Thursday, August 31, 2000
Security Council members welcome signing of Burundi accord
31 August -- Welcoming the 28 August agreement on Burundi as "an important first step towards national reconciliation," members of the Security Council today endorsed the signatories' urgent appeal for armed groups to suspend further hostilities, join in the negotiations and sign the accord.
The call came in a press statement by the Council's President, Ambassador Agam Hasmy of Malaysia, following a closed-door briefing on the situation in Burundi by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieren Prendergast.
Congratulating President Mandela, the facilitation team and the Burundian parties for their efforts, Council members encouraged the negotiators to step up their attempts to reach a compromise on outstanding issues and on a timetable for implementing the accord.
Members of the Council also encouraged the signatories to the agreement -- formally known as the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi -- to implement those provisions which could already be carried out, and urged all parties concerned to create conditions to begin implementing the agreement. They noted that this would facilitate the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes "in safety and dignity," the Council President said.
Noting that a donor conference would be held in Brussels on 15 September, Council members called on the international community to assist the Government of Burundi in its reconstruction efforts.
