The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Mr. Isidore NTIRAMPEBA, enhanced with his presence the official closing ceremonies accompanied by the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations in the region of the great lakes Huang XIA in the presence of Senior Government Officials, representatives of political parties and civil society organizations, members of the diplomatic community as well as heads of United Nations agencies, funds and programs in the country, the ceremonies of the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Burundi (BESSG-B) officially closed its doors, after more than four years of operations in the country
In his address, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Mr. Isidore NTIRAMPEBA announced that the closure of the office does not mean the end of cooperation with the United Nations, noting that the collaboration with the United Nations will continue through the Resident Coordinator and Office of the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region.
The Office was created in 2015 as part of providing the country with peacebuilding support, in cooperation with the East African Community (EAC), the African Union (AU) and others partners.
According to a Communiqué made public by the office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the Nations, the Office is closed in accordance with the Presidential Declaration of the United Nations Security Council of December 4, 2020, in which, among others, the Council noted the improvement of the security situation in Burundi, recognized the progress made to date and requested the Secretariat to cease periodic reporting on the situation in the country. In addition, the Security Council has underlined the importance of continuing support to Burundi as the country embarks on the next stage of its development.
In fact, the United Nations will continue to work in close coordination with international, regional and other partners, in order to support the efforts of the Government and the people of Burundi in the consolidation of social cohesion and stability and the achievement of sustainable development goals in Burundi, the spirit of the Arusha Accords, as Special Envoy Xia underlined in his remarks “BESSG-B is leaving, but the United Nations family and Burundi are determined to strengthen their cooperation, building on the progress made, mainly by the United Nations country team and under the leadership of the acting resident Coordinator.
