<<previous  |  index

VII. Response by International Actors

Well aware of the risks of an ill-trained police force, international donors have provided several training programs for the Burundian police.

In September 2006, the Belgian Technical Cooperation initiated a three-year program for Belgian police to train their Burundian counterparts in community-oriented policing, but actual training began only in September 2007. By the end of 2007 5,144 police officers had received an initial one week of training under this program, as part of a more extensive curriculum which they will follow in alternating groups of 1250 police officers at a time.¹¹⁸ According to Director General of the National Police Fabien Ndayishimiye, the training included an emphasis on human rights and respect for rule of law.¹¹⁹ Other international donors and NGOs have also provided training relevant to human rights, but these more limited programs have not reached the majority of officers.¹²⁰ 

In addition to the Belgian program, which focuses on the rank-and-file, France has provided training to commanding officers. The Netherlands has committed funding to the ICTJ-facilitated census of the police, and a Dutch police advisor is working directly within the Burundian police to develop a strategic reform plan. As an element of this plan the Netherlands is considering financing the office of the inspector general of the police in its efforts to serve as an internal monitor of police conduct. Such a step could be helpful in curbing police abuses.¹²¹

No formal structure is currently in place to coordinate donor assistance to the police.  In 2007 the Burundian government and donor partners launched the Partners’ Coordination Group (Groupe de Coordination des Partenaires, GCP) to monitor international aid associated with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding.¹²²The GCP encompasses several working groups that coordinate aid to different sectors, but no working group on the police or on security sector reform was in place as of March 2008.¹²³A police working group could harmonize aid programs and ensure adequate attention to human rights.

UN officials, both in the previous ONUB operation and in the current BINUB, have played a significant role in police reform and training. The UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), a fund operated in conjunction with the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) with the aim of strengthening institutions in post-conflict states, granted $6,900,000 to the national police in July 2007, but the training to be financed by a portion of this funding had not yet been initiated as of March 2008.¹²⁴

UN Human Rights officers working under the combined direction of BINUB’s Human Rights and Justice Section and the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) have effectively monitored violations of human rights by the police. They, like Burundian human rights organizations, have been forthright in demanding accountability.