Protocol III

Peace and Security For All

Chapter III
Permanent Ceasefire and Cessation of Hostilities

Definitions and general principles

Article 25
Definitions

1. Ceasefire means the cessation of:
   
   
   1. All attacks by air, land and lake, as well as all acts of sabotage;
      
      
   2. Attempts to occupy new ground positions and movements of troops and resources from one location to another;
      
      
   3. All acts of violence against the civilian population - summary executions, torture, harassment, detention and persecution of civilians on the basis of ethnic origin, religious, beliefs and political affiliations, incitement of ethnic hatred, arming of civilians, use of child soldiers, sexual violence, training of terrorists, genocide and bombing of the civilian population;
      
      
   4. Supply of ammunitions and weaponry and other war-related stores to the field;
      
      
   5. All hostile propaganda between the Parties, both within and outside the country;
      
      
   6. Any other actions that may impede the normal evolution of the ceasefire process.
   
   

Article 26
General principles

1. The following principles are agreed upon:
   
   
   1. The provisions of article 25.1 (d) above shall not preclude the supply of food, clothing and medical support to forces in the field;
      
      
   2. Freedom of movement of persons and goods throughout the country shall be guaranteed;
      
      
   3. All persons detained or taken hostage on account of political belief or activities shall be released and given the latitude to relocate to anywhere within the country;
      
      
   4. Humanitarian assistance shall be facilitated through humanitarian corridors in order to render assistance to displaced persons, refugees and other sinistrés;
      
      
   5. The parties shall establish a Joint Commission for Peace and Security, hereinafter referred to as the Ceasefire Commission, which shall be responsible for peace and security functions and shall work in close conjunction with a peacekeeping force following the entry into force of the Agreement;
      
      
   6. The laying of mines of any type shall be prohibited, and all parties shall be required to undertake to mark and signpost any danger areas to be identified to peacekeeping forces;
      
      
   7. The forces in areas of direct contact shall proceed to an immediate disengagement;
      
      
   8. Illicit trafficking of arms and the infiltration of armed groups shall be controlled with the collaboration of neighbouring countries;
      
      
   9. The parties shall undertake to locate, identify, disarm, and assemble all armed groups in the country;
      
      
   10. The parties shall ensure that armed groups operating under their command comply with the process;
       
       
   11. Mechanisms for dismantling and disarming all militias and disarming civilians holding arms illegally shall be established;
       
       
   12. Amnesty shall be granted to all combatants of the political parties and movements for crimes committed as a result of their involvement in the conflict, but not for acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, or for their participation in coups d'état.
   
   
2. Disengagement
   
   
   1. Disengagement shall mean the immediate breaking of contact between the opposing military forces of the Parties to the Agreement at places where they are in direct contact by the effective date and time of the ceasefire.
      
      
   2. Immediate disengagement at the initiative of all military units shall be limited to the effective range of all weapons. Disengagement to put all weapons out of range shall be conducted under the guidance of the Ceasefire Commission established pursuant to article 27 below.
      
      
   3. Where disengagement by a party is impossible or impractical, the Ceasefire Commission shall find an alternative solution to render the weapons safe.
   
   
   

Article 27
Verification and supervision

1. Ceasefire Commission
   
   
   1. The Ceasefire Commission shall consist of representatives of the Government, the combatants of the political parties and movements, the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity and the Regional Peace Initiative for Burundi.
      
      
   2. The Ceasefire Commission shall be a decision-making body.
      
      
   3. The Ceasefire Commission shall take its decisions by consensus.
      
      
   4. The Ceasefire Commission shall be responsible, among other things, for:
      
      
      1. Establishing the location of units at the time of the ceasefire;
         
         
      2. Establishing liaison between the parties for the purpose of the ceasefire;
         
         
      3. Finding appropriate solutions in the event of difficulty in disengagement;
         
         
      4. Conducting investigations of any ceasefire violations;
         
         
      5. Verifying all information, data and activities relating to military forces of the parties;
         
         
      6. Verifying the disengagement of the military forces of the Parties where they are in direct contact;
         
         
      7. Monitoring the storage of arms, munitions equipment;
         
         
      8. Monitoring the quartering of troops and police;
         
         
      9. Undertaking the disarmament of all illegally armed civilians;
         
         
      10. Undertaking mine clearance throughout the country.
      
      
      
   5. The parties undertake to provide the Ceasefire Commission immediately with all relevant information on the organization, equipment and positions of their forces, on the understanding that such information shall be held in strict confidence.
   
   

2. Re-deployment of all troops to quartering centres
   
   
   1. Following disengagement, all troops shall be re-deployed to quartering locations.
      
      
   2. A map identifying the military quartering locations shall be made available to the Implementation Monitoring Committee.
      
      
   3. Upon re-deployment, all forces shall provide relevant information to the Ceasefire Commission on troop strength, movements and weapons they hold at each location.
      
      
   4. All facilities customarily made available to soldiers, but which cannot be provided at the quartering locations, such as hospitals, logistics units and training facilities, shall be supervised by the Ceasefire Commission.
      
      
   5. The Ceasefire Commission shall verify the reported data and information. All forces shall be restricted to the declared and recorded centres and all movements shall be subject to authorization by the Ceasefire Commission. All forces shall remain in the declared and recorded centres until the integration and demobilization process is completed.
      
      
   6. Quartering shall be conducted in two stages:
      
      
      1. The first stage shall cover the quartering of the current Government's troops in their barracks;
         
         
      2. The second stage shall cover the quartering of the other negotiating armed parties' troops at sites previously identified and prepared.
      
      

3. Maintenance of peace and security
   
   
   1. In the context of the Agreement, the Ceasefire Commission shall be responsible for the maintenance of peace and security.
      
      
   2. Upon the entry into force of the Agreement, each Party shall agree with the Ceasefire Commission appropriate security measures for:
      
      
      1. Its leading members;
         
         
      2. The free movement of its members in Burundi;
      
      
      
   3. All embassies of Burundi in neighbouring and other countries providing shelter for Burundian refugees and residents shall provide them with passports, identity papers and any other requisite documents to which all Burundian citizens are entitled;
      
      
   4. Entry into Burundi through border posts shall be facilitated for the civilian and combatant members of the political parties and movements.
   
   
   

4. Peace and security functions
   
   
   1. The peace and security functions of the Ceasefire Commission shall be:
      
      
      1. To guarantee respect by all the parties for the definitive cessation of hostilities;
         
         
      2. To guarantee the peace and security of the people;
         
         
      3. To ensure the search for and recovery of all arms, the neutralization of militias throughout the country and the disarming of the civilian population;
         
         
      4. To ensure the security of institutions and high-ranking political figures;
         
         
      5. To ensure the security of senior foreign personnel and experts;
         
         
      6. To ensure the demining of the whole country;
         
         
      7. To ensure the effective quartering of the defence and security forces, arms control, and respect for disciplinary rules within and outside the camps;
         
         
      8. To supervise the operations for resupplying the troops.
      
      
      
   2. The expert functions shall be:
      
      
      1. To assign the defence and security forces to their stations;
         
         
      2. To conduct the identification of sites for military camps in military zones located outside the towns;
         
         
      3. To supervise the operation for the demobilization of troops and police not retained within the new defence and security forces.
      
      

5. International peacekeeping force

   The mandate of the peacekeeping force referred to in article 8 of Protocol V to the Agreement shall be to verify implementation of the provisions contained in this Chapter. In addition to its verification function, the force may be requested by the Ceasefire Commission to provide assistance and support to the implementation process, as appropriate.

Article 28
Ceasefire implementation timetable

The ceasefire implementation timetable shall be determined by the Ceasefire Commission.

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