Rights activists sound alarm as EU resumes funding to Burundi

The European Union said that it would resume development funding to the Burundian government Tuesday, alarming rights activists who say the West is turning a blind eye to ongoing repression and killings.

Brussels cut off direct assistance to authorities in 2016 after then-president Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term, triggering violent political unrest.

While acknowledging that “challenges remain in the areas of human rights, good governance, reconciliation and the rule of law” under current president Évariste Ndayishimiye, the Council of the EU said Tuesday that elections in May 2020 had opened “a new window of hope” for the population.

The council decision, approved by all 27 EU states, stated: “Burundi remains fragile, and the authorities need the support of international partners to implement the country’s reform programme and development agenda.”

However, Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, told Devex that Ndayishimiye's government has continued to intimidate critics and detain and torture perceived opponents.

“State agents and members of the ruling party's youth league have continued to disappear and kill people with near total impunity,” Mudge wrote Tuesday. “For many Burundians, lifting [the EU] measures without tangible progress in the human rights situation on the ground sends the message that the EU is not prioritizing their rights. Perhaps worse, this message could embolden human rights abusers.”

The European Commission has been approached for comment.

The Burundian embassy in Brussels did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Associated Press reported that the government denies charges of opponents being disappeared.

The EU move was expected following meetings between the Burundian government and EU and member state officials, and ahead of a summit between EU and African leaders in Brussels next week, where the EU hopes to set a new tone of partnership with the continent.

The EU latest funding plan for the East African nation of around 12 million people, includes €55 million ($62.9 million) for inclusive growth, €104 million for human development and basic services, €25 million for good governance and the rule of law, and €7 million for civil society for an initial period to 2024.

In November, the United States lifted its sanctions on Burundi, noting progress made by Ndayishimiye on human trafficking, economic reform and corruption, while vowing to “continue to press the Government of Burundi to improve the human rights situation in the country”.

“[The] problem is not that the United States and the EU don’t know what is going in Burundi,” Mausi Segun, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa division, wrote in Foreign Affairs this week. “The problem is they are choosing to ignore it.”