development side, the Secretary-General reports that a number of initiatives are being put in place to support the transitional institutions as part of the "good governance" programme and invites countries to follow through on their pledges made last December in Paris at a donors' conference.

The Secretary-General also pays tribute to the late former President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, and former South African President Nelson Mandela for their role as facilitators of the peace process.