Reports

“We Let Our Children Go Hungry to Pay”

Abuses Related to the 2020 Election Levy in Burundi

This report documents the campaign by the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy party (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces de défense de la démocratie, CNDD-FDD) with the youth wing and local officials to collect “voluntary” contributions from the population. Human Rights Watch found that people have been forced to pay multiple times or more than the officially requested amount, or were not given a receipt, exacerbating the situation. 

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  • “We Will Beat You to Correct You”

    Abuses Ahead of Burundi’s Constitutional Referendum

    This report documents violations and abuses by state security forces, intelligence services, members of the ruling party’s youth league – the Imbonerakure – and others close to the ruling party, in the year and a half leading up to the referendum.

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    Cover of the Burundi report in English

  • Closing Doors?

    The Narrowing of Democratic Space in Burundi

    This 69-page report documents abuses including torture, arbitrary arrests, banning of opposition activities, and harassment of civil society groups. Human Rights Watch called on the government to end the abuses and to strengthen institutional mechanisms to promote accountability by government officials and security forces.

  • “We’ll Tie You Up and Shoot You”

    Lack of Accountability for Political Violence in Burundi

    This 47-page report is based on four months of field research in Bujumbura and four rural provinces. The report documents numerous incidents of violence, at least one fatal, carried out by and against members of political parties as a means of settling political scores.

  • Mob Justice in Burundi

    Official Complicity and Impunity

    This 105-page report finds that authorities have at times been directly involved in public killings and beatings of suspected criminals, or have facilitated them by forming untrained "security committees" that operate at the margins of the law. In other cases, officials have stood by while mobs attacked alleged criminals.

  • Forbidden

    Institutionalizing Discrimination against Gays and Lesbians in Burundi

    This report consists of narratives and photos of Burundian gays and lesbians that bring to life the daily struggles faced by the small lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Burundi.

  • Pursuit of Power

    Political Violence and Repression in Burundi

    This 86-page report details cases in which both the FNL and the government, dominated by the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Conseil National pour la Défense de la Démocratie-Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie, CNDD-FDD), have used political violence and intimid

  • “Every Morning They Beat Me”

    Police Abuses in Burundi

    This 42-page report documents 21 cases of beatings and torture of civilians carried out in October 2007 by a special reserve unit known as Rapid Mobile Intervention Group (Groupement Mobile d’Intervention Rapide, GMIR) in Muramvya province.

  • Down to Business

    The Human Rights Council’s Backlog of Work

    As it enters its second year, the Council must take hold of the many situations that “require the HRC’s attention,” and take action of some sort to address them. The HRC’s efforts to address these situations will provide an important indication of its ability to fulfil the purpose for which it was created.

  • Paying the Price

    Violations of the Rights of Children in Detention in Burundi

    This 62-page report documents the many types of human rights violations that children experience in pre-trial detention, in the investigation and prosecution of cases, and while in prison.

  • “We flee when we see them”

    Abuses with Impunity at the National Intelligence Service in Burundi

    This 33-page report, “‘We flee when we see them’: Abuses with Impunity by the Burundi National Intelligence Service,” documents five incidents of extrajudicial executions, as well as instances of torture and arbitrary detention. Some detainees were beaten with batons until they lost consciousness.

  • A High Price to Pay

    Detention of Poor Patients in Burundian Hospitals

    This 75-page report documents how Burundian hospitals in 2005 detained hundreds of indigent patients, sometimes in inhumane conditions. Many of those detained were women giving birth who unexpectedly needed caesarian deliveries.

  • A Long Way from Home

    FNL Child Soldiers in Burundi

    During the thirteen years of civil war in Burundi, children were recruited and used as combatants and general help by all sides in the conflict.

  • Warning Signs: Continuing Abuses in Burundi

    This document details recent violations by both the Burundian government and the rebel National Liberation Forces (Forces Nationales de Libération, or FNL), with which the government is still at war.