Preamble
We the people of Burundi,
Conscious of our responsibilities and duties before history and future generations;
Reaffirming our faith in the ideal of peace, of reconciliation and of national unity following the Arusha Accord for Peace and Reconciliation in Burundi of August 28, 2000 and the Accords of Cease Fire;
Considering the necessity of reinstating a pluralist democratic order and state of law;
Proclaiming our attachment to the respect of the fundamental human rights notably resulting from the Universal Declaration of Human rights of December 10, 1948, the International Pacts of Human Rights of December 16, 1966 and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of June 18, 1981;
Considering our attachment to peace and social justice;
Conscious of the pressing need to promote the economic and social development of our country and to assure the protection of our national culture;
Reaffirming our determination to defend the sovereignty and political and economic independence of our country;
Affirming the importance, in international relations, of the right of populations to exercise self-determination;
Considering that the relationships between populations must be characterized by peace, goodwill, and cooperation conforming to the Charter of the United Nations of June 26, 1945;
Reaffirming our attachment to the cause of African unity conforming to the Constitutive Act of the African Union of May 25, 2002;
Reaffirming our unwavering determination to put an end to the deep-rooted sources of the continued ethnic and political violence, of genocide and exclusion, of bloodshed, political insecurity and instability, that has plunged our people into distress and suffering and gravely compromises the perspectives of economic development and the realization of equality and social justice in our country;
Considering that to achieve these goals, the following constitutional and legal principles must be guaranteed:
- The establishment and implementation of a democratic governance system;
The inclusion of minority political parties in the general system of good governance; The protection and inclusion of ethnic groups, and cultural and religious minorities in the general system of good governance; The restructuring of the national security and justice system to guarantee security to all Burundians, including ethnic minorities.
Reaffirming our engagement to construct a political order and a system of government inspired by the realities of our country and founded on the values of justice, democracy, good governance, pluralism, the respect of liberties and the fundamental rights of the individual, unity, solidarity, mutual understanding, tolerance and cooperation among the different ethnic groups in our society;
We solemnly adopt the present constitution that is the fundamental law of the Republic of Burundi.
