The humanitarian impacts of economic sanctions on Burundi

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whether distinctions between the two groups pertain more to ethnicity or to class. Crisis and Conflict (1993-1996) <strong>The</strong> first 30 years <strong>of</strong> Burundian independence were characterized by frequent power struggles that resulted in violent upheavals, thousands <strong>of</strong> civilian deaths, and large population displacements. Perceived ethnic differences between Hutu and Tutsi were regularly manipulated by ruling elites to maintain control. Monopolization <strong>of</strong> both political and military power in the hands <strong>of</strong> primarily Tutsi elites continued from 1966 until 1993. By the early 1990s, however, democratic reforms introduced by Burundi’s military leader Major Pierre Buyoya culminated in June 1993 multiparty elections. <strong>The</strong> result was a dramatic shift in power to majority rule, legislative dominance by the opposition Front Democratique du Burundi (FRODEBU), and a strong majority (65 percent) in presidential elections for FRODEBU party leader and Hutu, Melchior Ndadaye. Less than six months later, Ndadaye, Burundi’s first democratically-elected president, was assassinated by the military during a coup attempt in Bujumbura. His assassination sparked nationwide violence between Hutu and Tutsi, resulting in the deaths <strong>of</strong> an estimated 50,000 or more civilians. An estimated 700,000 refugees, primarily Hutu, fled to Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zaire. An additional 600,000 persons (both Tutsi and Hutu) became internally displaced within Burundi. As a result, nearly one-quarter <strong>of</strong> the entire population were refugees or internally displaced persons. 4 In January 1994, Burundi’s National Assembly elected Cyprien Ntaryamira as Burundi’s new president. Three months later, President Ntaryamira and Rwanda President Juvenal Habyarimana were killed in a plane crash near Kigali. In September 1994, a Convention <strong>of</strong> Government prescribed a coalition government with power-sharing, dramatically reducing the authority <strong>of</strong> the elected National Assembly. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, a Hutu, was chosen to serve as president <strong>of</strong> Burundi for the remaining term 4
<strong>of</strong> government, until June 1998. He was ousted by the military on July 25, 1996. <strong>The</strong> period from October 1993 to July 1996 witnessed increasing violence and political instability, ultimately leading to full-scale civil war. <strong>The</strong> genocidal events that occurred in Rwanda during 1994 led to new mass movements into Burundi. Large numbers <strong>of</strong> Burundi refugees, who had fled to Rwanda in 1993, returned and a mass influx <strong>of</strong> some 200,000 Rwandan refugees moved into Burundi’s northern provinces. By mid-1994, Hutu militants had organized into armed factions, including the Forces pour la Défense de la Democratie (FDD), and had begun their campaign <strong>of</strong> violence. At the same time, killings and other acts <strong>of</strong> violence, committed by the largely Tutsi Burundi military and by Tutsi militias, also escalated. An estimated 10,000-15,000 civilians were killed during 1995, and many tens <strong>of</strong> thousands were displaced due to raids and terror campaigns committed by both sides. <strong>The</strong> civil war entered a new phase in March 1996 when armed groups extended their attacks to the southern provinces <strong>of</strong> Burundi. Fighting had previously been largely restricted to northern Burundi and around the capital, Bujumbura. By July 1996, the number <strong>of</strong> Burundi refugees in Zaire and Tanzania was estimated to be in excess <strong>of</strong> 200,000, while an additional 400,000 civilians were internally displaced. <strong>The</strong> impact <strong>of</strong> the 1993-1996 crisis and civil war has therefore been enormous, both in terms <strong>of</strong> the direct human cost and devastating socio<strong>economic</strong> impact. Economic decline, damage to basic infrastructure, and a reduction in essential services have worsened conditions for all Burundians, especially women and children. This decline in human security caused by the conflict must be kept in mind when reviewing the effects <strong>of</strong> <strong>economic</strong> <strong>sanctions</strong>. <strong>The</strong>re is no question that the damaging human and socio<strong>economic</strong> effects <strong>of</strong> the crisis far outweigh the negative <strong>humanitarian</strong> aspects <strong>of</strong> the regional embargo observed thus far. 5
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 12 and 13: continues to export, through smuggl
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 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
Page 64 and 65: target of vaccinat
Page 66 and 67: from chronic malnutrition. In the c
Page 68 and 69: Table 2.5: Populations and Observed
Page 70 and 71: and Food Supply Assessment Mission
Page 72 and 73: Table 3.1: Chronology of</s
Page 74 and 75: guidelines for exemptions. 2 <stron
Page 76 and 77: authorities and UN/NGO agencies gre
Page 78 and 79: fertilizers and to the potential lo
Page 80 and 81:
items to be imported by the UN, sub
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Nairobi and Bujumbura, as well as t
Page 84 and 85:
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
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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
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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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The humanitarian impacts of economic sanctions on Burundi

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