On 2 October 2007, the Coordinator of the ACCORD Rumonge office in Burundi, Marie Joseph Gatoto, was interviewed by a local radio station in Burundi, Studio Ijambo.
The interview was directed at the contribution ACCORD is making towards the management and resolution of land conflict in the provinces of Bururi and Makamba in the southern part of Burundi. In addition the interview focussed on how mediation is encouraging resettlement of returnees and reconciliation within the communities in these provinces. Mr Gatoto discussed the successes of the ACCORD mediations concluded thus far and explained how ACCORD works with the local and judicial administrative authorities to facilitate conflict management in the region.
Through its Legal Aid Clinic Project in Burundi, which is supported by UNHCR, ACCORD is providing mediation services and legal assistance (through its partnership with Advocats sans Frontieres (ASF)) for returnees and community members, as well as capacity building trainings for community leaders and local administration in the four (4) provinces of Bururi, Makamba, Ruyigi and Gitega in order to assist with especially resolving land disputes.
