Geneva, 15 December 2016 (OMCT) – Armel Niyongere loves
the law. He became a lawyer because he cannot bear injustice. Living in
war-torn Burundi where human rights violations occur on a daily basis, he
decided to defend the voiceless victims. But this noble choice has a price:
exile.
“Living outside the country with my family is difficult,” he said. “I see that
they are in danger, that I am in danger.”
Harassed and threatened by the Burundian
Government that also issued an international arrest warrant against him, Mr.
Niyongere was forced to leave his home country in 2015 - and to take his family
with him. Mr. Niyongere was among those who said it was unconstitutional for
Pierre Nkurunziza to run for a third presidential term in April 2015. The
candidacy announcement sparked weeks of widespread demonstrations, a failed
coup attempt, and the arrest of hundreds of demonstrators framed as
“terrorists”.
This permanent state of violence, with
killings and injury of protesters and police officers having become routine,
takes place in a country that had already suffered two ethnically-based
genocides and a 12-year civil war that had left some 300,000 dead. It raises
concern over another looming civil war and humanitarian crisis fuelled by
propaganda aimed at dividing the country along ethnic lines.
In this unrest, the anti-torture
organization Mr. Niyongere heads, Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la
Torture (ACAT Burundi), was quickly outlawed, as were many other civil-society
organizations that had been monitoring the human rights situation in Burundi.
Its funding was frozen, leaving it incapable of any action from inside the
country.
Determined and undeterred
Yet Mr. Niyongere could not watch more
violence unravel without trying to right all the wrongs he heard of - whether
they had been committed against the civilian population by the army and Imbonerakure militia,
or against agents of the State.
With support from the World Organisation
Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of ProtectDefenders.eu, he therefore founded SOS-Torture
Burundi from neighbouring Rwanda. Like him, some 200,000 fellow
countrymen are said to have left the country since the presidential campaign.
The initiative monitors the spiraling of the human rights crisis in Burundi. It documents acts of torture, violence, systematic arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions inside Burundi, and then share the information nationally and internationally through weekly and quarterly reports. The reports are used to call on the international community to apply urgent measures and make policy changes to protect victims in Burundi.
The Government has since requested Mr.
Niyongere be disbarred in Burundi, which the country’s highest court later
overruled. Yet, he seems undeterred by such reprisals for his involvement in
the submission of alternative information on violations in Burundi before the
United Nations torture watchdog during this summer’s periodic review of how
Burundi has applied the Convention Against Torture.
Mr. Niyongere continues to file cases
before the International Criminal Court, representing
victims from abroad, because “the Burundian justice system simply does not work
– it has become a tool used by those in power.”
“It is my duty to make a contribution, to
help the population that is struggling, to protect the voiceless, to represent
them in the courts,” he said.
This article is part
of a series of 10 profiles to commemorate International Human Rights Day, 10
December, and to recognize the vital role of human rights defenders worldwide.
To see the campaign
video, please click here.
OMCT wishes to thank
the Republic and Canton of Geneva and the OAK Foundation for their support. Its
content is the sole responsibility of OMCT and should in no way be interpreted
as reflecting the view(s) of the supporting institutions.
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