BURKINA FASO has declared United Nations regional coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak persona non grata over a U.N. report alleging violations against children in the West African country, a government spokesperson said on Monday.
Burkinabe authorities were neither involved in the preparation of the U.N. report, titled “Children and Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso”, nor informed of the study’s conclusions before publication, the government spokesperson said in a statement.
The United Nations expressed regret over the decision, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday.
“The Organization is accorded privileges and immunities, including the right for its staff members to remain in Burkina Faso in order to perform their functions on behalf of the Organization,“ he said.
The government accused the United Nations of making baseless assertions and stating falsehoods in the report, without citing relevant investigations or court rulings.
Flore-Smereczniak, who was forced to leave the country, has more than 20 years of experience in development, security, humanitarian, conflict and post-conflict settings and was appointed to the post in Burkina Faso last year, according to the United Nations.
Violence fuelled by a decade-long battle against Islamist militants linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State has worsened in Burkina Faso and neighbouring countries where power was seized in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023.
The U.N. has in the past condemned what it says have been killings, abuses and abductions of children in the Sahel regional conflict as well as the recruitment of child soldiers.
Dujarric reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to continue engaging with Burkina Faso’s authorities to support the nation and its people. – Reuters
