The Limits of Conflict Prevention Efforts in Burundi: Lessons for Greater Innovation

The document analyzes the ineffective responses to Burundi's political crisis, highlighting the lack of coordination between the UN, AU, and EAC. It identifies the Burundian government's intransigence and the institutional inexperience of regional bodies as primary obstacles. The author recommends a strategic overhaul that leverages comparative institutional strengths, improves evidence-based research, and ensures international access to the country to prevent mass atrocities.

• Conflict prevention efforts in Burundi have been fragmented and ineffective, characterized by a lack of a central coordinating mechanism among the UN, ICC, OHCHR, AU, and EAC, leading to a "tepid overall response" to the crisis.
• The East African Community (EAC) has struggled to lead the Inter-Burundi Dialogue due to a lack of historical experience in peace and security, resulting in strategic incoherence among member states and a failure to implement the facilitator's decisions.
• The Burundian government, led by the CNDD-FDD, has consistently adopted an uncooperative stance, boycotting summits, rejecting recommendations, and pursuing constitutional changes to extend President Nkurunziza's term.
• The African Union (AU) failed to deploy the 5,000-strong MAPROBU peacekeeping force because the Burundian government did not grant consent, and the AU Assembly did not uphold the Peace and Security Council's ultimatum.
• United Nations efforts have been hampered by a lack of host-state consent for police deployment and a deadlock within the Security Council, where permanent members like China and Russia differ from others on whether the crisis warrants intervention.
• Burundi's government has actively resisted human rights monitoring, suspending the OHCHR office in 2016 and becoming the first nation to formally withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on October 26, 2016.
• International financial commitment to the crisis is severely lacking; the UNHCR's 2017 response plan for refugees from Burundi received funding for only 17% of its needs.

APA

Singh, P. (2018). The Limits of Conflict Prevention Efforts in Burundi: Lessons for Greater Innovation. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/The-Limits-of-Conflict-Prevention-Efforts-in-Burundi.pdf

Chicago

Singh, Priyal. The Limits of Conflict Prevention Efforts in Burundi: Lessons for Greater Innovation. Institute for Security Studies, 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/The-Limits-of-Conflict-Prevention-Efforts-in-Burundi.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Singh |first1=Priyal |title=The Limits of Conflict Prevention Efforts in Burundi: Lessons for Greater Innovation |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=August 2018 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/The-Limits-of-Conflict-Prevention-Efforts-in-Burundi.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{singh2018limits, author = {Singh, Priyal}, title = {{The Limits of Conflict Prevention Efforts in Burundi: Lessons for Greater Innovation}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/The-Limits-of-Conflict-Prevention-Efforts-in-Burundi.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }