The humanitarian impacts of economic sanctions on Burundi

CHAPTER 1
THE CONTEXT OF SANCTIONS
For the past four years, Burundi has been in severe crisis. <strong>The</strong>
October 1993 assassination <strong>of</strong> the country’s first democraticallyelected
president resulted in violent massacres and prolonged
social upheaval that has claimed many tens <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> lives. 1
In 1997, nearly one million Burundians remain forcibly displaced
from their homes. <strong>The</strong> internal crisis has fractured the country’s
economy, resulting in widespread and prolonged deprivation.
Insecurity has made cultivation difficult, reducing domestic production
<strong>of</strong> food. Social programs are in collapse, while traditional
safety nets are lacking due to the separation <strong>of</strong> families and
disruption <strong>of</strong> community life. Civil war, regional conflict, and the
effects <strong>of</strong> the recent military-led coup are sustaining a human crisis
in Burundi that has already caused irreparable damage and
suffering.
It is against this backdrop <strong>of</strong> continuing violence and social
upheaval that the effects <strong>of</strong> <strong>economic</strong> <strong>sanctions</strong>, described later in
this chapter, must be measured.
Basic Indicators
Burundi is a small, densely populated, landlocked country in
east-central Africa. <strong>The</strong> mid-1997 population is estimated at 5.9
million. 2 Only 10,740 square miles in size, Burundi’s population
density (570 persons per square mile) is second in Africa only to
neighboring Rwanda. Ninety-two percent <strong>of</strong> the population
reside in rural areas (the African average is 30 percent), on small
plots <strong>of</strong> land, engaged primarily in subsistence farming.
Historically, agriculture has produced over half <strong>of</strong> Burundi’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the country remained selfsufficient
in food until 1993. Commercial agriculture makes up
most <strong>of</strong> Burundi’s exports. C<strong>of</strong>fee normally accounts for between
75-85 percent <strong>of</strong> export earnings, followed by tea and cotton.
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