CASE No - Inter-Parliamentary Union

- 28 - CL/183/SR.1
confessions had been obtained under torture. The Committee called on the authorities to
ensure that a prompt, full and impartial inquiry would be conducted into those allegations.
Given that there would soon be elections in Bangladesh, the Committee also called on the
authorities to ensure adequate protection for Ms. Hasina, who had expressed her intention to
stand as a candidate.
The Governing Council unanimously adopted the two draft resolutions relating to
the case of Mr. Shah Ams Kibria and to the case of Ms. Sheikh Hasina, which had been
submitted to it by the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians. 4
Belarus
The Committee had no further information on the whereabouts of Mr. Victor Gonchar
who had disappeared in Belarus in 1999 and had still not been found. In 2004, the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, on the basis of an investigation, had
concluded that steps had been taken at the highest State level to cover up the real
circumstances of his disappearance. The Committee continued to believe that there were
certain elements, which, if investigated fully, could shed light on the circumstances and
motivation behind the disappearance, and would raise that matter with the newly elected
Belorussian authorities.
The Governing Council unanimously adopted the draft resolution relating to the
case of Mr. Victor Gonchar, which had been submitted to it by the Committee on the
Human Rights of Parliamentarians. 5
Burundi
In addition to two existing cases that the Committee was examining in Burundi, the
report contained an examination of the case of 22 parliamentarians, who had been members
of the ruling party, who had either resigned or been expelled from the party, and had
continued to sit as independent parliamentarians. Together with members of the opposition
party they had refrained from attending that National Assembly, which as a result had failed to
attain the quorum required to adopt decisions, and its work had therefore been blocked.
Under its programme of assistance to the Parliament of Burundi, the IPU had made every
effort, in cooperation with the parliamentary authorities, to bring an end to the stalemate. The
Committee was deeply concerned that in stead of pursuing the political dialogue, a judicial
solution had been sought. In June 2008, as a consequence of a ruling by the Constitutional
Court, the 22 members of parliament had been expelled. The United Nations Independent
Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Burundi had stated that the Court appeared to
have been enlisted by the Executive to serve a specific political objective, thereby bringing into
question its independence and credibility. Since then, arrest warrants had been issued for six
of the 22 parliamentarians, and four of them had been arrested, reportedly on arbitrary
grounds. In light of that situation, the Committee urged the National Assembly and the
competent authorities to return to the negotiating table, and requested that the Assembly
should receive urgently the planned IPU follow-up mission, so that it could resume its function
in support of political dialogue.
The Committee had been dealing with two long-running cases in Burundi concerning the
murder of six parliamentarians, and an attempt on the life of another, which had taken place
in the 1990s. While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission could make a crucial
contribution to shedding light on those cases, its long-awaited establishment would not occur
4 See Annexes IV and V for the texts of the resolutions.
5 See Annex VI for the text of the resolution.