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UNOG Bi-Weekly Press Briefing: Burkina Faso- Military Takeover - OHCHR
Soldiers in Burkina Faso ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré yesterday, Monday 24 January, dissolving the government and suspending the country’s constitution. UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet “deplores the military takeover and calls for immediate release of President Kaboré, elected in peaceful election in 2020,” her spokesperson said a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
“We call on the military to immediately release the President and other high-level officials who have been detained,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The ousting of President Kaboré was made on state television by an army officer, who blamed the deteriorating security situation for the military takeover. “We urge a swift return to constitutional order,” Ms. Shamdasani added.
This latest coup in West Africa comes amid a “multifaceted crisis”, according to OHCHR – a crisis that ranges from “climate change that affects the ability of herders and pastoralists to carry out their daily work and conflicts erupt as a result of it, to violent extremist groups attacks on local population, as well as the deteriorating humanitarian situation”.
OHCHR estimates that three million people are food insecure in the country. Those factors “generate a lot of frustration” among the population, Ms. Shamdasani said, adding that the High Commissioner believes that “the way to manage this frustration and to find a way out of this conflict is through dialogue, through the meaningful participation of people from all sectors of the society. The military coup is certainly not the solution”.
The High Commissioner view echoed the statement by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres yesterday, in which he condemned “any attempt to take over a government by the force of arms.”
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations Palace of Nations, Geneva. UN flags flying.
- Wide shot of press room UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson of UN human rights office, OHCHR: “The High Commissioner deeply deplores the military takeover of power in Burkina Faso yesterday. During her visit to Burkina Faso last November, she had stressed the importance of preserving the hard won democratic and human rights gains made in the country, noting in particular the peaceful legislative and presidential elections that had been held in 2020. We call on the military to immediately release the President and other high-level officials who have been detained. We urge a swift return to constitutional order.”
- Cutaway, Medium shot of podium behind the camera
- SOUNDBITE (English): Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson of UN human rights office, OHCHR: We do not have personal contact at the moment with the coup leaders, but as I said, what we saw in the country was, of course, a multifaceted crisis.”
- Cutaway, Medium shot of cameraman
- SOUNDBITE (English): Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson of UN human rights office, OHCHR: “We stress that military takeover is not the solution, really there needs to be a meaningful dialog, with the participation of people from across the spectrum to be able to air their grievances peacefully and to be able to resolve the situation together. And we are urging that the President is immediately released”.
- Cutaway, Close shot of hand and pen taking notes on notepad.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson of UN human rights office, OHCHR: “There was, in fact, a dialog that had been initiated and there was a process of social reconciliation. And we met with the minister who was in charge of that, and he was bringing together different actors, so it's not too late. We are still calling for a restoration of civilian rule. We're calling for the release of the President and other high-level officials who have been detained.”
- Medium shot, masked participants listening
- Cutaway, Close shot of hands typing on keyboard
- Medium lateral shot of podium with Ravina Shamdasani
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
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In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
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