The Secretary General of La Francophonie (OIF), Louise Mushikiwabo, has appointed Domitien Ndayizeye as Special Envoy to monitor the situation in Haiti. The organization announced this in a press release on October 7.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

In the wake of the 19th Summit of La Francophonie (October 4-5), during which heads of state and government welcomed the Organization’s strengthened approach to dialogue, this appointment follows the ongoing efforts of La Francophonie and its Secretary General to promote stability and a return to democratic order in Haiti, an important member state of the OIF, the organization announced.

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for monitoring the situation in Haiti will work in conjunction with Haitian transitional authorities and institutions as well as national political and civil society actors. He will act in coordination with various international actors, including the United Nations, mobilized to support the political and technical efforts of the Secretary-General of La Francophonie.

« Efforts and actions recalled during meetings of La Francophonie bodies and on the occasion of the Restricted Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on the situation in Haiti, which she had convened on January 18, 2024, » the press release said.

« It is in a way a message for Burundi. It is a politically strategic choice. For me, it is a call for reconciliation between the two sister nations, » analyzed a local Burundian journalist. The situation continues to deteriorate in Haiti.

Already last June, UN experts stated that the escalation of gang violence and political instability in Haiti have caused a record number of 578,074 internal displacements in 2024, including more than 310,000 women and girls and 180,000 children, more than double the figure for 2022, making it the country with the highest number of displacements in the world due to crime-related violence.

The OIF has 93 states and governments : 56 members, 5 associate members and 32 observers.

Domitien Ndayizeye led Burundi between 2003 and 2005 during the transition period after serving as vice-president for 18 months. He was arrested in August 2006 along with his former vice-president Alphonse Marie Kadege, accused of preparing a coup d’état. Both were cleared on January 15, 2007.

This Hutu intellectual had tried to reconcile the Tutsis and Hutus (two more dominant ethnic groups in Burundi) during his two years and four months in power. The greatest tragedy under his regime was the massacres of Banyamulenge refugees in Gatumba (western Burundi) not far from the border with the DRC in August 2004. This attack attributed to rebels of the FNL (National Liberation Front), an armed group of Burundian Hutus, had left 166 dead at the time.

Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye took to the X (Formerly Twitter) to congratulate Mr. Ndayizeye.

« The appointment of the former President of Burundi, Mr. Domitien Ndayizeye, as Special Envoy of Louise Mushikiwabo for monitoring the situation in Haiti gives me the pleasant opportunity to warmly congratulate him.
May the wisdom of this son of the Country guide him towards the success of his mission, » wrote President Neva.

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Domitien Ndayizeye, former Burundian president appointed special envoy of the Secretary General of La Francophonie, Rwandan Louise Mushikiwabo in Haiti (SOS Médias Burundi)