UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD Gabon, Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda) with human rights abuses committed against political opponents, journalists and human rights defenders. On a positive note, some countries (Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone) experienced peaceful democratic transitions. The continent has continued to experience violence and insecurity, including serious violations of women’s rights, in the context of protracted armed conflicts in the Central African Republic, DRC, Mali, Somalia and South Sudan. Violent extremism in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin is a major security challenge. Boko Haram and other violent extremist groups remained a threat in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. Terrorism and conflicts are rooted in chronic impunity and lack of accountability and very few credible investigations of grave human rights violations leading to a trial have been undertaken. UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD mechanisms and address human rights concerns at the national and regional levels. Specific areas of focus included the protection of civic space and people’s participation, particularly in the context of elections, impunity, respect for the rule of law and discrimination. OHCHR also facilitated the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through the provision of technical advice on the human rights-based approach. to Security Council resolution 2391. The compliance framework is a mechanism of the G5 Sahel aimed at addressing the possible adverse impact of the FC-G5S engagement. The objective is to provide the G5 Sahel with guidance on planning and conducting its operations in a manner that respects international humanitarian law and international human rights law, thereby minimizing adverse consequences for local communities. OHCHR mobilized surge capacity to Cameroon, Comoros and Togo in the context of political and electoral violence. As a supplement to their human rights monitoring activities, the surge capacity teams provided OHCHR and UNCT teams on the ground with additional capacity-building support. They also conducted awareness-raising activities aimed at relevant authorities and civil society organizations regarding the requirements of peaceful elections and the reporting of cases of human rights defenders at risk. OHCHR continued to strengthen cooperation with the African Union (AU), including by developing an AU-UN Framework on Human Rights, as called for by the AU and UN during the first High-Level Dialogue on Human Rights held in April 2018. Moreover, OHCHR increasingly provided support to the AU Joint Peace and Security Framework by integrating human rights into its peace operations. OHCHR also provided support to the AU in the development and implementation of its human rights compliance and accountability framework for AU peace support operations. Despite the overall steady economic growth of the region, there continued to be huge wealth discrepancies between and within many African countries and societies, resulting in significant human rights challenges related to extreme poverty. In addition to the serious political and security challenges being faced in many African countries, the socioeconomic context of the region was marked by austerity measures adopted by governments to, inter alia, tackle the consequences of falling oil prices. These measures continued to fuel mass migration. Consequently, thousands of Africans died tragically in the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea as they attempted to reach Europe. OHCHR continued to suppor t the establishment or strengthening of national human rights institutions in Chad (capacity-building support to the Chadian Government for the promulgation of the National Human Rights Commission Reform in accordance with the Paris Principles); in the DRC (assistance and capacity-building activities); in Mali (assistance to the National Human Rights Commission in adopting its 2018-2021 strategic plan to enhance its effectiveness in human rights protection); in Somalia (selection of Somali National Human Rights Commissioners); and in South Sudan (technical support in relation to the accreditation process). OHCHR field presences supported governments, civil society organizations and other actors to strengthen their capacities to engage with the UN human rights OHCHR provided substantive and programmatic support to develop the compliance framework for the G5 Sahel Joint Force (FC-G5S), established pursuant 190 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 BURUNDI Population size1 Surface area1 Human Development Index2 NHRI (if applicable)3 11.22 million 28,000 km² 0.417 (rank: 183/188 in 2016) Status B, 2017 Type of engagement Country Office Year established 2015 Field office(s) Bujumbura UN partnership framework United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2014-2018 Staff as of 31 December 2018 17 Total income US$2,988,507 XB requirements 2018 US$3,926,500 Total XB expenditure US$1,410,124 Personnel PSC† 90% 10% $ 1,279,231 $144,913 Key OMP pillars in 2018 Data sources and notes: 1 UN (2018), Statistical Yearbook 2018: Sixty-First Issue, UN, New York. 2 UNDP (2018), Human Development Indices and Indicators 2018: Statistical update, UN, New York. 3 Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), Chart of the Status of National Institutions, Chart of the Status of National Institutions, December 2018: https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/nhri/pages/nhrimain.aspx †  O HCHR, as part of the UN Secretariat, charges 13 per cent of Programme Support Cost (PSC) on all direct costs as per General Assembly resolution 35/217 of December 1980. However, for activities implemented jointly with other UN partners, the related indirect PSC is reduced to 7 per cent. This, therefore, explains a lower PSC percentage average. KEY PILLAR RESULTS: Accountability (A) A1 – The justice system and the administration establish and apply laws, policies and practices that address human rights violations effectively, protect victims and others at risk, and ensure that human rights complaints are investigated. that conform to international human rights standards, most of the activities that were planned to achieve that result could not be implemented due to the decision of the Government to suspend its collaboration with OHCHR. Although OHCHR had planned to contribute to the establishment and functioning of accountability and protection mechanisms Nevertheless, the Office disseminated printed materials on the legislation pertaining to the protection of victims and witnesses. Furthermore, OHCHR facilitated two capacity-building activities on the impact of the implementation of the law on gender-based violence and the law on the protection of victims, witnesses and other persons at risk, both of which were enacted in 2016. The capacity-building activities were attended by 130 participants, including 69 women. The participants included lawyers, human rights defenders and media professionals. OHCHR also contributed, through advocacy and advisory services, to the adoption of the law of 10 January 2018 on the protection of persons with disabilities. As a result of the Government’s decision, in October 2016, to cease its cooperation with OHCHR and following the publication of the report of the UN Independent Investigation on Burundi, the capacity of the Office to implement its programme of work was seriously affected and forced it to gradually reduce its presence in the country. Over the last couple of years, OHCHR made multiple attempts to re-engage with Burundian authorities. In December 2018, the Government of Burundi informed OHCHR that it had decided to close the Office as its presence was no longer needed in light of the reported progress the country had made at the legislative and institutional levels. Following a subsequent time-bound request by the Government that the Office be closed by 28 February 2019, OHCHR put in place an urgent exit strategy and was able to comply with the Government’s request by effectively drawing down on 28 February. It also received a request from the UN Resident Coordinator in Burundi to deploy a Human Rights Adviser to support the UN Country Team with the implementation of the UNDAF 2019-2023, which was developed using a human rights-based approach. The UN Resident Coordinator and OHCHR are working to finalize this joint initiative. UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 191