Security Council extends mandate of UN office in Burundi

Commending Burundi’s efforts to consolidate stability and achieve national reconciliation, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in that country, known as BINUB, until the end of next December.

In a unanimously-adopted resolution, the 15-member body approved the renewal of the Office which was opened on 2 January this year to replace the peacekeeping mission known as the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB).

While noting the progress made in the small Great Lakes nation towards rebuilding after decades of conflict, the Council pointed out that it must overcome challenges, particularly the completion of the peace process with the Forces Nationales de Libération (Palipehutu-FNL), the last major rebel hold-out group.

In July, the group withdrew from the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) set up to monitor a ceasefire it signed with the Government last year.

Today’s resolution urged the Palipehutu-FNL to return to the JVMM “without delay or preconditions and to immediately release all children associated with it,” and urged both sides to last year’s Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement to “refrain from any action that might lead to a resumption of hostilities.”

In a report late last month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that Burundi’s deteriorating political condition could roll back progress towards establishing a lasting peace.

“The political crises and institutional paralysis, along with the blockage in the peace process, underscores the fragility of the situation and the continued need for vigilance,” he wrote.