MESSAGE OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EMMANUEL SINZOHAGERA, BURUNDI SENATE SPEAKER DURING THE 11TH AND 12TH MEETING OF ASSOCIATION OF SENATES, SHOORA AND EQUIAVALENT COUNCILS IN AFRICA AND ARAB WORLD

                                                        Rabat, Morocco Kingdom

                                                          Friday, March 5^th, 2022

Theme: “Climate and health justice: advocacy role of                       Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa          and Arab World”

1. Climate justice is a new political notion, related to non-egalitarian consequences of climate change. It is expressed mainly by actions in justice carried out by citizens’ groups and associations against the States or companies.
2. Climate justice becomes recently a motivating political theme. It takes inspiration directly from social justice, since it raises the question of socio-economic inequalities due to the effects of climate change.
3. In any case, the notion of climate justice raises the question of responsibility. It was often motivated during newly legal actions including those against the States based mainly on the accusation of climate inaction: the States do not take required measures to reach climate objectives that they assigned themselves.
4. Health justice, on its turn, goes the same way as climate equity. Due to States inaction, victims are turning to competent courts and proceedings are multiplying. This is particularly due to the fact that most of States and governments, if not all, with a few exceptions, are very much focused on economic interests of the companies that sell drugs to the detriment of prevention and public health.
5. The same causes producing the same effects, health inaction lead exactly to the same results as climate inaction, i.e. recourse to judges, but with two difference:
6. The issue of causation does not arise for climate issues because the position and strength of climate skeptics has become extremely weak and this is strength for climate equity.
7. The issue of causation arises for health issues, but in contrast, the ease of action due to direct victims is obvious.
8. The advocacy role of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils consists above all in deliberating in order to analyze and adopt bills, adopting positions and/or guidelines or agree on the actions to be undertaken to facilitate the task of States and governments.
9. In view of the above development in relation to climate justice and health justice, the deliberative role of Senates, Shoora Councils and Equivalent councils in Africa and Arab World would be to:
   1. analyze and adopt bills which enable States and governments         to take the necessary measures to achieve the climate objectives that they have set themselves, but also which permit them to deal with health inaction as a result of economic interests that take priority over prevention and public health needs;
   1. take positions and/or orientations via resolutions and/or declarations to support States and governments in the best planning and political orientation of effective climate justice and health justice throughout the world;
   1. agree on the actions to be taken to support States and governments in the policy which aims at promoting climate and health justice in the interest of the world’s populations in general, and in the interest of each of the States and governments and their peers in particular, with the ultimate objective of avoiding socio-economic inequalities in the face of the effects of climate change and health inaction as well as multiple legal actions.

8. What about the Republic of Burundi? Following the shortcomings related to emerging environmental issues including the prevention and management of natural disasters as well as the issue of climate change facing Burundi, the rules of environmental management must follow the same evolution to be effective. It is within this framework that, after analysis and adoption by the two chambers of the Parliament of Burundi, the President of the Republic of Burundi recently proceeded to the promulgation of Law No. 1/09 of May 25, 2021 on the Code of the Environment of the Republic of Burundi.

On the side of health justice which takes the same path as climate justice, Burundi continues to face it by modernizing its health legislation. Thus, after analysis and adoption by the two Chambers of the Parliament, the President of the Republic of Burundi has promulgated a lot of laws in the field of health, including Law No. 1/013 of May 30, 2018 on the hygiene and sanitation code in Burundi and Law No. 1/07 of March 12, 2020 amending Law No 1/12 of May 30, 2018 on the code for the provision of health care and services in Burundi.

Let’s point out for all intents and purposes that the Government of Burundi is delighted to have the new national health policy 2016-2025 which follows that of the decade 2005-2015. This new national health policy is in line with the acts, declarations and international commitments to which Burundi has subscribed in terms of health and it bridges the MDGs and the SDGs within the framework of the Global Sustainable Development Programme 2016-2030.                                                      

               Thank you for your kind attention.