General update
After indicating that it would be favorable to an appeal on 31 May by Heads of State of the East African Community (EAC) to postpone elections, the Government of Burundi has now confirmed this position, although new dates have yet to be set. For its part, members of the UN Security Council on 4 June welcomed the EAC Summit’s call for urgent disarmament of all armed youth groups allied to political parties and creation of conducive conditions for the return of refugees to Burundi, and urged the resumption of the political dialogue between the Burundian parties “to create an environment for peaceful, credible and inclusive elections in Burundi”. However, new controversy emerged on 4 June when political opposition parties were reported to have addressed a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon asking that his Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, Said Djinnit, be replaced as dialogue mediator.
The Security Council also called on all Burundian parties to reach agreement on a new electoral calendar; reinstatement of private media; protection of civil and human rights, including freedom of peaceful assembly, and for members of the political opposition to campaign freely; release of detainees; and holding accountable of those who have used violence. The Council expressed support for the proposal to deploy African Union human rights observers in Burundi.