Burundi (Sanctions) Regulations 2021

Stephen Doughty Excerpts

Monday 17th January 2022 General Committees

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to see you chairing the Committee, Mr Gray, and I thank the Minister for what he has set out. I understand that, overall, these are largely technical changes. The Opposition will not oppose the overall framework for the sanctions regime, because if we wanted further designations to be made in the future, or further actions to be taken, removing it would make no sense at all.

However, I have some questions for the Minister, because I fear that he somewhat skipped over some of the serious and genuine concerns about the human rights situation in Burundi. I hope he can explain in a bit more detail why there are now no designations and rollovers of individuals. What assessments were carried out on the individuals who had previously been designated, or indeed on others about whom concerns have been expressed to the Government either privately or publicly, of which there are a number?

I will come back to some wider questions about the sanctions regime that the SI is part of in a moment, but the Minister said that political tensions remain. I fear that is somewhat understating the situation. Humanitarian and human rights organisations have highlighted consistent abuses in Burundi that, in some cases, are alleged to amount to crimes against humanity. There were initially promising signs that the Government of Burundi were taking steps under the new Administration to improve the human rights situation, including a return to open dialogue, which had largely deteriorated previously, and progressive statements made by the new President—for example, to rein in violent youth groups, to release political prisoners and to expand journalistic freedoms. In reality, however, little has been achieved and structural human rights abuses continue to take place. In some cases, it is alleged that they have actually got worse.

I fear that relinquishing all sanctions against individuals in Burundi is only likely to encourage those who want to take a more repressive approach and take the country back into very difficult territory. It is not just me saying this; it is the view of a number of senior and significant individuals, including Doudou Diène, the chairperson of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, who said:

“We call on everyone concerned for Burundi to look under the surface. Since President Ndayishimiye’s inauguration 15 months ago, not only have grave human rights violations continued to occur, but in some respects the situation has deteriorated”.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, established in 2016, continues to document grave human rights violations. It concluded in September 2021 that

“no structural reform has been undertaken to durably improve the situation. Serious human rights violations have continued to be committed by State officials and members of the Imbonerakure with the acquiescence of the authorities or even at their instigation. The rule of law continues to be progressively eroded.”

Indeed, it has been alleged that excessive brutality has been shown to anyone suspected of opposing the authority of the ruling party, with arbitrary arrests, torture and even killings. Of course, that applies to a whole range of individuals—whether civilians or journalists and others who have provided criticism—and dissenting civil society and members of the media have been at serious risk of detention and forced disappearances. The United Nations working group says that, as of 2020, there had been more than 238 people disappeared. Cases of violations by the police forces and others that would amount to crimes against humanity according to the UN Human Rights Council, have also been documented.

Of course, there are issues as well across the borders, with horrific stories of bodies floating down the Ruzizi river. Bodies that are cuffed have been seen floating in the rivers. Survivors of situations have described torture, and Human Rights Watch and others have detailed harrowing accounts, substantiating abuses conducted over many years by a number of Administrations. So I hope that the Minister will be able to respond to some of those allegations and explain, in that serious and worrying context, why he is so optimistic about the progress that is being made, because that optimism is clearly not shared by a range of independent observers.

In conclusion, I want to raise a couple of wider points, because this measure is obviously part of the wider sanctions regime. The Minister will be aware that there was a debate in Westminster Hall just a few weeks ago regarding the wider sanctions regime, and there was criticism of it, which directly relates to this measure. It was asked why we are not sanctioning more individuals using the powers under the sanctions legislation—indeed, under the Magnitsky amendment that was part of it.

There has been some suggestion that that is due to capacity issues in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for investigating individuals. Some excellent staff work in the sanctions unit and elsewhere; I know the fantastic work they do. However, we need to ensure that they are properly resourced and have all they need at their disposal, because we seem to be lagging behind the United States and others in designating individuals, whether it is in relation to Burundi or a number of other circumstances. Can the Minister say whether further, similar measures will come out of the reviews that the Department has been undertaking? Can we expect further statutory instruments like this one to be brought forward in the weeks ahead?

We want these powers to be used fully and proportionately. Fundamentally, however, we have these powers and we should hold to account those guilty of human rights abuses, corruption and illicit finance—all these things that we all say we want to see action on—and use the powers to their fullest extent, not just in Burundi but more broadly.

I hope that the Minister can answer some of those questions.