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Burundi

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Overview

Like its central African neighbor, Rwanda, Burundi is populated almost entirely by the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. But unlike its more infamous neighbor, which garnered worldwide attention in 1994 due to  the genocide of hundreds of thousands, Burundi has not received the same kind of media attention. However, that does not mean there hasn’t been serious ethnic bloodshed between Hutus and Tutsis. For the past two decades, thousands have been killed by a serious of clashes over control of the country’s government. The worst started in 1993, prompting other African nations to intercede to stop the ethnic fighting and broker a power-sharing agreement between tribal leaders that continues to hold today. Hutus represent the majority of Burundi’s citizens (84%), but Tutsis have managed to ascend to power despite their small numbers. In some instances, Tutsi leaders rose through military coups—a frequent occurrence in Burundi during the latter 20th Century. Another frequent occurrence is human rights abuses, which continue to plague the populace.

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Basic Information
Lay of the Land: Burundi, located in east central Africa, is bounded by Rwanda, Tanzania, Lake Tanganyika, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Mountainous terrain levels to a grassland plain bordering Lake Tanganyika, although much of the agricultural land is overgrazed and eroded.  The climate is temperate with 40-60 inches of annual rainfall.
 
 
Population: 8.7 million
 
 
Religions: Catholic 62%, Ethnoreligious 23%, Muslim (mostly Sunni) 9%, Protestant 5%, Baha'i 0.1%.
 
 
Ethnic Groups: Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans and South Asians 0.1%.
 
 
Languages: Rundi (official) 74.2%, Swahili, French (official).
 
 
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History

Burundi has traditionally been governed by a king (mwani), presiding over an aristocracy (ganwa). The aristocracy owned most of the land and required a tax from local farmers and herders who used the land. Members of the royal class came primarily from the Tutsi ethnic group.

 

In the mid-18th century, the Tutsis consolidated authority of the land, production and distribution with the development of the ubugabire, which was a form of protection offered to those who offered tributes and land tenure. European explorers and missionaries visited the area as early as 1856, but the area did not come under rule by a foreign power until 1899, when the German colony in East Africa called German East Africa took over the territory. German East Africa lasted until the end of World War 1, when the Belgians occupied the colony.
In 1923, the League of Nations mandated to Belgium the territory of Ruanda-Urundi, encompassing modern-day Rwanda and Burundi. The Belgians continued to build on the Tutsi-dominated hierarchy until World War II, when Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations trust territory under Belgian authority. The country’s two competing political parties—the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), a multi-ethnic party led by Tutsi Prince Louis Rwagasore, and the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) supported by Belgium—emerged shortly thereafter. But in 1961, Prince Rwagasore was assassinated following an UPRONA victory in legislative elections.
 
 
Burundi achieved its independence on July 1, 1962. Tutsi King Mwambutsa IV established a constitutional monarchy with equal numbers of Hutus and Tutsis. But the 1965 assassination of the Hutu prime minister resulted in Hutu revolts and government repression.
 
King Mwambutsa was deposed by his son, Prince Ntare IV, in 1966. Ntare IV was himself deposed later that year by a military coup led by Capt. Michel Micombero. Micombero abolished the monarchy and declared a republic, but what he really established was a military dictatorship. In 1972, an aborted Hutu rebellion sent hundreds of thousands of Burundians fleeing the country. Civil unrest continued throughout the early 1970s.
 
In 1976, Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza took power. Although Bagaza led a Tutsi-dominated military regime, he encouraged land reform, electoral reform and national reconciliation. In 1981, he established a new constitution. Bagaza was then elected head of state in 1984 because he was the only candidate. After Bagaza’s “election,” Burundi’s human rights record deteriorated, as the government suppressed religious activities and detained political opposition members.
 
In 1987, Major Pierre Buyoya overthrew Colonel Bagaza. He dissolved opposition parties, suspended the 1981 constitution and instituted his ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN). During 1988, increasing tensions between the ruling Tutsis and the majority Hutus resulted in violent confrontations between the army, the Hutu opposition and Tutsis. An estimated 150,000 people were killed, with tens of thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.
 
In 1991, Buyoya approved a constitution that provided for a president, a multi-ethnic government and a parliament. Burundi’s first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, of the Hutu-dominated FRODEBU Party, was elected in June 1993. He was then assassinated by the Tutsi-dominated armed forces four and a half months later. Burundi was plunged into civil war, and tens of thousands of people were killed.  Hundreds of thousands more were displaced by the time the FRODEBU government regained control and elected Cyprien Ntaryamira president in January 1994.
 
In April 1994, President Ntayamira and Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana died in a plane crash. This event launched the genocide that was unleashed in neighboring Rwandan. In Burundi, the death of Ntaryamira only exacerbated the existing violence. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was installed as president for a four-year term, but security continued to deteriorate. The influx of Rwandan refugees and the activities of armed groups further destabilized the regime.
 
In November 1995, the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) announced a regional initiative for a negotiated peace in Burundi facilitated by former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. In July 1996, former Burundian President Buyoya returned to power. He declared himself president of a transitional republic, even as he suspended the National Assembly, banned opposition groups and imposed a nationwide curfew. Widespread condemnation of the coup ensued, and regional countries imposed economic sanctions. In 1996, Buyoya agreed to liberalize political parties. Fighting between the army and Hutu militias continued.
 
In June 1998, Buyoya established a transitional constitution and announced a partnership between the government and the opposition-led National Assembly. After Facilitator Julius Nyerere’s death in October 1999, the regional leaders appointed Nelson Mandela as Facilitator of the Arusha peace process. Under Mandela, the peace process was revived, leading to the signing of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement in August 2000 by representatives of the principal Hutu and Tutsi political parties, the government and the National Assembly. However, several armed factions refused to accept the Arusha Accords, and the armed rebellion continued. 
 
In November 2001, a three-year transitional government was established under the leadership of Pierre Buyoya as transitional president and Domitien Ndayizeye as transitional vice president for an initial period of 18 months. In May 2003, Ndayizeye assumed the presidency for 18 months with Alphonse Marie Kadege as vice president. In October and November 2003, the Burundian government and a former rebel group, the CNDD-FDD, signed cease-fire and power-sharing agreements, and in March 2004 members of the CNDD-FDD took offices in the government and parliament. The World Bank and other bilateral donors provided financing for Burundi’s disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program for former rebel combatants.
 
National and regional mediation efforts failed to reach a compromise on post-transition power-sharing arrangements between the predominantly Hutu and Tutsi political parties. In September 2004, over two-thirds of the parliament approved a post-transition constitution, despite a boycott by the Tutsi parties. The Arusha Peace Agreement called for local and national elections to be held before the conclusion of the transitional period on October 31, 2004. On October 20, 2004, however, a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate adopted a previously approved draft constitution as an interim constitution that provided for an extension of transitional institutions until elections were held.
 
On February 28, 2005, Burundians overwhelmingly approved a post-transitional constitution, setting the stage for local and national elections. In April 2005, Burundi’s transitional government was again extended and an electoral calendar was established at a regional summit held in Uganda. In accordance with the new electoral calendar, the Burundian people voted in Commune Council direct elections on June 3, 2005, and National Assembly direct elections on July 4, 2005. An electoral college of commune and provincial councils indirectly elected Senate members on July 29, 2005. A joint session of the parliament elected Pierre Nkurunziza as president of Burundi on August 19, 2005, establishing the post-transition government.
 
History of Burundi (Wikipedia)
Burundi History (Lonely Planet)
Political System and History (Institute for Security Studies)
 
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Burundi's Newspapers
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History of U.S. Relations with Burundi

The United States first established diplomatic relations with Burundi in 1962, when Embassy Usumbura (now Bujumbura) was established.

 
US involvement in the region has largely been humanitarian, offering aid to refugees and attempting to establish diplomatic relations with Burundian leaders. Although State Department documents going back to 1973 show various diplomats and government officials discussing the impact of minimizing relations with Burundi, physically separating Hutus and Tutsis under the protection of a neutral police force, and even threatening to cut off relations until the government of Burundi ceased indiscriminate killing and begin a program of national reconciliation, the US has not had much effect on Burundian policy.
 
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Current U.S. Relations with Burundi

Since the unrest and violence in the 1980s and 1990s, the United States has worked to establish a long-lasting democratic regime in Burundi and help sustain economic development. The US also seeks to strengthen reconciliation among the Hutus and Tutsis and to facilitate peace. In support of these goals, the United States supported the Arusha peace process, providing financial support through contributions to a UN peacekeeping force established in 2004.

 
According to a U.S. State Department chart (PDF) issued in 2002, there were 46 American citizens living in Burundi. In 2006, 720 Burundians visited the US. Travel to the US has been consistently on the rise since 289 Burundians visited in 2002.
 
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Where Does the Money Flow

The US imports few goods from Burundi. The largest import from Burundi is green coffee, which dropped from $5.8 million in 2003 to just $186,000 before rising again to $4.3 million in 2005. In 2007, the figure stood at $1 million, showing another decrease.

 
In 2004, the US imported $3 million in raw gem diamonds, but this number dropped to $0 in 2005 and stayed at that level through 2007. Total imports from Burundi to the US stand at $1.1 million for 2007.
 
In contrast, the US exports more to Burundi, particularly food-based items. Corn rose from $1.6 million in 2006 to $1.9 million in 2007. Unmanufactured agricultural items increased from $129,000 in 2006 to $927,000 in 2007. Passenger cars rose from $81,000 in 2006 to $199,000 in 2007.
 
Some exports dropped, however, from 2006 to 2007. Vegetables decreased from $1.6 million to $1 million. “Other foods” dropped from $506,000 to $269,000. Finished textile supplies dropped from $74,000 to just $0 in 2007. Computers decreased from $219,000 to $11,000. And “writing and art supplies” decreased from $377,000 to $39,000. Total US exports to Burundi stood at $6.9 million for 2007.
 
In June 2008, Burundi’s flower industry got a boost from the US when the United States of America African Development Foundation (USADF) gave a $250,000 interest-free loan to Agro-trading Business, a local flower farm that exports flowers, mainly to the Netherlands.
 
Of the $25.5 million in US aid to Burundi in 2006, $14.7 million went to Crisis Assistance and Recovery, $1.9 million went to Workforce Development, and $2 million went to the AIDS/HIV initiative. In FY 2007, the State Department authorized the export of defense articles and services valued at $100,000.
 
The 2008 budget request saw a moderate total increase to $28.6 million, but with the closure of the Crisis Assistance and Recovery program, more money will be allocated to Agricultural Sector Productivity ($7.5 million), Maternal and Child Health ($3.5 million), AIDS/HIV ($2.5 million), Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration ($1.5 million). 
 
The FY 2009 budget request includes $300,000 for the United States International Military Education and Training (IMET) Program, as well as $6 million for the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related (NADR) Program.
 
USADF Funds Juice Processing Project in Burundi (United States Africa Development Foundation)
Burundi flowers get US boost (by Walter Isenged, East African Business Week)
 
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Controversies

Burundian Expulsions, Congolese Refugees Attacked

Despite efforts by the United States to help Burundi quell its domestic violence, problems continue to plague the central African nation. In May 2008 it was reported that many Rwandans currently seeking refuge in Burundi may be be trying to escape prosecution for their roles in the 1994 genocide. The move to expel them back has stirred controversy, since to do so would risk sending back innocent people. Almost all of the asylum seekers are Hutu, but about half are children, who could not have taken part in the 1994 killings. Burundian authorities have tried to ask them to return home, but failed. Then the government closed four of the seven sites where asylum seeker had gathered. Police have been authorized to use force to get them to return to Rwanda. Human Rights Watch has said that Burundian authorities are not complying with the law by not allowing the Rwandan refugees to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
 
In August 2008 it was reported that 160 Congolese refugees, mostly Tutsis, were massacred by Hutu rebel forces in Burundi. Although the UN and European Union expressed outrage over the killings, neighboring Rwanda claimed that they were part of a genocidal plan. Most of the victims were women and children who were shot dead and burned in their shelters. The UN scheduled emergency talks in New York and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. The EU urged both parties to enter into a peace treaty without delay.
  
  
 

 

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Human Rights

Burundi’s human rights record remains poor, according to the State Department. Despite improvements in some areas, government security forces continue to commit numerous serious human rights abuses. Members of the FDN, the police, and the National Intelligence Service (SNR) were responsible for killings, torture, and beatings of civilians and detainees (including suspected FNL supporters), although there were fewer such reports than in the previous year. There were isolated reports that security forces raped women and young girls. Impunity and harsh, life-threatening prison and detention center conditions remained problems, and reports of arbitrary arrest and detention continued. Prolonged pretrial detention, lack of judicial independence and efficiency, and rampant judicial corruption continued. The government continued to hold some political prisoners and political detainees. The government restricted freedom of assembly and association. The government did not tolerate direct criticism of the president and journalists continued to exercise self-censorship. Security forces continued to harass members of the opposition. Societal violence and discrimination against women and trafficking in persons remained problems.

 
The constitution and law prohibits torture, however, the UN, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) Ligue Iteka and APRODH reported that members of the security forces beat and tortured civilians and detainees.
 
Prison conditions remained harsh and sometimes life threatening. Severe overcrowding persisted, and the Ministry of Justice reported that 7,594 persons were held in facilities built to accommodate 4,050 prisoners. According to government officials and human rights observers, prisoners suffered from digestive illnesses, dysentery and malaria, and prisoners died as a result of disease. APRODH reported numerous cases of torture and abuse of prisoners and detainees.
 
Although the constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, the judiciary was not independent of the executive branch, and it proved inefficient and hampered in some cases by corruption. According to UN officials, political interference seriously impeded the judiciary’s impartiality. There were cases of politically motivated charges against individuals convicted for nonpolitical crimes and against defendants awaiting trial for nonpolitical crimes.
 
The constitution and law provide for the right to privacy, but the government did not always respect this right in practice. Authorities rarely respected the law requiring search warrants. It was widely believed that security forces monitored phone calls.
 
Under Burundi law, the minimum age for military recruitment is 16, although the government stated that no one under 18 was recruited. Through the end of 2007, a project sponsored by the government and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) demobilized approximately 3,041 child soldiers from the government security forces as well as from former rebel groups. According to UNICEF, security forces no longer used children as soldiers for combat, although other sources reported that children continued to serve in the security forces as spies and porters and to perform menial tasks.
 
The labor code states that children under the age of 18 cannot be employed by an enterprise, except for the types of labor the Ministry of Labor determines to be acceptable, which includes light work or apprenticeships that do not damage children's health, interfere with their normal development, or prejudice their schooling. However, the government did not effectively enforce these laws, and child labor remained a problem. The legal age for most types of labor is 18. Children under age 16 in rural areas regularly performed heavy manual labor in the daytime during the school year.
 
The constitution and the law provide for freedom of speech and the press; however, the government continued to restrict these freedoms, although there were fewer such cases than in the previous year. Unlike in 2006, there were no reports in 2007 that journalists were arrested or detained, and the government did not force media outlets to suspend operations. However, journalists continued to exercise self-censorship, and direct criticism of the president was not tolerated.
 
A culture of impunity and widespread corruption remained a problem. Corruption was prevalent in the public and private sectors and affected numerous public services, including procurement, the granting of land use concessions, public health, and the assignment of school grades. Several respected private sector representatives and trade association officials reported that corruption remained a major impediment to commercial and economic development in the country. The World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a severe problem. In December 2006 the domestic NGO Observatory for the Struggle against Economic Corruption and Embezzlement estimated the state had lost $169.1 million (186 billion francs) to corruption and embezzlement since 2000.
 
The law prohibits rape, which is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, but does not specifically prohibit spousal rape. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) received an average of 115 rape victims each month at its center for rape victims in Bujumbura; however, MSF said the number of rapes was likely much higher. MSF reported 1,435 cases of sexual violence with children less than five years of age, comprising 14% of the total. The UN Development Fund for Women reported that many rapes of minors were committed with the belief that they would prevent or cure sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
 
Discrimination against Hutus, who constitute an estimated 85% of the population, has shown signs of decline. The constitution requires ethnic quotas for representation within the government and in the military. Hutus significantly increased their presence and power in the government following the 2005 elections.
 
 
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Debate
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Past Ambassadors
Donald A. Dumont
Appointment: Oct 25, 1962
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 17, 1963
Termination of Mission: Jan 11, 1966.
 
George W. Renchard
Appointment: Jul 24, 1968
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 10, 1968
Termination of Mission: Left post, Oct 15, 1969
 
Thomas Patrick Melady
Appointment: Nov 4, 1969
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 31, 1970
Termination of Mission: Left post, May 25, 1972
 
Robert L. Yost
Appointment: Jun 27, 1972
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 19, 1972
Termination of Mission: Left post, May 26, 1974
 
David E. Mark
Appointment: Jun 20, 1974
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 4, 1974
Termination of Mission: Left post, Aug 26, 1977
 
Thomas J. Corcoran
Appointment: Mar 2, 1978
Presentation of Credentials: Apr 6, 1978
Termination of Mission: Left post, Aug 19, 1980
 
Frances D. Cook
Appointment: Jun 30, 1980
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 25, 1980
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 15, 1983
 
James R. Bullington
Appointment: Mar 13, 1983
Presentation of Credentials: Apr 14, 1983
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jul 11, 1986
 
James Daniel Phillips
Appointment: Oct 16, 1986
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 20, 1986
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jan 12, 1990
 
Cynthia Shepard Perry
Appointment: Nov 21, 1989
Presentation of Credentials: Feb 12, 1990
Termination of Mission: Left post, Feb 28, 1993
 
Note: Leonard J. Lange served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim from Mar 1993 to Jun 1994.
 
Robert Krueger
Appointment: May 9, 1994
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 29, 1994
Termination of Mission: Left post, Sep 10, 1995
 
Morris N. Hughes, Jr.
Appointment: Jun 11, 1996
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 27, 1996
Termination of Mission: Left post May 14, 1999
 
Mary Carlin Yates
Appointment: Nov 16, 1999
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 15, 1999
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 19, 2002
 
James Howard Yellin
Appointment: Aug 8, 2002
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 26, 2002
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jul 21, 2005

 
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Burundi's Ambassador to the U.S.
ambassador-image Niyuhire, Angèle

 

Angèle Niyuhire became ambassador of Burundi to the United States in September 2009.
 
A Tutsi from Uprona, Niyuhire previously served as a Member of Parliament. The 47-year-old official has devoted herself to achieving peace and non-violence in Africa and to help advance the cause of women. 
 
Accepting her assignment as ambassador and relocating to Washington, DC, was not easy for Niyuhire. Coming from a traditional society, she had to leave behind her husband who continued to work as a builder, while her daughters joined her in the U.S.
 
Niyuhire speaks Kirundi, French and English.
 
Biography (Embassy of Burundi)

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Burundi's Embassy Web Site in the U.S.
Burundi’s Embassy in the United States
2233 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Suite 212
Washington, D.C. 20007
Telephone: (202) 342-2574 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (202) 342-2574      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: (202) 342-2578
 
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US-flag nation-flag U.S. Embassy web site

U.S. Ambassador to Burundi

Liberi, Dawn
ambassador-image

President Obama has nominated an international development expert to be the next ambassador to the central African nation of Burundi, one of the world’s poorest countries. Dawn M. Liberi, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, has specialized in sub-Saharan Africa for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), although she the past few years she has been posted to the hot spots of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. If confirmed by the Senate, Liberi would succeed Pamela J. H. Slutz, a career Foreign Service Officer who was ambassador to Burundi from November 2009 to September 2011. Since then, Sam Watson has been running things as chargé d’affaires ad interim.

 

Born in 1954, Liberi earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Hampshire College in 1976 and an M.P.H. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1979. In 2005, she told a local journalist that Hampshire’s “emphasis on hands-on learning gave her a firsthand look at the work, with internships at UNICEF in New York and visits to learn about the health care systems of Egypt and Holland.”

 

Liberi’s early career foreign postings included service as population, health and nutrition technical officer for USAID’s missions in Senegal and Niger from 1981 to 1987, and as USAID deputy mission director in Ghana from 1992 to 1994. In Washington, she served as USAID associate assistant administrator in the Global Bureau, Population, Health and Nutrition Office from 1994 to 1998.

 

She served as USAID mission director in Uganda, from 1998 to 2002, and in Nigeria, from 2002 to 2005. From 2005 to 2006, Liberi was the USAID mission director in Iraq. From 2006 to 2009, she was an executive civil-military counselor with USAID. From 2009 to 2011, she served as coordinator for the Interagency Provincial Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, and as senior civilian representative for the Combined Joint Task-Force 82 with the International Security Assistance Force Regional Command-East at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. 

 

From 2011 to 2012, she served as the senior assistance coordinator at the embassy in Tripoli, Libya. 

-Matt Bewig

 

Official Biography

Hampshire Grad Leads Iraq Effort, Alum to Direct USAID Work (by Tom Marshall, Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (pdf)

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Previous U.S. Ambassador to Burundi

Moller, Patricia
ambassador-image

Patricia N. Moller has served as the US Ambassador to Guinea since October 9, 2009.
 
A native of Arkansas, Moller joined the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer in April 1987, following 10 years as an investment banker and tax shelter specialist with Smith Barney. Her first Foreign Service assignment was to the consular section in Munich. From 1989-1991, she served in Consulate General Madras, India, as the management officer. From 1991-1996 she worked in Washington, DC, at the State Department, first as a watch officer, then as staff aide to the Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research, and finally for two years as Vietnam Desk Officer during the days of bilateral negotiations to reestablish diplomatic relations between the two countries.
 
Following Serbian language training, she served in Embassy Belgrade as management officer. Her tour in Serbia coincided with the crisis in Kosovo, which resulted in Moller, the ambassador and other remaining embassy officials being evacuated just as US Navy jets participated in NATO air strikes against Serbian military forces.
 
From 2000-2002, Moller served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Yerevan, Armenia. Her posting to Georgia began in August, 2002, when she traveled to Tbilisi to begin three years as Deputy Chief of Mission to Ambassador Richard Miles.
 
She then served as U.S. ambassador to Burundi from March 2006 until 2009.
 
 

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Table of Contents
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News
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Overview

Like its central African neighbor, Rwanda, Burundi is populated almost entirely by the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. But unlike its more infamous neighbor, which garnered worldwide attention in 1994 due to  the genocide of hundreds of thousands, Burundi has not received the same kind of media attention. However, that does not mean there hasn’t been serious ethnic bloodshed between Hutus and Tutsis. For the past two decades, thousands have been killed by a serious of clashes over control of the country’s government. The worst started in 1993, prompting other African nations to intercede to stop the ethnic fighting and broker a power-sharing agreement between tribal leaders that continues to hold today. Hutus represent the majority of Burundi’s citizens (84%), but Tutsis have managed to ascend to power despite their small numbers. In some instances, Tutsi leaders rose through military coups—a frequent occurrence in Burundi during the latter 20th Century. Another frequent occurrence is human rights abuses, which continue to plague the populace.

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Basic Information
Lay of the Land: Burundi, located in east central Africa, is bounded by Rwanda, Tanzania, Lake Tanganyika, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Mountainous terrain levels to a grassland plain bordering Lake Tanganyika, although much of the agricultural land is overgrazed and eroded.  The climate is temperate with 40-60 inches of annual rainfall.
 
 
Population: 8.7 million
 
 
Religions: Catholic 62%, Ethnoreligious 23%, Muslim (mostly Sunni) 9%, Protestant 5%, Baha'i 0.1%.
 
 
Ethnic Groups: Hutu (Bantu) 84%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans and South Asians 0.1%.
 
 
Languages: Rundi (official) 74.2%, Swahili, French (official).
 
 
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History

Burundi has traditionally been governed by a king (mwani), presiding over an aristocracy (ganwa). The aristocracy owned most of the land and required a tax from local farmers and herders who used the land. Members of the royal class came primarily from the Tutsi ethnic group.

 

In the mid-18th century, the Tutsis consolidated authority of the land, production and distribution with the development of the ubugabire, which was a form of protection offered to those who offered tributes and land tenure. European explorers and missionaries visited the area as early as 1856, but the area did not come under rule by a foreign power until 1899, when the German colony in East Africa called German East Africa took over the territory. German East Africa lasted until the end of World War 1, when the Belgians occupied the colony.
In 1923, the League of Nations mandated to Belgium the territory of Ruanda-Urundi, encompassing modern-day Rwanda and Burundi. The Belgians continued to build on the Tutsi-dominated hierarchy until World War II, when Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations trust territory under Belgian authority. The country’s two competing political parties—the Union for National Progress (UPRONA), a multi-ethnic party led by Tutsi Prince Louis Rwagasore, and the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) supported by Belgium—emerged shortly thereafter. But in 1961, Prince Rwagasore was assassinated following an UPRONA victory in legislative elections.
 
 
Burundi achieved its independence on July 1, 1962. Tutsi King Mwambutsa IV established a constitutional monarchy with equal numbers of Hutus and Tutsis. But the 1965 assassination of the Hutu prime minister resulted in Hutu revolts and government repression.
 
King Mwambutsa was deposed by his son, Prince Ntare IV, in 1966. Ntare IV was himself deposed later that year by a military coup led by Capt. Michel Micombero. Micombero abolished the monarchy and declared a republic, but what he really established was a military dictatorship. In 1972, an aborted Hutu rebellion sent hundreds of thousands of Burundians fleeing the country. Civil unrest continued throughout the early 1970s.
 
In 1976, Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza took power. Although Bagaza led a Tutsi-dominated military regime, he encouraged land reform, electoral reform and national reconciliation. In 1981, he established a new constitution. Bagaza was then elected head of state in 1984 because he was the only candidate. After Bagaza’s “election,” Burundi’s human rights record deteriorated, as the government suppressed religious activities and detained political opposition members.
 
In 1987, Major Pierre Buyoya overthrew Colonel Bagaza. He dissolved opposition parties, suspended the 1981 constitution and instituted his ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN). During 1988, increasing tensions between the ruling Tutsis and the majority Hutus resulted in violent confrontations between the army, the Hutu opposition and Tutsis. An estimated 150,000 people were killed, with tens of thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.
 
In 1991, Buyoya approved a constitution that provided for a president, a multi-ethnic government and a parliament. Burundi’s first Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, of the Hutu-dominated FRODEBU Party, was elected in June 1993. He was then assassinated by the Tutsi-dominated armed forces four and a half months later. Burundi was plunged into civil war, and tens of thousands of people were killed.  Hundreds of thousands more were displaced by the time the FRODEBU government regained control and elected Cyprien Ntaryamira president in January 1994.
 
In April 1994, President Ntayamira and Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana died in a plane crash. This event launched the genocide that was unleashed in neighboring Rwandan. In Burundi, the death of Ntaryamira only exacerbated the existing violence. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was installed as president for a four-year term, but security continued to deteriorate. The influx of Rwandan refugees and the activities of armed groups further destabilized the regime.
 
In November 1995, the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) announced a regional initiative for a negotiated peace in Burundi facilitated by former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. In July 1996, former Burundian President Buyoya returned to power. He declared himself president of a transitional republic, even as he suspended the National Assembly, banned opposition groups and imposed a nationwide curfew. Widespread condemnation of the coup ensued, and regional countries imposed economic sanctions. In 1996, Buyoya agreed to liberalize political parties. Fighting between the army and Hutu militias continued.
 
In June 1998, Buyoya established a transitional constitution and announced a partnership between the government and the opposition-led National Assembly. After Facilitator Julius Nyerere’s death in October 1999, the regional leaders appointed Nelson Mandela as Facilitator of the Arusha peace process. Under Mandela, the peace process was revived, leading to the signing of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement in August 2000 by representatives of the principal Hutu and Tutsi political parties, the government and the National Assembly. However, several armed factions refused to accept the Arusha Accords, and the armed rebellion continued. 
 
In November 2001, a three-year transitional government was established under the leadership of Pierre Buyoya as transitional president and Domitien Ndayizeye as transitional vice president for an initial period of 18 months. In May 2003, Ndayizeye assumed the presidency for 18 months with Alphonse Marie Kadege as vice president. In October and November 2003, the Burundian government and a former rebel group, the CNDD-FDD, signed cease-fire and power-sharing agreements, and in March 2004 members of the CNDD-FDD took offices in the government and parliament. The World Bank and other bilateral donors provided financing for Burundi’s disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program for former rebel combatants.
 
National and regional mediation efforts failed to reach a compromise on post-transition power-sharing arrangements between the predominantly Hutu and Tutsi political parties. In September 2004, over two-thirds of the parliament approved a post-transition constitution, despite a boycott by the Tutsi parties. The Arusha Peace Agreement called for local and national elections to be held before the conclusion of the transitional period on October 31, 2004. On October 20, 2004, however, a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate adopted a previously approved draft constitution as an interim constitution that provided for an extension of transitional institutions until elections were held.
 
On February 28, 2005, Burundians overwhelmingly approved a post-transitional constitution, setting the stage for local and national elections. In April 2005, Burundi’s transitional government was again extended and an electoral calendar was established at a regional summit held in Uganda. In accordance with the new electoral calendar, the Burundian people voted in Commune Council direct elections on June 3, 2005, and National Assembly direct elections on July 4, 2005. An electoral college of commune and provincial councils indirectly elected Senate members on July 29, 2005. A joint session of the parliament elected Pierre Nkurunziza as president of Burundi on August 19, 2005, establishing the post-transition government.
 
History of Burundi (Wikipedia)
Burundi History (Lonely Planet)
Political System and History (Institute for Security Studies)
 
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Burundi's Newspapers
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History of U.S. Relations with Burundi

The United States first established diplomatic relations with Burundi in 1962, when Embassy Usumbura (now Bujumbura) was established.

 
US involvement in the region has largely been humanitarian, offering aid to refugees and attempting to establish diplomatic relations with Burundian leaders. Although State Department documents going back to 1973 show various diplomats and government officials discussing the impact of minimizing relations with Burundi, physically separating Hutus and Tutsis under the protection of a neutral police force, and even threatening to cut off relations until the government of Burundi ceased indiscriminate killing and begin a program of national reconciliation, the US has not had much effect on Burundian policy.
 
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Current U.S. Relations with Burundi

Since the unrest and violence in the 1980s and 1990s, the United States has worked to establish a long-lasting democratic regime in Burundi and help sustain economic development. The US also seeks to strengthen reconciliation among the Hutus and Tutsis and to facilitate peace. In support of these goals, the United States supported the Arusha peace process, providing financial support through contributions to a UN peacekeeping force established in 2004.

 
According to a U.S. State Department chart (PDF) issued in 2002, there were 46 American citizens living in Burundi. In 2006, 720 Burundians visited the US. Travel to the US has been consistently on the rise since 289 Burundians visited in 2002.
 
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Where Does the Money Flow

The US imports few goods from Burundi. The largest import from Burundi is green coffee, which dropped from $5.8 million in 2003 to just $186,000 before rising again to $4.3 million in 2005. In 2007, the figure stood at $1 million, showing another decrease.

 
In 2004, the US imported $3 million in raw gem diamonds, but this number dropped to $0 in 2005 and stayed at that level through 2007. Total imports from Burundi to the US stand at $1.1 million for 2007.
 
In contrast, the US exports more to Burundi, particularly food-based items. Corn rose from $1.6 million in 2006 to $1.9 million in 2007. Unmanufactured agricultural items increased from $129,000 in 2006 to $927,000 in 2007. Passenger cars rose from $81,000 in 2006 to $199,000 in 2007.
 
Some exports dropped, however, from 2006 to 2007. Vegetables decreased from $1.6 million to $1 million. “Other foods” dropped from $506,000 to $269,000. Finished textile supplies dropped from $74,000 to just $0 in 2007. Computers decreased from $219,000 to $11,000. And “writing and art supplies” decreased from $377,000 to $39,000. Total US exports to Burundi stood at $6.9 million for 2007.
 
In June 2008, Burundi’s flower industry got a boost from the US when the United States of America African Development Foundation (USADF) gave a $250,000 interest-free loan to Agro-trading Business, a local flower farm that exports flowers, mainly to the Netherlands.
 
Of the $25.5 million in US aid to Burundi in 2006, $14.7 million went to Crisis Assistance and Recovery, $1.9 million went to Workforce Development, and $2 million went to the AIDS/HIV initiative. In FY 2007, the State Department authorized the export of defense articles and services valued at $100,000.
 
The 2008 budget request saw a moderate total increase to $28.6 million, but with the closure of the Crisis Assistance and Recovery program, more money will be allocated to Agricultural Sector Productivity ($7.5 million), Maternal and Child Health ($3.5 million), AIDS/HIV ($2.5 million), Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration ($1.5 million). 
 
The FY 2009 budget request includes $300,000 for the United States International Military Education and Training (IMET) Program, as well as $6 million for the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related (NADR) Program.
 
USADF Funds Juice Processing Project in Burundi (United States Africa Development Foundation)
Burundi flowers get US boost (by Walter Isenged, East African Business Week)
 
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Controversies

Burundian Expulsions, Congolese Refugees Attacked

Despite efforts by the United States to help Burundi quell its domestic violence, problems continue to plague the central African nation. In May 2008 it was reported that many Rwandans currently seeking refuge in Burundi may be be trying to escape prosecution for their roles in the 1994 genocide. The move to expel them back has stirred controversy, since to do so would risk sending back innocent people. Almost all of the asylum seekers are Hutu, but about half are children, who could not have taken part in the 1994 killings. Burundian authorities have tried to ask them to return home, but failed. Then the government closed four of the seven sites where asylum seeker had gathered. Police have been authorized to use force to get them to return to Rwanda. Human Rights Watch has said that Burundian authorities are not complying with the law by not allowing the Rwandan refugees to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
 
In August 2008 it was reported that 160 Congolese refugees, mostly Tutsis, were massacred by Hutu rebel forces in Burundi. Although the UN and European Union expressed outrage over the killings, neighboring Rwanda claimed that they were part of a genocidal plan. Most of the victims were women and children who were shot dead and burned in their shelters. The UN scheduled emergency talks in New York and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. The EU urged both parties to enter into a peace treaty without delay.
  
  
 

 

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Human Rights

Burundi’s human rights record remains poor, according to the State Department. Despite improvements in some areas, government security forces continue to commit numerous serious human rights abuses. Members of the FDN, the police, and the National Intelligence Service (SNR) were responsible for killings, torture, and beatings of civilians and detainees (including suspected FNL supporters), although there were fewer such reports than in the previous year. There were isolated reports that security forces raped women and young girls. Impunity and harsh, life-threatening prison and detention center conditions remained problems, and reports of arbitrary arrest and detention continued. Prolonged pretrial detention, lack of judicial independence and efficiency, and rampant judicial corruption continued. The government continued to hold some political prisoners and political detainees. The government restricted freedom of assembly and association. The government did not tolerate direct criticism of the president and journalists continued to exercise self-censorship. Security forces continued to harass members of the opposition. Societal violence and discrimination against women and trafficking in persons remained problems.

 
The constitution and law prohibits torture, however, the UN, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) Ligue Iteka and APRODH reported that members of the security forces beat and tortured civilians and detainees.
 
Prison conditions remained harsh and sometimes life threatening. Severe overcrowding persisted, and the Ministry of Justice reported that 7,594 persons were held in facilities built to accommodate 4,050 prisoners. According to government officials and human rights observers, prisoners suffered from digestive illnesses, dysentery and malaria, and prisoners died as a result of disease. APRODH reported numerous cases of torture and abuse of prisoners and detainees.
 
Although the constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, the judiciary was not independent of the executive branch, and it proved inefficient and hampered in some cases by corruption. According to UN officials, political interference seriously impeded the judiciary’s impartiality. There were cases of politically motivated charges against individuals convicted for nonpolitical crimes and against defendants awaiting trial for nonpolitical crimes.
 
The constitution and law provide for the right to privacy, but the government did not always respect this right in practice. Authorities rarely respected the law requiring search warrants. It was widely believed that security forces monitored phone calls.
 
Under Burundi law, the minimum age for military recruitment is 16, although the government stated that no one under 18 was recruited. Through the end of 2007, a project sponsored by the government and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) demobilized approximately 3,041 child soldiers from the government security forces as well as from former rebel groups. According to UNICEF, security forces no longer used children as soldiers for combat, although other sources reported that children continued to serve in the security forces as spies and porters and to perform menial tasks.
 
The labor code states that children under the age of 18 cannot be employed by an enterprise, except for the types of labor the Ministry of Labor determines to be acceptable, which includes light work or apprenticeships that do not damage children's health, interfere with their normal development, or prejudice their schooling. However, the government did not effectively enforce these laws, and child labor remained a problem. The legal age for most types of labor is 18. Children under age 16 in rural areas regularly performed heavy manual labor in the daytime during the school year.
 
The constitution and the law provide for freedom of speech and the press; however, the government continued to restrict these freedoms, although there were fewer such cases than in the previous year. Unlike in 2006, there were no reports in 2007 that journalists were arrested or detained, and the government did not force media outlets to suspend operations. However, journalists continued to exercise self-censorship, and direct criticism of the president was not tolerated.
 
A culture of impunity and widespread corruption remained a problem. Corruption was prevalent in the public and private sectors and affected numerous public services, including procurement, the granting of land use concessions, public health, and the assignment of school grades. Several respected private sector representatives and trade association officials reported that corruption remained a major impediment to commercial and economic development in the country. The World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a severe problem. In December 2006 the domestic NGO Observatory for the Struggle against Economic Corruption and Embezzlement estimated the state had lost $169.1 million (186 billion francs) to corruption and embezzlement since 2000.
 
The law prohibits rape, which is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, but does not specifically prohibit spousal rape. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) received an average of 115 rape victims each month at its center for rape victims in Bujumbura; however, MSF said the number of rapes was likely much higher. MSF reported 1,435 cases of sexual violence with children less than five years of age, comprising 14% of the total. The UN Development Fund for Women reported that many rapes of minors were committed with the belief that they would prevent or cure sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
 
Discrimination against Hutus, who constitute an estimated 85% of the population, has shown signs of decline. The constitution requires ethnic quotas for representation within the government and in the military. Hutus significantly increased their presence and power in the government following the 2005 elections.
 
 
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Debate
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Past Ambassadors
Donald A. Dumont
Appointment: Oct 25, 1962
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 17, 1963
Termination of Mission: Jan 11, 1966.
 
George W. Renchard
Appointment: Jul 24, 1968
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 10, 1968
Termination of Mission: Left post, Oct 15, 1969
 
Thomas Patrick Melady
Appointment: Nov 4, 1969
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 31, 1970
Termination of Mission: Left post, May 25, 1972
 
Robert L. Yost
Appointment: Jun 27, 1972
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 19, 1972
Termination of Mission: Left post, May 26, 1974
 
David E. Mark
Appointment: Jun 20, 1974
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 4, 1974
Termination of Mission: Left post, Aug 26, 1977
 
Thomas J. Corcoran
Appointment: Mar 2, 1978
Presentation of Credentials: Apr 6, 1978
Termination of Mission: Left post, Aug 19, 1980
 
Frances D. Cook
Appointment: Jun 30, 1980
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 25, 1980
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 15, 1983
 
James R. Bullington
Appointment: Mar 13, 1983
Presentation of Credentials: Apr 14, 1983
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jul 11, 1986
 
James Daniel Phillips
Appointment: Oct 16, 1986
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 20, 1986
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jan 12, 1990
 
Cynthia Shepard Perry
Appointment: Nov 21, 1989
Presentation of Credentials: Feb 12, 1990
Termination of Mission: Left post, Feb 28, 1993
 
Note: Leonard J. Lange served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim from Mar 1993 to Jun 1994.
 
Robert Krueger
Appointment: May 9, 1994
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 29, 1994
Termination of Mission: Left post, Sep 10, 1995
 
Morris N. Hughes, Jr.
Appointment: Jun 11, 1996
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 27, 1996
Termination of Mission: Left post May 14, 1999
 
Mary Carlin Yates
Appointment: Nov 16, 1999
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 15, 1999
Termination of Mission: Left post Jun 19, 2002
 
James Howard Yellin
Appointment: Aug 8, 2002
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 26, 2002
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jul 21, 2005

 
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Burundi's Ambassador to the U.S.
ambassador-image Niyuhire, Angèle

 

Angèle Niyuhire became ambassador of Burundi to the United States in September 2009.
 
A Tutsi from Uprona, Niyuhire previously served as a Member of Parliament. The 47-year-old official has devoted herself to achieving peace and non-violence in Africa and to help advance the cause of women. 
 
Accepting her assignment as ambassador and relocating to Washington, DC, was not easy for Niyuhire. Coming from a traditional society, she had to leave behind her husband who continued to work as a builder, while her daughters joined her in the U.S.
 
Niyuhire speaks Kirundi, French and English.
 
Biography (Embassy of Burundi)

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Burundi's Embassy Web Site in the U.S.
Burundi’s Embassy in the United States
2233 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Suite 212
Washington, D.C. 20007
Telephone: (202) 342-2574 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (202) 342-2574      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: (202) 342-2578
 
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US-flag nation-flag U.S. Embassy web site

U.S. Ambassador to Burundi

Liberi, Dawn
ambassador-image

President Obama has nominated an international development expert to be the next ambassador to the central African nation of Burundi, one of the world’s poorest countries. Dawn M. Liberi, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, has specialized in sub-Saharan Africa for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), although she the past few years she has been posted to the hot spots of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. If confirmed by the Senate, Liberi would succeed Pamela J. H. Slutz, a career Foreign Service Officer who was ambassador to Burundi from November 2009 to September 2011. Since then, Sam Watson has been running things as chargé d’affaires ad interim.

 

Born in 1954, Liberi earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Hampshire College in 1976 and an M.P.H. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1979. In 2005, she told a local journalist that Hampshire’s “emphasis on hands-on learning gave her a firsthand look at the work, with internships at UNICEF in New York and visits to learn about the health care systems of Egypt and Holland.”

 

Liberi’s early career foreign postings included service as population, health and nutrition technical officer for USAID’s missions in Senegal and Niger from 1981 to 1987, and as USAID deputy mission director in Ghana from 1992 to 1994. In Washington, she served as USAID associate assistant administrator in the Global Bureau, Population, Health and Nutrition Office from 1994 to 1998.

 

She served as USAID mission director in Uganda, from 1998 to 2002, and in Nigeria, from 2002 to 2005. From 2005 to 2006, Liberi was the USAID mission director in Iraq. From 2006 to 2009, she was an executive civil-military counselor with USAID. From 2009 to 2011, she served as coordinator for the Interagency Provincial Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, and as senior civilian representative for the Combined Joint Task-Force 82 with the International Security Assistance Force Regional Command-East at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. 

 

From 2011 to 2012, she served as the senior assistance coordinator at the embassy in Tripoli, Libya. 

-Matt Bewig

 

Official Biography

Hampshire Grad Leads Iraq Effort, Alum to Direct USAID Work (by Tom Marshall, Daily Hampshire Gazette)

Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (pdf)

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Previous U.S. Ambassador to Burundi

Moller, Patricia
ambassador-image

Patricia N. Moller has served as the US Ambassador to Guinea since October 9, 2009.
 
A native of Arkansas, Moller joined the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer in April 1987, following 10 years as an investment banker and tax shelter specialist with Smith Barney. Her first Foreign Service assignment was to the consular section in Munich. From 1989-1991, she served in Consulate General Madras, India, as the management officer. From 1991-1996 she worked in Washington, DC, at the State Department, first as a watch officer, then as staff aide to the Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research, and finally for two years as Vietnam Desk Officer during the days of bilateral negotiations to reestablish diplomatic relations between the two countries.
 
Following Serbian language training, she served in Embassy Belgrade as management officer. Her tour in Serbia coincided with the crisis in Kosovo, which resulted in Moller, the ambassador and other remaining embassy officials being evacuated just as US Navy jets participated in NATO air strikes against Serbian military forces.
 
From 2000-2002, Moller served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Yerevan, Armenia. Her posting to Georgia began in August, 2002, when she traveled to Tbilisi to begin three years as Deputy Chief of Mission to Ambassador Richard Miles.
 
She then served as U.S. ambassador to Burundi from March 2006 until 2009.
 
 

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