Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Burundian counterparts on its government (a) halting violence involving its security forces, (b) engaging in dialogue with opponents and (c) accepting the presence of 5,000 African Union peacekeepers within its borders; and if he will make a statement.

James Duddridge

The UK is playing a lead role in building a single, consistent international response to the crisis in Burundi. In mid-December, I visited Burundi and urged the Burundian Government in the strongest terms to take steps to end the violence that has gripped the country. I stressed that only an inclusive dialogue would foster the conditions for the people of Burundi to be able to live their lives in safety and security. On 5 January I wrote to the Minister of External Relations and International Cooperation, Alain Nyamitwe, urging him to do everything in his power to ensure that his government attends, without preconditions, the next round of the Inter Burundi Dialogue in Arusha. At the African Union Summit this week I will urge the Burundian Government to accept the deployment of troops being offered by the African Union to protect civilians, re-establish security and create the conditions on the ground for reconciliation to take place. I also regularly raise the issue of Burundi with Foreign Ministers and Envoys in the region, to encourage a regional response to the crisis.