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II. RECOMMENDATIONS

    To the Government of Burundi:

    · Halt the expansion of the Guardians of the Peace and the program of civilian self-defense. Disband and disarm the Guardians and their urban counter parts. Restore the duty of protecting the people to duly constituted police and military forces, with legally regulated procedures for recruitment, a clear chain of command, published regulations, and measures of accountability for any abuses committed.

    · Investigate crimes attributed to Guardians of the Peace and their urban counterparts and bring the perpetrators to trial in procedures that conform to international standards.

    · Investigate crimes attributed to members of the Burundian armed forces and bring the accused to trial in procedures that conform to international standards.

    · End immediately any recruitment, training, and use of children under eighteen years of age for military service, including in Guardians of the Peace and similar urban programs. Demobilize all children, whether in regular or paramilitary forces; provide for their material, educational, and psycho-social needs and assist in returning them to their families or to the care of suitable responsible agencies.

    · Accede without reservations to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and upon ratification, submit a binding declaration establishing a minimum age of at least eighteen for voluntary recruitment.

    · Sign and ratify the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

    To the international community:

    · Use all possible means to pressure the Burundian government to halt the expansion of the Guardians of the Peace and self-defense programs, to hold it accountable for abuses by these forces, and to end these programs as presently constituted.

    · Provide assistance to the Burundian government in demobilizing paramilitary auxiliary forces. In particular provide resources to meet the material, educational, and psycho-social needs of children under eighteen years of age who have served in regular or paramilitary forces and to assist in returning them to the care of their families or of suitable responsible agencies.

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