Ambassador Samantha Power said there was “insufficient contingency planning” on Burundi, nearly five weeks after the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for such measures.
“Many council members are eager to see the pace of contingency planning accelerated,” Power told reporters.
UN officials have said they are drawing up plans including possibly rushing peacekeepers to Burundi from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo if the violence gets worse.
The African Union, still on Wednesday said violence in Burundi must end, warning it would not allow genocide to take place.
“Africa will not allow another genocide to take place on its soil,” the AU’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) said in messages posted on its Twitter account as it discussed the crisis in Burundi, adding there was “an urgent need for action to stop the killings.”
AU Security Council chief Smail Chergui said there was “a very clear message coming out of the ongoing PSC meeting: the killings in Burundi must stop immediately.”
Ministers were briefed on the AU’s military capabilities of its regional East African Standby Force for its “possible” deployment to Burundi, without giving further details.
Burundi descended into bloodshed in April when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his intention to run for a controversial third term, which he went on to win in July.
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