A Breach of Trust: The Case for Expelling Burundi from the EAC Over Attacks on Civilians

The East African Community (EAC), a bloc founded on principles of peace and integration, faces a fundamental test of its credibility. In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a severe humanitarian crisis is unfolding, marked by reports of artillery shelling targeting the Banyamulenge community. If these actions are linked to Burundi, a member state, they represent a gross violation of the EAC’s core tenets. This analysis argues that persistent and verifiable cross-border attacks on civilians by a member state must be met with the bloc’s ultimate sanction: expulsion.

The Crisis in Eastern DRC: A Regional Powder Keg

The context is a rapidly deteriorating security situation. Despite a peace agreement signed in Washington in early December 2025, large-scale fighting has reignited in South Kivu province. The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has advanced on the city of Uvira, raising fears the conflict could spill into Burundi.

Within this chaos, the Banyamulenge community—a Congolese Tutsi group in South Kivu—faces acute persecution. Reports detail villages being besieged with the apparent intent to starve residents, actions attributed to a coalition including the Burundian army (FDNB). The UN has warned that the offensive revives “the spectre of a regional flare-up with incalculable consequences”.

The Legal and Strategic Foundations of the EAC

The EAC is not merely a trade bloc. Its founding Treaty establishes peace and security as non-negotiable prerequisites for all other cooperation. Two core principles are:

· Collective Security: Member states must cooperate to maintain regional peace, resolve disputes peacefully, and maintain good neighbourliness.
· Civilian Protection: The community has mechanisms for conflict prevention and, explicitly, the prevention of genocide.

These principles are operationalized through instruments like the EAC Regional Force (EACRF), deployed to neutralize armed groups and protect civilians in eastern DRC. The force’s deployment, which included Burundian troops, underscores the community’s commitment to collective regional security.

Burundi’s Alleged Actions: A Violation of Core Principles

Allegations against Burundi, if substantiated, strike at the heart of the EAC Treaty:

Breach of Article 124 (Peace and Security)

· Cross-Border Aggression: Shelling across an international border is an act of aggression that violates sovereignty and good neighbourliness.
· Regional Destabilization: Such actions directly fuel a wider regional war, drawing in other states and undermining the EAC’s core objective of stability.

Violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

· Indiscriminate Attacks: Using artillery against populated civilian areas violates the fundamental IHL principles of distinction and proportionality.
· Humanitarian Crisis: These attacks exacerbate a dire situation where health systems are “collapsing” and diseases like cholera are spreading.

Erosion of Collective Security

· A member state participating in a regional force for peace while allegedly engaging in cross-border shelling represents a profound betrayal of trust that cripples future cooperative security efforts.

The Path to Expulsion: Treaty Mechanisms

The EAC Treaty provides a clear, if severe, legal pathway for addressing such violations.

· Article 146: Allows for the suspension of a member state that fails to fulfil its treaty obligations.
· Article 147: Provides for expulsion due to “gross and persistent” violations of the treaty’s principles. The process requires a summit decision with twelve months’ notice, and the member in question cannot vote on its own expulsion.

Invoking these articles would require a formal determination by the EAC Summit of Heads of State that Burundi’s actions constitute a gross and persistent violation of Articles 124 and the community’s foundational principles.

Why Expulsion is a Necessary Measure

Expulsion is not a first resort but a final one, justified when a state’s actions:

· Destroy the foundation of mutual trust essential for regional integration.
· Demonstrate a persistent refusal to adhere to community law and diplomatic channels.
· Make a member state a source of instability rather than a partner for security.

Consequences and the Imperative for Credibility

Allowing such breaches to go unanswered would have dire consequences:

· Erosion of EAC Credibility: The bloc’s rules would be seen as meaningless.
· Encouragement to Other Violators: It would set a precedent that member states can act with military impunity.
· Abandonment of Civilians: It would signal that the EAC’s commitment to civilian protection is merely rhetorical.

Conversely, taking decisive action would:

· Uphold the Rule of Law: Reinforce that EAC membership is conditional on adhering to its rules.
· Protect Civilians: Send a powerful message that targeting communities is incompatible with regional membership.
· Preserve Regional Security: Deter future aggression and strengthen the community’s long-term stability.

Conclusion: Upholding the Treaty, Protecting the People

The plight of the Banyamulenge is a stark test of the East African Community’s values. When a member state is accused of transforming from a peacekeeper into a perpetrator of cross-border violence, the community must act to preserve its integrity. The legal framework for suspension or expulsion exists precisely for this scenario.

The EAC stands at a crossroads. It can either enforce its own laws to defend its founding principles of peace, security, and good neighbourliness, or it can allow those principles to be shattered by artillery fire. For the credibility of the community and the safety of millions of civilians, the path of accountability is the only one that leads to a stable and integrated East Africa.