Following the February 2000 workshop, and despite the commitment by the parties to move the process forward, the HD Centre decided not to continue with this initiative in August 2000 in an effort not to provide a distraction to the then-ongoing political negotiations in Arusha. 

On 2-4 February 2000, the HD Centre hosted a seminar in Geneva bringing together field level commanders of the armed opposition groups active inside Burundi, the Government of Burundi and the international humanitarian community. The seminar aimed to provide an inclusive forum in which a dialogue on humanitarian issues could be started and where the fundamental issues of security of humanitarian workers and their access to those in need could be broached by the parties to the conflict; ensure an opportunity for the dissemination of humanitarian principles as enshrined in International Humanitarian Law (IHL), including the obligations of combatants toward civilian populations and relief organizations, and provide the humanitarian community with a forum in which to clearly outline the nature of their operational objectives in Burundi.

In October 1999, following the killing of two UN staff members and seven Burundian colleagues, the HD Centre was requested by the then Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, to assist in establishing humanitarian channels of communications with the armed opposition groups in Burundi. The objective of the initiative was to underline the importance of seeking arrangements with all parties to the conflict to ensure humanitarian access and the safety of humanitarian personnel.