Burundi: Promotion Mission, 2004

A delegation of the African Commission led by Commissioner Mohamed Abdellahi Ould Babana, responsible for Burundi within the African Commission carried out a mission of promotion to Burundi from the 4th to 11th February 2004.

Recommendations

The Government of the Republic of Burundi needs to:

1. Reinforce the efforts being made towards the restoration of a lasting peace through theimplementation of the Arusha Peace Accord;
2. Ratify the international and regional legal instruments, notably the Protocol relative to Women’s Rights in Africa, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and endeavour to present Burundi’s outstanding Periodic Reports to the African Commission;
3. Pursue the on going reforms with a view to reinforcing the legal status of Women and the restoration of the conditions of fair hearing in the law courts;
4. Take adequate measures to improve the living conditions in the detention centres and to guarantee the respect for human rights in the said centres;
5. Make the necessary arrangements for the execution of the ruling made by the 28th Ordinary Session of the African Commission relative to Communication No. 231/99 – Lawyers without Borders (on behalf of Gaetan Bwampamye) / Burundi;
6. Guarantee a better involvement of Civil Society, particularly women and young people in the management of the country’s affairs, notably in the implementation of the Arusha Peace Accord;
7. Take the necessary measures or strengthen those already in place for the implementation of a general plan for poverty alleviation which is affecting the populations so mercilessly;
8. To take parallel measures for the reinforcement of lucrative activities for women and the education and training of girls;
9. To effect maximum implementation of educational projects for children of school going age, in the short term;
10. Ensure the continuation and strengthening of measures already in place within the framework of the combat against HIV/AIDS and to take appropriate and urgent measures for putting an end to the problem of rape, in particular that of young girls;
11. Make all the necessary arrangements for the creation of the National Human Rights Commission of Burundi;
12. Enhance relations of cooperation with the NGOs, the international institutions working on the ground, with the African Commission, the African Union and the United Nations with a view to restoring lasting peace and the promotion and protection of human rights.

The Civil Society Organisations should:

1. Request and obtain Observer Status with the African Commission to enable them better contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights;
2. Collect documentation and pertinent information relative to human rights and put them at the disposal of the Government and the African Commission for appropriate action;
3. Maintain and strengthen relations of cooperation with the African Commission and the Government in the promotion and protection of human rights;
4. Promote awareness and popularization of the African Charter and exert the necessary pressure on the Government for the fulfilment of its obligations, notably those relating to the African Charter;
5. Set up networks for exchanges in information, experiences and solidarity;

The African Commission should:

1. Pay greater attention to its relations of cooperation with Burundi with a view to enhancing its understanding of the human rights situation in this country by intensifying its missions of promotion there;
2. Provide the African Union with all the necessary information for a better understanding of the human rights situation in Burundi;
3. Request the African Union and the International Community to support the poverty alleviation programmes in Burundi;
4. To request the African Union and the United Nations to intensify their efforts in the States of the Great Lakes region to enable them contribute effectively to the consolidation of peace within their territories and in the sub-region.