UN Authority Figures

Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations: Burundi


A three-month suspension placed on almost all international NGOs operating in Burundi earlier this month is part of a wider crackdown on civil society, analysts say, in a nation where an estimated 3.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Source: Devex, October 12, 2018. Photo: Burundi troops (Wikimedia Commons)

Mission of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations: "The main tasks of the Committee are...The consideration of applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification submitted by NGOs; The consideration of quadrennial reports submitted by NGOs in General and Special categories; The implementation of the provisions of Council resolution 1996/31 and the monitoring of the consultative relationship; Any other issues which the ECOSOC may request the Committee to consider." (Committee on NGOs website)

Burundi's Term of office: 2019-2022

Burundi's Record on NGOs:
"Human rights issues included ... substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, such as overly restrictive nongovernmental organization (NGO) laws;... Some journalists, lawyers, NGO personnel, and leaders of political parties and civil society stated the government used the law to intimidate and harass them... In January 2017 the government enacted a law constricting the liberties of international NGOs. The law includes requirements that international NGOs deposit a portion of their budgets at the Bank of the Republic of Burundi and that they maintain ethnic and gender balances in the recruitment of local personnel. The law contains several clauses that give the government considerable control over NGO selection and programming."
(U.S. State Department Country Report of Human Rights Practices in Burundi, 2018)