Burkina Faso declares UN resident coordinator 'persona non grata'

OUAGADOUGOU - The government of Burkina Faso on Monday declared Carol Flore-Smereczniak, United Nations resident coordinator in the country, "persona non grata" for co-chairing a United Nations (UN) report alleging child rights abuses by the country's security forces.

In a statement, the government said it is "astonished" by the persistence of certain UN agencies in Burkina Faso in deliberately and carelessly using ambiguous terminology, concealing a clear intention to legitimize or redefine the barbarity that the Burkinabe people have suffered for a decade.

It said an official clarification had already been issued on March 25, after representatives of the agencies concerned were summoned.

The statement added that for her role in co-chairing the drafting of a report "compiling data without objective sources, without evidence or justification, and conveying serious and false information", Flore-Smereczniak had been declared "persona non grata".

Given that she unilaterally confirmed information without legally acceptable evidence and submitted it to such a strategic body as the UN Security Council, and to preserve and strengthen the important achievements of cooperation between Burkina Faso and the UN, the government considered that Flore-Smereczniak is "no longer a credible interlocutor", read the statement.

The government reaffirmed its commitment to the UN ideals, acknowledging its contributions in the context of security and humanitarian challenges, and reiterated its readiness to continue working with the UN through its representatives and country teams "for genuine and sincere cooperation", it said.

Earlier in 2025, the UN published a report titled "Children and armed conflict in Burkina Faso", alleging violations against children in the West African country.