The security situation in Burundi improved markedly after the last rebel group in the country laid down its arms at the end
of 2008, and no new conflict-induced displacement was reported in 2009. However, up to 100,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) remain in sites in northern and central Burundi. Most of them,
displaced in the 1990s or early 2000s following inter-ethnic violence and fighting between the government and rebel groups, have integrated in the neighbouring towns and villages they fled to, and the
majority reportedly wish to remain in these sites.
The majority of IDPs do not own their houses and land in the sites, but live on state-owned, private or church-owned property, which has
caused disputes with the original owners. Informal transactions take place but often lead to disputes as the same parcel of land can be sold a number of times without being registered. A comprehensive
land law has been drafted which should apply to rural areas (until now regulated by customary law) as well as cities, but it is not likely to be enacted before the 2010 elections.
Since
2006, the UN Peace Building Commission has worked with the Burundian government to support post-conflict recovery, including the recovery of people affected by the country’s internal
armed conflicts. One promising initiative developed by the Burundian government together with UN agencies and donor governments is the construction of villages where IDPs can resettle, along with
landless returnees and other vulnerable people.
Noor Saada, 12, an internally displaced girl fleeing a military offensive in South Waziristan sits among men as she awaits her turn at a registration point for internally displaced persons (IDPs) ...
