Topic: Situation in Burundi
Country: Senegal
Delegate Name: William Kelly
School: Grand Rapids City High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Senegal position papers GLIMUN 2016 committees
The delegation from The Republic of Senegal is deeply alarmed by the situation in Burundi. In all facets of the situation, be it the unconstitutional actions of the government or the blatant human rights abuses against its people. While Senegal has issued its support in the past for a multilateral peacekeeping force, the African Union has officially decided against any such action and thus Senegal, in itself, must honor this. Burundi has suffered a bloody history while the African Union has observed full national sovereignty to this point–– we can not risk any more bloodshed in Burundi nor can we risk blood on the hands of a traditionally peaceful organization. With this, barring a non-African peacekeeping force, the only solution in sight to this tragic crisis is the continued use of economic and political incentives. This year, the European Union enforced sanctions upon Burundi and officials close to the incumbent president, and Senegal is in full support of such actions. The delegation to the UN Security Council hopes to strengthen such sanctions and perhaps strengthen them in cases where analysis shows it would be most beneficial. As well as this, Senegal would like to strongly advocate for diplomatic sanctions, such as removal of voting privileges in the African Union and perhaps threaten complete removal from the African Union should the current government not resolve the conflicts as soon as possible. This being said, the delegation from Senegal is optimistic going into this conference and is willing and able to compromise to reach a solution that benefits the people of Burundi as much as possible. It hopes that all nations involved will be able to set national politics aside in order to work to improve the real human lives being hurt today.
