BUJUMBURA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Burundian government said Friday it will accept UN experts only if they are coming to provide capacity building to the country's judiciary institutions.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) passed a resolution which extends the mandate of a commission of inquiry into human rights abuses in Burundi. Three UN investigators appointed by the UNHCR earlier this month issued a report whereby they urged the International Criminal Court to open a case against the Burundian government on alleged crimes against humanity committed since 2015.
The investigators had collected views from Burundian refugees living in neighboring countries and in Europe, but were denied access to the Burundian territory due to a previous "biased and wrong" report, according to the Burundian government.
Burundi will not accept UN experts who will claim that they are coming to investigate crimes that were committed in Burundi because the experience has shown that their investigations are biased, said Burundian Government Spokesman Philippe Nzobonariba in a live program on local radio stations from the Burundian northern province of Ngozi.
He said that the Burundian government will only accept UN experts who will come to build capacities of Burundian police or judiciary institutions.
According to him, if UN experts come to Burundi, they should provide "techniques" on carrying out investigations.
Burundi plunged into a crisis since April 2015 when Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run his controversial third term bid and which he won in July 2015. His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup on May 13, 2015.
