The ruling junta in Burkina Faso has ordered the expulsion of the United Nations’ top representative in the country, Carol Flore-Smereczniak. She was declared « persona non grata » earlier this week, a move that came after the release of a new UN report detailing abuses against children.

This marks the second time a high-ranking UN official has been ousted by the junta; Barbara Manzi was similarly declared persona non grata in 2022. The action underscores the military government’s growing intolerance for any form of independent oversight.

A spokesperson for the junta alleged that Carol Flore-Smereczniak was involved in drafting the April report, which documents the armed conflict’s impact on children in Burkina Faso. The military leadership has dismissed the report’s findings, which implicate Burkinabè authorities, junta-backed militias, and anti-government Islamist armed groups.

The UN document recorded 2,483 grave violations against 2,255 children, including killings, abductions, and the use of children by armed forces and security groups between July 2002 and June 2024. While Islamist armed groups were responsible for 65 percent of these abuses, the remaining violations were attributed to Burkinabè security forces and the Volontaires pour la Défense de la Patrie (VDP), a civilian auxiliary force assisting the military.

The report also raised alarms about a surge in attacks on schools and noted grave concern over « the detention of children for their alleged association with armed groups. » Human Rights Watch has extensively documented abuses against boys and girls by all parties to the conflict since 2016, including attacks targeting students, teachers, and educational facilities.

The junta has voiced criticism of the UN on several occasions in recent months. In March, the foreign minister condemned the UN’s « inappropriate » use of terms like « ‘non-state armed groups’ to designate the terrorists who bereave our brave populations, » and its reference to the VDP as « militias. » More recently, in July, the foreign minister called for the United Nations to « refocus » its interventions in Burkina Faso to better align with the leader’s « vision. »

Since seizing power in a 2022 coup, Burkina Faso’s military authorities have engaged in a systematic crackdown on media outlets, the political opposition, and dissenting voices. Instead of attempting to conceal these abuses, the junta should engage with the United Nations to develop a plan to bring them to an end.