Burundi

Having missed opportunities to prevent the current crisis, the international community must now act decisively to halt the violence and push for a negotiated solution.

Freedom House sat down with Burundian activist Bob Rugurika to talk about human rights, freedom of expression in the region, and the aftermath of his release from prison in 2015.

African heads of state recently gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, for the 24th summit of the African Union. While discussions focused on high-profile continental crises such as the Boko Haram insurgency and the Ebola epidemic, an important phenomenon was, unsurprisingly, left off the agenda: the deteriorating situation for political and civil liberties in much of East Africa.