The government of Burkina Faso has declared the United Nations regional coordinator, Carol Flore-Smereczniak, persona non grata after a UN report accused the West African country of committing violations against children in conflict zones.
Government spokespersons announced the expulsion on Monday, stating that the report, titled “Children and Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso”, contained “baseless allegations and falsehoods” unsupported by investigations or judicial rulings. Authorities further stressed that they were neither consulted during the preparation of the document nor informed of its findings before its publication.
The United Nations has yet to issue an official response.
The decision comes amid escalating violence in Burkina Faso, where Islamist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have waged a decade-long insurgency that has destabilized the country and spread across the Sahel. Political instability has compounded the crisis, with successive military coups between 2020 and 2023 undermining civilian governance.
The UN has repeatedly raised alarms about the humanitarian toll of the conflict. It has condemned killings, abductions, child recruitment by armed groups, and abuses linked to government security operations.
In May 2024, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk reported a sharp increase in civilian casualties, noting that between November 2023 and April 2024, more than 2,700 individuals were affected by rights violations, including nearly 1,800 cases of unlawful killings. The UN also cited abuses by armed groups such as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, particularly against displaced civilians.
More recently, in March 2025, a UN Committee expressed concern over alleged misconduct by Burkina Faso’s security forces during counter-terrorism operations, including extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests, and secret detentions. The Committee also criticized the government’s reliance on emergency decrees to stifle dissent, restrict journalists, and silence human rights defenders.
Burkina Faso’s expulsion of the UN envoy is likely to heighten tensions with the international community at a time when the country is battling worsening insecurity and political unrest following the 2022 military takeover.
