Burundi originated in the 16th century as a small kingdom in the African Great Lakes region. After European contact, it was united with the Kingdom of Rwanda, becoming the colony of Ruanda-Urundi - first colonised by Germany and then by Belgium. The colony gained independence in 1962, and split once again into Rwanda and Burundi. It is one of the few countries in Africa to be a direct territorial continuation of a pre-colonial era African state.
The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first multi-party elections in the country since its independence from Belgium in 1962, and is seen as formally ending with the swearing-in of President Pierre Nkurunziza in August 2005. Children were widely used by both sides in the war. The estimated death toll stands at 300,000.
The National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy is the major political party in Burundi. During the Burundian Civil War, the CNDD–FDD was the most significant rebel group active and became a major political party in Burundi. In March 2012, Pascal Nyabenda was elected as President of CNDD–FDD. Then on 20 August 2016, General Évariste Ndayishimiye was, in the extraordinary congress that took place in Gitega, elected as the Secretary General of the Party.
The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was a peacekeeping operation established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003). At its peak it consisted of up to 15,000 U.N. military personnel and 1,115 police officers, along with civilian political advisors and aid workers.
The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) was established by United Nations Security Council in May 2004 to ensure the continuation of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement signed on 28 August 2000.
The National Forces of Liberation is a political party and former rebel group in Burundi. An ethnic Hutu group, the party was previously known as the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People and adhered to a radical Hutu Power ideology, but since the mid- to late-2000s has moderated its stance and cooperated with the Tutsi-supported Union for National Progress party in opposition to the rule of Pierre Nkurunziza and the CNDD-FDD.
Burundi is governed as a presidential representative democratic republic, with an estimated population of 10,557,259. The country has experienced a long history of social unrest and ethnic tension between the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority, with successive civil wars jeopardizing national development since Burundi's decolonization as a Belgian territory in 1962. The most recent conflict broke out in 1993 with the assassination of Burundi's first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, and led to large-scale violations of human rights and general impunity. In line with the Arusha Agreement of August 2000, peace was brokered between rebel groups the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) and the National Forces of Liberation (FNL), and a new Constitution was adopted by national referendum in 2005. The Constitution established cognitive institutions of State, including the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature, with a view to promoting the rule of law and a more cogent human rights framework.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1375, adopted unanimously on 29 October 2001, after reaffirming all resolutions and statements by the President of the Security Council on the civil war in Burundi, endorsed efforts by South Africa and other states to implement the Arusha Accords and supported the establishment of an interim multinational security presence in Burundi.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1545, adopted unanimously on 21 May 2004, after recalling all resolutions on the situation in Burundi, particularly Resolution 1375 (2001), the council established the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) to bring about peace and national reconciliation in the country.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1565, adopted unanimously on 1 October 2004 after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) until 31 March 2005 and authorised an additional deployment of 5,900 troops and police. It reaffirmed the commitment to respect the “sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence [sic]” of Congo and States in the region.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1577, adopted unanimously on 1 December 2004, after recalling Resolution 1545 (2004) on the situation in Burundi, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) for a period of six months until 1 June 2005.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1959, adopted unanimously on December 16, 2010, after recalling resolutions 1719 (2006), 1791 (2007), 1858 (2008) and 1902 (2009), the Council established the United Nations Office in Burundi (BNUB) to replace the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB) as part of a scaled-down United Nations presence in the country for an initial period of twelve months, beginning January 1, 2011.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1602, adopted unanimously on 31 May 2005, after recalling resolutions 1545 (2004), 1565 (2004), 1577 (2004) and 1596 (2005) on the situation in Burundi, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) for a period of six months until 1 December 2005.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1650, adopted unanimously on 21 December 2005, after recalling Resolution 1545 (2004) regarding the situation in Burundi, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) until 1 July 2006.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1692, adopted unanimously on June 30, 2006, after recalling resolutions on the situation in Burundi and the African Great Lakes region, particularly resolutions 1650 (2005) and 1669 (2006), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) until December 31, 2006.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1719, adopted unanimously on October 25, 2006, after recalling resolutions on the situation in Burundi, including resolutions 1545 (2004), 1577 (2004), 1602 (2005), 1606 (2005), 1650 (2005) and 1692 (2006), the Council established the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB) for an initial period of one year to assist in the country's long-term peace and stability.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1791 was unanimously adopted on 19 December 2007.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1858 was unanimously adopted on 22 December 2008.
Carolyn McAskie is a Canadian diplomat and former assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping at the United Nations. She was the head of the United Nations mission to Burundi (ONUB) in 2004, making her the first Canadian to lead a United Nations peacekeeping mission following the UN's switch to complex missions.
The Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, widely known as the Arusha Accords, was a transitional peace treaty signed on 28 August 2000 which brought the Burundian Civil War to an end between most armed groups. Negotiations for the agreement were mediated by former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere from 1996 until his death in October 1999, and thereafter by former South African president Nelson Mandela.
Burundiportal 
