Burkina Faso’s ruling military junta on Monday declared United Nations resident coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak persona non grata, expelling her over a recent U.N. report that accused both jihadi groups and government forces of grave abuses against children.
In a statement, the junta accused Flore-Smereczniak of participating in the preparation of the April report — Children and Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso which it dismissed as “without evidence or supporting documentation” and said contained “serious and false information.”
The report, covering the period between July 2022 and June 2024, documented 2,483 violations against 2,255 children, including recruitment as child soldiers, sexual abuses, and attacks on hospitals and schools. Some victims, the U.N. said, had suffered multiple violations.
Flore-Smereczniak, who was appointed in July 2024 by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres with the approval of Burkina Faso’s government, also serves as the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in the country. The U.N. has not yet issued a response to her expulsion.
Burkina Faso has faced more than a decade of violent insurgency by jihadi groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State. Along with neighboring Mali and Niger, the country has undergone successive military takeovers, expelled French forces, and turned to Russian advisors for security support.
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