UN starts radio broadcasts in Burundi to support peace process

The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) has started broadcasting radio programmes on its work in support of the country’s peace process.

The weekly hour-long radio show, which is half in French and half in the local language, Kirundi, is broadcast over five radio stations covering 90 per cent of Burundi, ONUB spokesperson Isabelle Abric told the UN News Service today.

The broadcasts will serve to bolster the peace process by explaining ONUB’s work in such areas as judicial reform, human rights and security, she said.

With a referendum on Burundi’s constitution planned for late November or early December, the broadcasts will cover the process and support efforts to get people to register to vote, Ms. Abric said.

Plans are also underway to produce new broadcasts daily in both French and Kirundi, she added.

Established in May by the UN Security Council, ONUB took over from an African Union mission to help implement the peace process in Burundi, which aims to foster a multi-party, power-sharing government after more than a decade of civil war.