The humanitarian impacts of economic sanctions on Burundi

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continues to export, through smuggling, large quantities <strong>of</strong> c<strong>of</strong>fee and tea by both air and land routes. <strong>The</strong> ban on imports to Burundi has resulted in acute shortages <strong>of</strong> fuel, spare parts, medicines, fertilizers, and other imported goods. Reduced stockpiles have led to dramatic price increases and inflation. A decline in raw materials, spare parts, and other inputs has paralyzed the commercial and industrial sectors, leading to high unemployment and loss <strong>of</strong> income. Apart from the decline in export revenue, Burundi also lost most <strong>of</strong> its <strong>of</strong>ficial development assistance, which stood at approximately $250 million annually before the 1993 crisis. <strong>The</strong> World Bank announced in October 1996 suspension <strong>of</strong> nearly all support to Burundi. Foreign currency reserves, already low before <strong>sanctions</strong>, were rapidly depleted. <strong>The</strong> impact <strong>of</strong> these revenue losses was to make it increasingly difficult for the regime to finance its ongoing social and <strong>economic</strong> programs and to pay the salaries <strong>of</strong> civil servants and the army. Sanctions resulted in clear and substantial inflationary effects, particularly for foodstuffs and imported goods. In some cases, prices more than doubled during the first six months <strong>of</strong> the embargo, although smuggling slowed the rate <strong>of</strong> increase for many items. <strong>The</strong> civil war, military coup, poor harvests, and the general insecurity also greatly contributed to observed inflationary tendencies. At the household level, increases in the price <strong>of</strong> foodstuffs and other essential items since the imposition <strong>of</strong> <strong>sanctions</strong>, combined with rising unemployment and poor harvests, further reduced families’ ability to cope with the ongoing crisis. Sanctions exacerbated the adverse effects <strong>of</strong> civil strife in Burundi, resulting in a further lowering <strong>of</strong> agricultural production. <strong>The</strong>y resulted in a shortage <strong>of</strong> seeds, fertilizers, and other agricultural inputs, as well as a higher cost <strong>of</strong> fuel. <strong>The</strong> outcome has been a reduction in planted areas, a reduction in food production (yields), problems in distributing food surplus to deficit areas, and higher transport costs leading to higher market prices for food. Commercial agriculture (for example, c<strong>of</strong>fee and tea) was also affected by <strong>sanctions</strong>; the embargo on veterinary products threatened livestock production. xii
Sanctions further weakened the health infrastructure already devastated by civil war. Despite exemptions for human medicines, emergency medical supplies, water purification agents, and other essential materials, these items remained in short supply. Since the government and private sector were in practice prohibited from importing medicines or health-related supplies, importation became restricted to international <strong>humanitarian</strong> agencies. However, these agencies lacked the financial and logistical capacity to supply Burundi’s entire health care system. Furthermore, long delays in obtaining <strong>sanctions</strong> approval for importing drugs and other supplies from neighboring countries led to the exhaustion <strong>of</strong> existing stockpiles. In government health facilities, essential medicines were <strong>of</strong>ten absent or in short supply. Private pharmacies began running out <strong>of</strong> stocks <strong>of</strong> medicines as early as late August 1996. Smuggled medicines were available only at high cost. <strong>The</strong> state company responsible for importing, manufacturing, and supplying medicines to the country’s health services was unable to obtain raw materials, resulting in a rapid decline in production and only sporadic supplies. Vaccination programs were also severely affected by <strong>sanctions</strong>. Supplies <strong>of</strong> polio vaccine ran out by August 22. A national vaccination campaign was canceled in August due to the high cost <strong>of</strong> fuel. A lack <strong>of</strong> disposable syringes, kerosene for refrigerators, and fuel for sterilization jeopardized vaccination efforts at rural health centers. UNICEF estimated that approximately 50 percent <strong>of</strong> 190,000 children under the age <strong>of</strong> one targeted for vaccination in 1996 would not get vaccinated as a result <strong>of</strong> the <strong>sanctions</strong>. Water and sanitation programs were suspended due to inadequate supplies and equipment as well as the high cost <strong>of</strong> fuel. <strong>The</strong> largest outbreak <strong>of</strong> typhus recorded since World War II began in north and central Burundi in October 1996. Local response to the outbreak suffered due to difficulties obtaining medicines, pesticides, and other urgent inputs. It is likely that <strong>sanctions</strong>-related higher food costs, reduced harvests, and decreased household purchasing power led to a decline in nutritional intake by most families. xiii
Page 1 and 2: Occasional Paper #29 THE HUMANITARI
Page 3: CONTENTS Preface ..................
Page 6 and 7: ing about political change through
Page 8 and 9: political changes, on the other. As
Page 10 and 11: NOTES 1 Thomas G. Weiss, David Cort
Page 14 and 15: Recommendations • The</st
Page 16 and 17: a system can be successful only if
Page 18 and 19: NOTES 1 Statement of</stron
Page 20 and 21: imposed, Burundi was a country alre
Page 22 and 23: xxii
Page 24 and 25: UNHCR UNICEF UPRONA WFP WHO United
Page 26 and 27: xxvi
Page 28 and 29: Most exports transit through neighb
Page 30 and 31: whether distinctions between the tw
Page 32 and 33: The Military Coup
Page 34 and 35: indicating that negotiations should
Page 36 and 37: By this time, however, sanc
Page 39 and 40: CHAPTER 2 THE SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
Page 41 and 42: Burundi also has found ways to smug
Page 43 and 44: eappeared, along with salt from Tan
Page 45 and 46: egan to slow. With the onset <stron
Page 47 and 48: 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 3
Page 50 and 51: sons, mostly farmers, resulted in e
Page 52 and 53: Rate of inflation
Page 54 and 55: However, CPI increases in the July-
Page 56 and 57: seeds, as well as the normal distri
Page 58 and 59: income. Coffee pro
Page 60 and 61: The embargo has pr
Page 62 and 63:
Essential Drugs All human medicines
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target of vaccinat
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from chronic malnutrition. In the c
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Table 2.5: Populations and Observed
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and Food Supply Assessment Mission
Page 72 and 73:
Table 3.1: Chronology of</s
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guidelines for exemptions. 2 <stron
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authorities and UN/NGO agencies gre
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fertilizers and to the potential lo
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items to be imported by the UN, sub
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Nairobi and Bujumbura, as well as t
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cratic problems associated with the
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Tanzania, so that only small quanti
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conflict-prone areas into regroupem
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10 World Food Programme, An Analysi
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CHAPTER 4 THE POLITICAL IMPACTS OF
Page 95 and 96:
the country was in danger and urgen
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genocide deeply affected regional p
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if negotiations between opposing fa
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egion as a whole appears to have co
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to which political parties could ex
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On November 16, Buyoya once again m
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the Arusha IV Regional Summit on Ap
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“[T]he embargo set on Burundi mus
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International reported that “arme
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14 UN Information Service, “Speci
Page 115:
46 Matthew Bigg, “Burundi defiant
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sustain the momentum of</st
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usiness-like enforcement of
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for prohibiting such items. UN sanc
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enforcement rather than allowed to
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talks and the Arusha Summit. At the
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Mid-August August 16 August 16 Augu
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flights for emergency evacuation so
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December 6 Franco-African Summit, O
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“appeals to the countries <strong
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Rudi Veestraeten Second Secretary,
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Alexandra Humme Arjun Katoch Freder
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114
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116
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elations. It seeks to be a multifac
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