Burkina Faso’s military junta on Monday declared the United Nations’ top official in the country, Carol Flore-Smereczniak, persona non grata after accusing her of involvement in a U.N. report that detailed widespread child rights abuses.
The report, titled Children and Armed Conflict in Burkina Faso, was published in April and alleged that both jihadi groups and government forces committed serious violations, including child recruitment, sexual abuse, and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Covering the period from July 2022 to June 2024, the report documented 2,483 verified grave violations against 2,255 children.
In a statement, the Burkinabè government dismissed the findings as “false and without evidence,” and accused Flore-Smereczniak of personally contributing to the “serious and unfounded information.”
Flore-Smereczniak, who was appointed by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in July 2024 as resident and humanitarian coordinator for Burkina Faso, had been serving in her post with the approval of the host government.
The U.N. has not yet publicly responded to her expulsion.
The move highlights growing tensions between international institutions and Burkina Faso’s military rulers, who, like neighboring Niger and Mali, have distanced themselves from Western partners following recent coups. French troops were expelled in 2023, with the junta instead seeking closer ties with Russia for military assistance.
Human rights groups have warned that children remain particularly vulnerable in Burkina Faso’s long-running insurgency, where al-Qaida and Islamic State-linked groups continue to battle state forces across the Sahel.