In 2024, Freedom House rated Burundi's human rights at 14 out 100 (not free).Freedom House, 2024 report
Overview Burundi is governed as a presidential representative democratic republic, with an estimated population of 10,557,259 in 2012. The country has experienced a long history of social unrest and ethnic tension between the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority, with successive civil wars jeopardizing national development since Burundi's decolonization as a Belgian territory in 1962. The most recent conflict broke out in 1993 with the assassination of Burundi's first democratically elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, and led to large-scale violations of human rights and general impunity. In line with the Arusha Agreement of August 2000, peace was brokered between rebel groups the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) and the National Forces of Liberation (FNL), and a new Constitution was adopted by national referendum in 2005. The Constitution established cognitive institutions of State, including the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature, with a view to promoting the rule of law and a more cogent human rights framework.
In 2010, the incumbent CNDD-FDD party won its second municipal elections, despite accusations of intimidation, fraud, inciting political violence, and restricting freedoms of association and expression around election time. Accordingly, the legitimacy of these newly established institutions of State has been drawn into question in light of the irregularities and repression of the elections. The major challenge facing the advancement of human rights in Burundi continues to stem from the continuance of political volatility, and the persistence of discriminatory remedies of Customary Law in the absence of an accountable justice system.
Burundi has, since gaining its independence, been cited as a State guilty of widespread violations of human rights. A 2010 Transparency International report named Burundi as the most corrupt country in East Africa.
International Legal Instruments Ratified by Burundi
Burundi has ratified and acceded to a number of significant human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), and the United Nations Convention Against Torture (Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment – CATCIDTP). Articles 13-19 of the Burundian Constitution embody these rights.
Following the recommendations of a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2008, Burundi ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED), Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (OP-CEDAW), and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). During the UPR, a panel of 41 delegations praised Burundi's ratification of a substantial number of international instruments.
National Independent Human Rights Commission (NIHRC)
In 2000, a rudimentary Governmental Commission on Human Rights was set up, which at the recommendation of the 2008 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) became the National Independent Human Rights Commission in 2009. However, the institution is yet to be accredited by the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, thus lacks the key element of compliance with Paris Principles. Its current role as an investigatory and reporting body remains unfulfilled.
In a 2011 report, Human Rights Watch called on the government to strengthen its support for the NIHRC. The role of a national Commission has become increasingly important since the termination of a United Nations Human Rights Council mandate in the country in September 2011. This coincides with a rapid rise in politically motivated killings and general impunity throughout the country. The Burundian government, however, has been reluctant in providing adequate financial support to the Commission, thus its ability to investigate serious violations of human rights is significantly compromised.
2010 Elections
Despite the flourishing of multiparty politics in Burundi (an unusual characteristic for the region), Amnesty International noted in a 2011 report that repressive tactics are often taken out by political parties with a view to precluding other parties from electoral success. This practice rendered the 2010 elections particularly volatile. As polls closed in June, it was reported that "the voting was held against the backdrop of daily grenade blasts that threatened to push the country back into civil strife", and that political freedom was severely compromised. The Burundian non-governmental organization (NGO) Commission Episcopale et Paix documented a range of violations during the elections, including campaigning before the legally authorized campaign period, assassinations, arbitrary arrests, verbal confrontations, fraud, restrictions on the right to free assembly, bribery, and hiring and firing based on political affiliation. At least six political parties had committed offenses, but the ruling CNDD-FDD was cited as most frequently responsible. In the wake of the elections (which the incumbent CNDD-FDD and President Pierre Nkurunziza won after the opposition pulled out), reciprocal killings were perpetrated by the government against the former rebel group, and its main opposition rival, the Hutu FNL.
While freedom of speech is constitutionally guaranteed, Freedom House noted several instances during and after the election where journalists had been targeted for criticizing the government. This included arbitrary arrests, threats, detainment, and beatings. Consequently, in 2011 Burundi was given the press status of 'Not Free' by the NGO. In March 2019, seven minor schoolgirls were arrested for doodling on a portrait of President Nkurunziza's face in their schoolbooks. Four of them, the youngest of whom was 13, were released, but the remaining three were formally charged on March 18 with "insulting the head of state" which carries a jail sentence of up to five years.
Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
The Working Group on the UPR, in accordance with the Human Rights Council (HRC), held its review on Burundi in December 2009. The next UPR is planned for 2014.
In the report of the Working Group, Burundi's Criminal Code was criticized for a number of shortcomings. The Working Group highlighted several areas of concern for the development of human rights, including:
Persistent use of torture; Widespread sexual violence; Extrajudicial killings; Arbitrary arrests; Poor detention facilities; Impunity enjoyed by rapists; The use of rape as a weapon of war; Extrajudicial adjudication of rape cases; The practice of marriage between rapist and victim; Lack of judicial independence; Absence of a juvenile justice system; Lack of an adequate supervisory system in places of detention; and Proposed criminal sanctions in the Code against homosexuality.
The report also examined key areas of concern in more detail.
The right to life
Although guaranteed in the Constitution, the 1993-2005 civil war led to massive violations of the right to life. A primary cause behind these violations was the proliferation of firearms among the civil population. A 2011 Human Rights Watch report suggested that government officials distributed weapons to civilians associated with the CNDD-FDD and police officers provided military training to civilians. Additionally, individual conceptions of justice had resulted in isolated cases of lynching. The Working Group cited judicial delay as a major factor in inciting people to take justice into their own hands. General governmental and police inertia had contributed to the perception that State institutions cannot provide protection, and that citizens must be accountable for their own safety.
Burundi has not ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, although it has expressed interest in amending the Criminal Code insofar abolishing capital punishment.
The prohibition of torture
The Working Group noted that in 2006, Burundi submitted a report to the United Nations Convention Against Torture. In its response, the UN Committee expressed concern at the lack of clarity in Burundian law surrounding the status of torture in the statute books, and recommended the government focus on implementing the CATCIDTP domestically and formulate a legislative definition of torture. Concern was also expressed by the Committee at the lack of provision in the Criminal Code relating to protection whilst in police custody, and available access to legal aid. The Working Group reiterated these messages, but highlighted an overall decline in reported torture cases since 2007. The number of torture cases greatly increased during the Burundian unrest.
The right to equality of the sexes
The Working Group noted that the Burundian government had taken step Formulating and adopting a national gender policy; Formulating an action plan for the implementation thereof; Integrating the gender dimension throughout all government ministries; and Taking steps towards the establishment of a National Gender Council.
However, the report noted that despite these efforts at the governmental level, the gender approach had not been fully accepted by Burundian society. The disparity manifested itself most notably at the public service level; women were vastly underrepresented at all levels of decision making in government. The Working Group thus recommended the national gender policy be extended to adopt an array of changes equalizing laws of succession, taxation, adultery, the selling of family assets, labour codes, and the standardization of the age of marriage.
The 1993-2005 conflict particularly heightened gender-based abuse.
The rights of the child
The report noted that the situation of children in Burundi is deteriorating. Ongoing conflict, poverty, and high rates of HIV/AIDS were cited as the main factors contributing to the plight of Burundian children. (A Unicef study in 2010 found 68% of households in Burundi living in poverty, and 17% of children orphaned because of AIDS). In spite of the government's insistence that it does not recruit soldiers under the age of 18, the report also highlighted concerns that the recruitment of child soldiers persists. Partisan youth groups add to political volatility, raising concerns that youth could easily be manipulated into carrying out acts of violence.
The report also noted the lack of a juvenile justice system. The holding of children in the same cells as convicted adults made them extremely vulnerable to abuse.
Sexual violence
The phenomenon of sexual violence, particularly against women and children, was cited by the Working Group as one of the critical areas for concern. However, there was a significant lack of data pertaining to the number of sexual assaults taking place throughout the country; this was partly due to cultural prejudice, meaning some cases are not reported and instead adjudicated within the family.
The Initiative for Peacebuilding noted in a 2010 study on gender issues in Burundi that there is a strong correlation between areas of intense military activity and high incidences of sexual violence. Furthermore, Amnesty International claims rape, in addition to physical mutilation, was used during the 1993-2005 conflict as 'a strategy of war'
The rights of victims