Burkina Faso has declared United Nations coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak persona non grata, effectively expelling her after a U.N. report alleged violations against children, a government spokesperson said on Monday.
Authorities said they were not involved in the preparation of the report, “Children and Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso,” and were not informed of its conclusions before publication. The statement accused the United Nations of making unfounded claims and presenting falsehoods without citing relevant investigations or court rulings.
U.N. officials in Geneva and New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Burkina Faso has faced worsening violence tied to a decade-long insurgency by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. The U.N. has previously condemned killings, abductions and the recruitment of child soldiers across the Sahel as the conflict has spread following a series of coups from 2020 to 2023.
