Mbaye Faye

Director, Security Sector Reform and Small Arms
United Nations Integrated Mission in Burundi
Focus Area(s)
Accountable Policing
Critical Tasks
Integration and amalgamation
Training
Interviewers
Arthur Boutellis
Country of Reform
Burundi
Town/City
Bujumbura
Country
Burundi
Date of Interview
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Abstract
Colonel Mbaye Faye of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Burundi contends that during the peacekeeping phase, it was difficult to initiate reform because the nation had not reconciled itself, and elections were needed to determine the direction security would take. After the 2002 ceasefire, there was a choice possible between the integration and the fusion of forces. The army was 95 percent Tutsi, but Tutsis represented only 10 percent of the overall population. The major challenges facing the police were integration and rank amalgamation. Training was delivered regardless of the educational levels of the police, and moralization of the force was a major issue. Coordination between international actors was weak at first in 2004 but improved in 2006 with sectoral plans in SSR/SA, governance, and human rights/justice. The larger part of the work was left to bilaterals because the bilaterals can be involved in the longer run. The transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding was difficult for the United Nations. Faye stresses that nationals need to be in the driver’s seat, saying "We are here to help them do the job, not to do the job for them." At the end of the interview, police adviser Alexi Ouedraogo adds some comments about the main priorities of the Burundi National Police and describes some of the existing programs by bilaterals and some of the projects that the U.N. mission was launching.

Full Interview

84 MB
Col. Mbaye Faye - Full Interview
Profile

At the time of this interview, Colonel Mbaye Faye had served 40 years in the Senegal army and was the director of security sector reform and small arms for the United Nations Integrated Mission in Burundi. He received additional training from the French military officers' academy in St. Cyr.

Keywords
ethnic representation
Donor Relations
integration and amalgamation of forces
Not specified