Burundi and the Future of Humanitarian Intervention

When the Burundian warlords began to raise questions around sovereignty, the OAU retreated and that no intervention took place in Burundi

The former Tanzanian president, Julius Nyerere, led the OAU initiative in the Burundian conflict, promising that "East African troops will, if necessary, intervene in Burundi in an attempt to stop the ethnic massacres." In July 1996, the OAU attempted to secure an agreement with the Burundian leadership at a regional summit in Arusha, Tanzania, to intervene in the conflict. At this summit, Burundi`s Prime Minister Antoine Nduwayo, a Tutsi, and President Sylvester Ntibantunganya, a Hutu, were pressured into requesting security assistance. Subsequently, under a barrage of threats from the army, Nduwayo reneged and rejected the idea of foreign intervention. Later on, when the massacres continued, Nyerere stated: "We will go in whether Burundi wants it or not."

It became general knowledge that, when the Burundian warlords began to raise questions around sovereignty, the OAU retreated and that no intervention took place in Burundi. Instead, the African continent was saddled with yet another military junta who seized power, claiming like so many others had done before, that they will save the country from social collapse and that the military leaders intended to move the country towards democracy as soon as possible. Why did the OAU retreat from their legally justifiable position under international law?  

Author

Vernon Seymour, Senior Research Fellow, Centre of Southern African Studies, University of the Western Cape