UNIPROBA Theme: Obstacles to the effective participation of minorities in political life Thank you, Madam President, for giving me the floor in front of this august assembly. Madam President, Distinguished Delegates It is a great honor for me to speak in front of you about the obstacles faced by the Batwa to their effective participation in political life. The Batwa are minorities from the Great Lake region, which covers Burundi, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Indeed Madam President, the major similar problems that block the effective participation of the Batwa minorities in political life and that deserve overall solutions are the following:         Extreme poverty of the Batwa Lack of clear policy in matters of education and health No access to a fair justice Persistence of marginalization and discrimination No involvement of Batwa women in the sphere of national life No recognition of the indigenous identity in the sub region No access to information on rights and duties of the citizen Armed groups destabilize the Batwa communities in the sub-region, which causes massive displacement Madam President, Ladies, Gentlemen The Batwa are discriminated against with regards to participation since all the constitutions of the above-mentioned countries provide for equality of all before the law, non-discrimination, and participation of everyone in public affairs. We welcome, however, some efforts of the government of Burundi where the post transition constitution provides for the representation of the Batwa in the Senate and the National Assembly with three Batwa in each chamber. It is quite clear in Article 19 that: All women and all men are equal in dignity, rights, and responsibilities. No one may be subject to discrimination because of their origin, race, ethnicity, sex, skin color, language, social situation or religious, philosophical or political beliefs, because of a physical or mental disability or because they have HIV/Aids. All citizens are equal before the law, which equally guarantees them protection. Nevertheless this constitution of Burundi has shortcomings which require it to be reviewed so as to ensure representation of the Batwa in all spheres of the country. This concerns in particular the participation at the executive level, where it is mentioned 60% for Hutu and 40% for Tutsi and where 30% of representation is reserved for women. It also regards articles on the defense and security forces that guarantee 50% for Tutsi, since we know that those corps include an important number of Batwa. In the DRC we observe that the Batwa are not represented since the Constitution provides that: Article 11 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. However, the enjoyment of political rights is granted to Congolese only, except for cases the law has determined otherwise). Article 12