Burkina Faso declares UN coordinator persona non grata

Burkina Faso has expelled United Nations regional coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak after a U.N. report alleged violations against children in the country, a government spokesperson said on Monday.

Authorities said they were not consulted during the preparation of the study, titled Children and Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso, nor informed of its conclusions before publication. The government accused the report of making “baseless assertions” without citing investigations or court rulings.

The U.N. expressed regret over the decision. “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,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Flore-Smereczniak, who was forced to leave, was appointed last year and has over two decades of experience in development, security and humanitarian operations, according to the U.N.

The expulsion comes amid worsening violence in Burkina Faso and the wider Sahel, where militant groups linked to Al Qaeda have fought governments for more than a decade. A series of coups between 2020 and 2023 deepened instability across the region.

The U.N. has previously condemned killings, abductions and the recruitment of child soldiers in the Sahel conflict. Dujarric reaffirmed that the organisation would continue to engage with Burkina Faso’s authorities to support the country and its people.

Copied