Ann McKechin MP

Labour Member of Parliament for Glasgow North

Burundi - 5 May 2004

I welcome this opportunity to speak about a nation which receives very little public attention in the United Kingdom and which is facing a crucial period in its history, as it seeks to move from many years of conflict and debilitating poverty to a period of peace and, hopefully, real development progress.

I welcome the Government's country engagement plan for Burundi and their increased aid spending on that country in the past few years. The Department for International Development has been working hard to ensure that we have a comprehensive set of policies for the entire great lakes region. It is also working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence to achieve that. However, given that Burundi is in a critical period, I wish to press the Minister further on his future policy intentions. Burundi is the smallest nation in the great lakes region, with a population of just over 6 million. It is also the third most impoverished nation in the world: more than 99 per cent. of its population lives beneath the absolute poverty threshold of $1 per day, and 85 to 90 per cent. of its people subsist on less than $1 per week. Like its neighbour Rwanda, it has suffered an extensive period of ethnic violence between its Hutu and Tutsi populations. It has been estimated that 200,000 people have been killed since 1993, when the conflict escalated. At times that internal conflict has spilled over into Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has had detrimental effects on the stability of the region. That is one of the main reasons why the search for peace in Burundi is so important.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela helped to broker a three-year power-sharing agreement in 2001. That was a key breakthrough. Subsequent negotiations led to the largest rebel group, the Forces for the Defence of Democracy—the FDD—signing a ceasefire with the Government in late 2002. However, this week the FDD accused the Government of not abiding by the peace accord and of not giving it adequate representation in the current Administration. I understand that, according to a United Nations report issued yesterday, the transitional Government are ready to meet the FDD's demands, but I would be grateful if the Minister said whether our Government have had any discussions this week with the Burundi authorities about the problem, and whether they are able to make any assessment of the consequences. Also, is there any sign of progress in persuading the remaining rebel group, the FNL—the Forces for National Liberation—to join with the transitional Government in the search for peace?

Elections are due to take place in October, and for them to pass off successfully it is crucial that security is achieved throughout the country. Sadly, however, extreme and intense violence continues to occur in pockets. In Bujumbura Rurale, the Centre de Blessé medical centre in Kamenge recently had 76 reported rape cases in just one week. On average in the last 12 months more than 100 rapes per month have been reported in that centre alone. That reported figure suggests that the real figure is far higher. In addition, civilians continue to be killed, seriously injured and forced to leave their home as a result of the conflict.

Last year, the African Union deployed a peacekeeping mission to Burundi, and I welcome our Government's £2 million contribution toward the cost of it, in addition to their share of the euro25 million that was provided from the European Union aid fund. Despite that, the mission is suffering from a serious lack of funds and logistical support. However, as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently stated, it has performed very well in difficult circumstances and it has already made a significant contribution to establishing an atmosphere of peace and security. However, severe problems remain, not least in the area surrounding the capital, and it is important that the peacekeeping force is able to operate effectively throughout the country.

Last month, Kofi Annan, responding to a direct request from the African Union, proposed that the mission be taken over by the UN. I understand that the Security Council has, in turn, given him permission to plan a mission, but has yet to give final approval. Can the Minister confirm that the UK Government support the UN taking over from the African Union forces, and will they work to lobby other UN member states to support such a plan? I certainly encourage the Government to consider whether it is possible, prior to the October elections, to provide further funds to the force and any suitable technical assistance that it may require.

I am deeply concerned by the Rwandan Government's admission on 26 April to making a substantial deployment of troops along the borders of both Burundi and the DRC, despite denying such a suggestion earlier that week. On that same day, the DRC Foreign Minister was reported as saying that the presence of Rwandan troops amounted to a threat to the trust and bilateral relations between the two nations. That is another worrying sign given the fact that that country is going through a transitional form of government. I am worried that such a deployment could have an equally destabilising effect on security in Burundi at this sensitive time in its search for peace and elections. Do the Government believe that Rwanda has legitimate security concerns to merit such movements, or that the terms of the memorandum of understanding between the United Kingdom and the Rwandan Government are being fully respected in respect of current events?

Development issues also affect Burundi. First, refugees are now returning to Burundi as peace begins to be established. They are coming back in their thousands, and those numbers are expected to increase dramatically once political leaders call for Burundi citizens to return to register to vote for the elections in October. Can the Minister give any indication of how DFID assesses the state of preparation of international agencies to cope with that influx? In the longer term, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is planning for upwards of 500,000 people to be repatriated to Burundi by 2006. That is in addition to the ex-combatants and the formerly internally displaced people who are returning to their homes in rural areas. In such a small and terribly impoverished nation, that creates a tremendous stress on very poor rural communities. I urge DFID to assist in strengthening basic facilities in the rural communities to cope with the influx and provide funds for projects to establish links between the returning groups to prevent the possibility of further conflict.

A study published this week by Médecins sans Frontières shows that mortality rates in Burundi are three times higher than those of a country in a stable situation, and well above the internationally recognised thresholds that indicate an emergency situation. The main causes of mortality are identified as infectious diseases: malaria is the main killer, but there is an increasing and worrying incidence of HIV/AIDS infection. Despite the fact that the right to health is enshrined in the policy of the Burundi Ministry of Health, the study shows that the cost-recovery system operated by the Ministry, whereby patients pay the entire cost of all medical acts, medicines and laboratory tests, excludes almost 1 million people—just less than one fifth of the total population—from any type of basic health care. In addition, the researchers found that more than 80 per cent. of the households that consult health centres are obliged to resort to extreme solutions, such as selling cattle or land, or incurring debt from their neighbours, to pay the price of the consultation.


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