Burundi has been on the list of countries at risk of severe crisis for many years. It has stayed close to the top of that list since 1994 when genocide swept through neighbouring Rwanda killing close to a million people and causing massive and destabilising refugee movements to surge through the region. A brutal ethnic war continues to simmer in Burundi where attacks on civilians by both rebel militia and government forces kill on average some 700 people every week. Fears are rife that a continuing deterioration in local conditions or a major massacre carried out by government forces or rebel militia could trigger genocide in Burundi at any time.

In April 1996, following consultations with UN officials, governments, journalists and a range of NGOs, ICG published a policy paper on Burundi. The report assessed the adequacy and effect of the international response to the crisis in Burundi and identified scope for further action on the part of the international community.

Continuing ethnic bloodshed in Burundi has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, adding to the region's already severe refugee crisis

Since the report’s release, ICG staff and board members have argued for a number of steps to be taken to prevent a worsening of the situation in Burundi. First, ICG has emphasised the need to keep political pressure on the leaders of the region as well as factional leaders within Burundi to engage in dialogue. Secondly, ICG has called for urgent action to clamp down on extremists who are trying to turn international refugee camps into private military bases from which to attack civilian villages. Finally, the organisation has strongly backed the UN Secretary General’s appeal for a multinational peacekeeping force to be sent to Burundi to provide security cover while negotiations on the country’s future proceed.

ICG has pursued its objectives vigorously, lobbying President Clinton, the Congress, the US Department of State and the Department of Defence to support a more pro-active US policy on Burundi. ICG board members have met privately with key Administration officials as well as diplomatic representatives from the Great Lakes region and national representatives on the UN Security Council. ICG has used its contacts to press for the cafrica/Great Lakes crisis to be placed on the agenda at the 1996 summit of the G7. Finally, ICG has provided briefings for journalists and encouraged newspapers and TV networks to send crews to Burundi in a bid to help focus international attention on the crisis.

In 1997 ICG will build on its work to date in Burundi with a new regional assessment of the Great Lakes area, including Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire, Tanzania and Uganda. The project will examine present and potential problems in the region and suggest where long term solutions may lie.