• Human Rights in Burundi

    Burundi saw some positive developments in 2011 with the creation of a National Independent Human Rights Commission and steps towards establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, political violence escalated in the aftermath of the 2010 elections, with scores of politically-motivated killings in 2011. Members of both the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) and the former rebel group the National Liberation Forces (FNL) have used violence to settle political scores, with widespread impunity. While Burundian civil society and the press remain active and independent, civil society activists and journalists face constant harassment and intimidation for reporting human rights abuses.

  • Graves of victims of the September 18, 2011 Gatumba attack in the foreground, and memorial to the victims of the 2004 Gatumba attack in the background.
    © 2011 Human Rights Watch
    Burundi: Escalation of Political Violence in 2011

    Scores of people have been killed in political attacks in Burundi since the end of 2010. The killings, some by state agents and members of the ruling party, others by armed opposition groups, reflect widespread impunity, the inability of the state to protect its citizens, and an ineffective judiciary.

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Burundi

  • Burundi: Effort to Block a Report About Political Killings
    May 4, 2012
    The Burundian Interior Minister ordered Human Rights Watch to cancel a news conference in the capital, Bujumbura, on May 2, 2012, that was planned to release a report on political violence in Burundi. The police also ordered Human Rights Watch to stop distribution of the report in Burundi.
  • Burundi: Escalation of Political Violence in 2011
    May 2, 2012

    Scores of people have been killed in political attacks in Burundi since the end of 2010. The killings, some by state agents and members of the ruling party, others by armed opposition groups, reflect widespread impunity, the inability of the state to protect its citizens, and an ineffective judiciary.

  • Burundi: Stop Menacing the Media
    Nov 21, 2011

    Burundi government officials should halt their intensifying pressure on journalists. In the last few weeks, journalists have been summonsed by state prosecuting authorities for questioning with increasing frequency in response to radio broadcasts implicating state agents in alleged human rights abuses.

  • Burundi: Strengthen Support for National Human Rights Commission
    Oct 6, 2011

    The Burundian government should strengthen its support for the recently established National Independent Human Rights Commission. 

  • Burundi: Investigate Deadly Bar Shooting
    Sep 20, 2011
    Burundian authorities should urgently investigate the massacre on September 18, 2011, of dozens of people in a popular bar in Gatumba, about 15 kilometers west of the capital, Bujumbura.
  • Burundi: Stop Harassing Lawyers and Journalists
    Aug 11, 2011
    The Burundi authorities’ arrests of lawyers and intimidation of journalists are cause for concern. Although the release of two of three lawyers arrested since mid-July, 2011, was a positive step, the government should immediately end the harassment of both lawyers and journalists. Charges against one of the released lawyers remain pending, and a third lawyer also arrested in late July remains in detention on charges that appear to violate international law.
  • Burundi: Investigate Political Killings
    Jul 25, 2011
    Burundian authorities should investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the dozens of political killings in Burundi since late 2010
  • Burundi: Journalist Acquitted of Treason Charges
    May 18, 2011
    The acquittal of a journalist on treason charges on May 13, 2011, is a positive development for Burundi, where politically motivated harassment of journalists has been on the rise, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
  • Statement by Non-governmental Organisations on the Second Anniversary of the Assassination of Ernest Manirumva
    Apr 11, 2011
    Two years after the assassination of Ernest Manirumva, former Vice-President of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Malpractice Observatory (OLUCOME), the Burundian justice system is struggling to shed light on this crime and investigations remain incomplete.
  • Burundi: 2 Years After Activist Slain, Justice Stalled
    Apr 8, 2011
    The government of Burundi should complete its investigations and deliver justice for the killing two years ago of Ernest Manirumva, a Burundian anti-corruption activist, seventeen Burundian and international nongovernmental organizations said today in a joint statement. The organizations also called on the government to allow civil society activists to demonstrate peacefully in support of justice for the killing of Manirumva.
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