Security Council resolution 1959 (2010) [on establishment of the UN Office in Burundi (BNUB)]
Symbol: S/RES/1959(2010)
Date: 2010-12-16
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/65 [99] BURUNDI SITUATION
Subjects: UN Office in Burundi (BNUB)|UN Office in Burundi (BNUB) > Establishment|UN Integrated Office in Burundi|UN. Peacebuilding Commission|PEACEBUILDING|POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION|INTERNAL SECURITY|BURUNDI|BURUNDI SITUATION|GOVERNANCE|IMPUNITY|TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE|LAW REFORM|HUMAN RIGHTS|ECONOMIC POLICY|RESOURCES MOBILIZATION|COORDINATION WITHIN UN SYSTEM|SECURITY SECTOR REFORM|MILITARY DEMOBILIZATION|REINTEGRATION|HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS|BURUNDIAN REFUGEES
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: AUSTRIA
vote: yes
country: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
vote: yes
country: BRAZIL
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GABON
vote: yes
country: JAPAN
vote: yes
country: LEBANON
vote: yes
country: MEXICO
vote: yes
country: NIGERIA
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: TURKEY
vote: yes
country: UGANDA
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                 S/RES/1959 (2010)
               Security Council                                               Distr.: General
                                                                              16 December 2010




               Resolution 1959 (2010)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 6451st meeting, on
               16 December 2010

                    The Security Council,
                     Recalling its resolutions and the statements of its President on Burundi, in
               particular resolutions 1719 (2006), 1791 (2007), 1858 (2008) and 1902 (2009),
                     Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial
               integrity and unity of Burundi,
                     Taking note with appreciation of the successful holding of five consecutive
               elections between May and September 2010, which, despite divisions between
               political actors, did not lead to large-scale violence and constitute an important
               milestone in the consolidation of peace and democracy as well as sustainable
               development in Burundi,
                     Encouraging the efforts of the Government of Burundi to create a space for all
               political parties and to continue improving dialogue between all actors, including
               civil society,
                     Commending the valuable contribution that the United Nations Integrated
               Office in Burundi (BINUB) has made to the recovery of Burundi from conflict and
               to the country’s peace, security and development,
                     Welcoming the progress that Burundi has made towards peace, stability and
               development and emphasizing the need for the United Nations system and the
               international community, including the international financial institutions and
               Burundi’s development partners, to maintain their support for peace consolidation
               and long-term development in Burundi,
                    Supporting the renewed commitment of Burundi to “zero tolerance” for
               corruption,
                     Welcoming the continued engagement of the Peacebuilding Commission in
               Burundi and the recent visit of the Chair of the Commission’s Burundi
               configuration, taking note of the January 2010 review of progress in the
               implementation of the Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding in Burundi and of the
               briefing of the Chair of the Burundi configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission
               on 9 December 2010, and acknowledging the contribution that the Peacebuilding
               Fund has made to peacebuilding in Burundi,

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                    Supporting the commitment of Burundi to regional integration, notably in the
               Economic Community of Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL) and the East African
               Community (EAC), and its efforts to ensure the success of its Chairing of the EAC
               in 2011,
                     Recognizing the importance of transitional justice in promoting lasting
               reconciliation among all the people of Burundi, and noting with appreciation the
               completion of the national consultations on the establishment of the transitional
               justice mechanisms, in accordance with its resolution 1606 (2005) as well as the
               Arusha agreements 2000,
                     Noting with great concern the reports of continuing human rights violations, in
               particular extrajudicial killings and torture, and restrictions on civil liberties,
               including restrictions on the freedom of expression, association and assembly of
               opposition parties and civil society organizations,
                     Encouraging the Government of Burundi to protect the civil liberties and to
               fight impunity, particularly by ensuring that those responsible for incidences of
               torture, extrajudicial killings and mistreatment of detainees are brought to justice,
                    Recalling its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889
               (2009) on women and peace and security, its resolutions 1674 (2006) and 1894
               (2009) on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts and its resolutions 1612
               (2005) and 1882 (2009) on children and armed conflict,
                    Having considered the seventh report (S/2010/608) of the Secretary-General
               on the BINUB,
                    1.    Requests the Secretary-General to establish the United Nations Office in
               Burundi (BNUB), as recommended in his report (S/2010/608), as a significantly
               scaled-down United Nations presence, for an initial period of 12 months beginning
               on 1 January 2011, with the key tasks as specified in paragraph 3 below, to support
               the progress achieved in recent years by all national stakeholders in consolidating
               peace, democracy and development in Burundi;
                     2.    Welcomes the Secretary-General’s recommendation that BNUB should be
               headed by a Special Representative of the Secretary-General assisted by a Deputy
               Special Representative who would serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator
               and Humanitarian Coordinator, as well as Resident Representative of the United
               Nations Development Programme, and recognizes the need for appropriate expertise
               and adequate material resources, in order that the BNUB can effectively and
               efficiently implement its mandate;
                     3.    Requests that BNUB focuses on and supports the Government of Burundi
               in the following areas:
                     (a) Strengthening the independence, capacities and legal frameworks of key
               national institutions, in particular judicial and parliamentary institutions, in line with
               international standards and principles;
                     (b) Promoting and facilitating dialogue between national actors and
               supporting mechanisms for broad-based participation in political life, including for
               the implementation of development strategies and programmes in Burundi;
                     (c) Supporting efforts to fight impunity, particularly through the
               establishment of transitional justice mechanisms to strengthen national unity,


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           promote justice and promote reconciliation within Burundi’s society, and providing
           operational support to the functioning of these bodies;
                (d) Promoting and protecting human rights, including strengthening national
           capacities in that area, as well as national civil society;
                (e) Ensuring that all strategies and policies with respect to public finance
           and the economic sector, in particular the next Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
           (PRSP), have a focus on peacebuilding and equitable growth, addressing
           specifically the needs of the most vulnerable population, and advocating for
           resource mobilization for Burundi;
                (f) Providing support to Burundi as Chair of the East African Community in
           2011 as well as providing advice, as requested, on regional integration issues;
                4.    Underscores the need for a smooth transition from BINUB to BNUB;
                 5.   Underlines the importance of establishing a fully integrated office with
           effective coordination of strategy and programmes among the United Nations
           agencies, funds and programmes in Burundi, and emphasizes the need for the United
           Nations system to support and cooperate fully with BNUB;
                 6.    Recognizes the primary responsibility of the Government of Burundi for
           peacebuilding, security and long-term development in the country, and encourages
           the Government of Burundi to pursue its efforts regarding peace consolidation
           challenges, in particular democratic governance, the fight against corruption,
           security sector reform, justice and the protection of human rights, with a special
           focus on the rights of women and children as well as marginalized and vulnerable
           minorities;
                 7.   Encourages the Government of Burundi with the support of BNUB and
           other international partners to redouble its efforts to pursue structural reforms aimed
           at improving political, economic and administrative governance and tackling
           corruption, with a view to setting up strong drivers for sustained and equitable
           social and economic growth;
                 8.   Underscores the importance of security sector reform and urges all
           international partners, together with BNUB, to continue supporting the Government
           of Burundi’s efforts to professionalize and enhance the capacity of the national
           security services and the police, in particular in the fields of training on human
           rights and sexual and gender-based violence, and with the view to consolidating
           security sector governance;
                 9.    Commends the Government of Burundi for the completion of the
           reintegration of the last groups of children formerly associated with armed groups
           and of ex-combatants, encourages the Government to ensure that these results are
           sustainable, encourages the Peacebuilding Commission to consider what specific
           actions it could undertake to bolster its support to the sustainable reintegration of
           war-affected populations and other vulnerable groups, and supports the
           Government’s efforts in voluntary civilian disarmament campaign and the launch of
           the Police Nationale du Burundi (PNB) arms marking and registration process;
                10. Encourages the Government of Burundi, the Peacebuilding Commission,
           and its national and international partners to honour the commitments they have
           made under the Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding, requests the Peacebuilding



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               Commission, with support from BNUB, to continue to assist the Government of
               Burundi in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and security, reintegration
               and long-term development in Burundi, including ensuring that progress is made in
               the implementation of rule of law and that peacebuilding objectives are fully taken
               into account in the future strategic planning processes, in particular the PRSP, and
               requests the Peacebuilding Commission to provide advice to the Security Council on
               these issues;
                     11. Urges the Government to investigate reports of human rights violations,
               to take the necessary steps to prevent further violations and to ensure that those
               responsible for such violations are brought to justice;
                     12. Calls upon the Government of Burundi to pursue its efforts to ensure the
               promotion and protection of human rights and to swiftly establish the National
               Independent Human Rights Commission, in conformity with the Paris Principles
               outlined in General Assembly resolution 48/134 and further encourages it to
               continue its fight against impunity and to take the necessary measures to ensure its
               citizens fully enjoy their civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights as
               enshrined in the Constitution of Burundi and provided for by international human
               rights instruments, including those ratified by Burundi;
                     13. Welcomes the completion of the national consultations on the
               establishment of transitional justice mechanisms, commends the Government of
               Burundi for publishing the report of these consultations and encourages the
               Government of Burundi, with the support of international partners and BNUB as
               appropriate, to establish the proposed mechanisms;
                    14. Welcomes the recent tripartite agreement between Burundi, the
               Democratic Republic of the Congo and UNHCR as well as the progress towards
               achieving dignified durable solutions for refugees living in Tanzania, and
               encourages a sustained effort to find solutions with regards to the residual Burundi
               refugee caseload, in compliance with relevant international law;
                     15. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the Council informed every six
               months on the implementation of the mandate of BNUB and this resolution, with a
               briefing by 31 May 2011 and a report by 30 November 2011, and calls upon the
               Secretary-General to develop a set of benchmarks for the future evolution of BNUB
               into a United Nations Country Team presence and regularly report on their progress
               to the Security Council;
                    16.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.




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