Burundi

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday called on Burundi to rescind its decision to suspend the U.S-funded Voice of America and ban the BBC and to allow journalists to operate freely in the run-up to elections in 2020. … Both broadcasters were suspended, initially for six months, in May last year in the run-up to a referendum that opposition politicians and activists said was designed to extend the president’s rule for at least a decade.

A UN commission of inquiry on Burundi says the government of President Pierre Nkurunziza is becoming more repressive. The three-member commission says this does not bode well for elections in 2020. … The commission of inquiry remains the only international mechanism for monitoring Burundi's human rights situation.

In a statement released on Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, announced her regret at the closure of the UN Human Rights Office in Burundi – which was set up more than two decades ago – at the insistence of the country’s government. The Burundian authorities suspended all cooperation with the Office in October 2016, in reaction to an independent UN investigation that held the government and its supporters responsible for crimes against humanity.

An inter-Burundian, inclusive dialogue remains the only viable option for lasting settlement of the political crisis and the holding of elections in 2020 in a peaceful environment, the United Nations Special Envoy for the country, Michel Kafando, told the Security Council on Tuesday.

Burundi government has said it would go ahead with preparations of next year's general elections as the country's security situation has tremendously improved.

The Burundian parliament has voted to move the country’s capital from Bujumbura back to the ancient capital of Gitega. … Opposition accuse [President Pierre] Nkurunziza of attempting a symbolic restoration as Bujumbura is today considered an opposition stronghold where the president spends less and less time.