The Burkinabe government has expelled the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Carol Bernardine Flore-Smereczniak, accusing her of co-chairing the preparation of a report on children and armed conflict that authorities described as false and lacking credible evidence.
Government spokesman Gilbert Ouédraogo announced on national television that the report indiscriminately cited both terrorists and national security forces without investigative backing, adding that the UN failed to involve Burkinabe authorities in its development.
Ouagadougou declared Flore-Smereczniak “persona non grata,” saying she is no longer a credible interlocutor.
The Mauritian diplomat, who assumed her role in July 2024, had been coordinating UN humanitarian and development efforts in the country.
Her expulsion follows a similar decision in December 2022, when the government ordered her predecessor, Barbara Manzi, to leave.
The UN had mobilized more than $738 million in 2023 to support Burkina Faso’s priorities in food security, poverty reduction, and social cohesion.
