Burkina Faso’s junta expels top UN official over child rights report
Burkina Faso’s junta has expelled the UN’s top official to the West African nation over a report about children caught up in the jihadist conflict.
Carol Flore-Smereczniak was declared “persona non grata” because of her role in drafting the report that came out in March.
Covering a two-year period, the study detailed more than 2,000 cases of reported child recruitment, killings, sexual violence and abuse – blaming Islamist insurgents, government soldiers and civilian defence forces.
The military government, which came to power in September 2022 and is led by Capt Ibrahim Traoré, said it had not been consulted by the UN, saying the report contained unfounded allegations.
It did not cite any documentation “or court rulings to support the alleged cases of violations against children attributed to the valiant Burkinabé fighters”, the government’s statement said.
Since 2015, jihadist rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have waged an insurgency that has killed thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.
It has prompted political instability, with two military coups in 2022. Capt Traoré took power promising to deal with the dire security situation within “two to three months”.
Ms Flore-Smereczniak was appointed in July 2024 – more than 18 months after her predecessor was expelled.
From Mauritius, she has worked in areas experiencing or recovering from conflict for more than two decades, holding posts in Ivory Coast, Chad and Malawi, according to the UN.
The UN representative before her, Italian Barbara Manzi, was declared “persona non grata” by the junta in December 2022 not long after publishing a blog post describing how the crisis was affecting education and health services, forcing many to close down.
The UN has not yet officially commented on the latest expulsion, but the UN chief had expressed his regret over the decision to expel Ms Manzi whilst reiterating the UN’s desire to engage with the junta to support Burkinabés.
There have been concerns over the effectiveness of Capt Traoré’s operation to quash the militants – with the junta rejecting the assistance of former colonial power France in favour of Russia.
