Burundi Essay

Burundi is one of the smallest and poorest countries in Africa. Burundi used

to be a kingdom before Germany started to occupy the region. Both of the Kingdom

of Rwanda and Burundi were attached to the region known as German East Africa.

After World War I, Belgium annexed Burundi and Rwanda from Germany and the

region became known as Ruanda-Urundi. Belgium indirectly ruled the region,

having a small Tutsi group governing a large Hutu population. This sparked the

independence of Burundi among other things. Later, Burundi became a United

Nations Trust Territory and reached its full independence on July 1, 1962. However,

conflicts still arose between the Tutsi and the Hutu and there were genocides and a

civil war within the region. The civil war ended and refugees are coming back,

bringing a strain to the land of Burundi.

There are tensions between the relations with neighbouring countries due to

security reasons, as refugees, fleeing from the civil war, cross the borders into

Rwanda, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of Congo. Many Burundian rebel bases

are located in these neighbouring countries as well. Due to being a former colony of

Belgium, Belgium still maintains a relation with Burundi, helping it in healthcare,

agriculture, and education. Burundi is part of several international and national

organizations, for example the United Nations, the African Union, the African

Development Bank, and the Francophonie. As well, Burundi has a Bilateral

Immunity Agreement with the United States, as USA aims to help towards the

stability and peace in Burundi. The foreign policy of Burundi is to look for aid from

other countries for the development and economic growth of Burundi.

The increasing prevalence ...

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...undi; Burundi cannot achieve this goal if most of the resources are given to a

more dire situations. Therefore, Burundi believes that a more direct approach of the

United Nations can end the uprisings.

Burundi has been through a long civil war, filled with much bloodshed that

only ended with the help of the United Nations. To end these conflicts in the Middle

East, Burundi believes that it is UN’s responsibility to take a direct step and help

stop any more bloodshed. A government cannot rule properly if the people are

against it. Though a dictatorship may ensure stability only for a short time, most

dictatorships falls as there are several uprisings. If an uprising gains momentum,

Burundi believes that the UN should give whatever the people want to prevent any

more bloodshed and violence, unless the reasons affect the security of any other

countries.