BUJUMBURA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- It is unnecessary to have the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Burundi as there are no mass violations of human rights in the country, a Burundian minister said here Tuesday.
OHCHR on Tuesday announced its Burundi office was closed down on Feb. 28 at the insistence of the Brundian government after a 23-year presence in the central African country.
"I was discussing with the UN human rights chief (Michelle Bachelet) and showed her there is no necessity to have such office in Burundi as the human rights situation improved throughout the country," said Burundian Minister of Human Rights Martin Nivyabandi in a press conference in Burundi's commercial capital Bujumbura.
"There is no fear that human rights will be violated at the absence of that office," said Nivyabandi.
The Burundi government will set up other channels of human rights cooperation with the UN, and it is carrying out campaigns to raise awareness on patriotism and respect of human rights, said the minister.
He also called on Burundians to respect and protect human rights.
The Burundian government suspended cooperation with OHCHR in Burundi since October 2016 after it accused the latter of playing a role in preparing a "biased and controversial" report written by three UN experts on violations of human rights in Burundi that was published in September 2016.
In the report, the experts documented "gross and abundant" human rights violations in Burundi between April 2015 and June 2016. They also warned of a risk of genocide in Burundi if preventive measures were not taken.
