Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Burundi (Ratification: 2002)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the detailed discussion held during the 99th Session of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2010.

Articles 3 and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and penalties. Clause (a). Forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. In its previous comments, the Committee noted with concern the use of children by the armed forces of the State as soldiers or helpers in camps, or to obtain information, as well as the low minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces. It noted that the Penal Code had been amended to provide improved protection for children against war crimes and that it now provides that the recruitment of children under 16 years of age in armed conflicts constitutes a war crime. It therefore requested the Government to take measures as a matter of urgency to amend the national legislation and prohibit the forced recruitment of young persons under 18 for use in armed conflict. The Committee also noted that, considering the relative calm experienced over most of the national territory since the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement of August 2000 and the Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement, the Government had launched the implementation of a vast programme for the demobilization and reintegration of former combatants through three organizations, namely the National Commission for Demobilization, Reinsertion and Reintegration (CNDRR), the National Structure for Child Soldiers (SEN), and the ILO–IPEC project on “Prevention and reintegration of children involved in armed conflicts: An inter-regional programme”.

The Committee notes with satisfaction that in his Report on children and armed conflict of 13 April 2010, the Secretary-General of the United Nations indicated that the revised Penal Code adopted by the National Assembly on 22 April 2009 now prohibits the recruitment of children into the national defence forces and lays down that 18 years is the minimum age for conscription (A/64/742-S/2010/181, paragraph 38). In addition, the Secretary-General of the United Nations also indicates that eight focal points from Agathon Rwasa’s Forces nationales de libération (FNL) were named as being responsible for facilitating the separation of children associated with FNL combatants (A/64/742-S/2010/181, paragraph 17). On 10 April 2010, the remaining 228 children were released from five FNL pre-assembly areas. On 8 June 2010, 40 children associated with alleged FNL dissidents in the Randa and Buramata assembly areas were also released. The Committee notes with interest that, according to the report of the Secretary-General, it has been confirmed that the FNL has ceased to recruit children, and that since June 2010, no reported new cases of the recruitment or use of children by the FNL have been recorded (A/64/742-S/2010/181, paragraph 54). Consequently, Burundi has been removed from the list of countries monitored in accordance with Security Council Resolution No. 1612 (2005).

However, the Committee notes that the Secretary-General of the United Nations expressed concern at reports of militant activities by youth groups allegedly associated with certain political parties that are generating fear and suspicion (A/64/742-S/2010/181, paragraph 56). Furthermore, in his Seventh Report on the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi of 30 November 2010, the Secretary-General of the United Nations adds that, owing to the heightened tensions that surrounded the general elections in 2010, there is a considerable risk that children and young people will be recruited, which therefore requires continued monitoring and preventive action (S/2010/608, paragraph 47).

In this respect, the Committee refers to the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards which, in its conclusions, requested the Government to ensure that the perpetrators of the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age by armed groups and the rebel forces were prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties were applied. Observing that the situation in Burundi remains fragile and that there is still a risk of child soldiers being recruited, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of children under 18 years of age against forced recruitment for use in armed conflict, by ensuring thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of offenders, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed in practice. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in this respect.

Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution. The Committee previously noted that, in its communication, the Trade Union Confederation of Burundi (COSYBU) had indicated that the extreme poverty of the population encourages parents to allow their children to engage in prostitution. It noted that, although the national legislation prohibits this worst form of child labour, the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution remains a problem in practice.

The Committee notes with interest that, under the terms of sections 512 and 519 of Act No. 1/05 of 22 April 2009 revising the Penal Code, the fact of using, procuring or offering a child under 18 years of age for prostitution remains a penal offence in Burundi, which may be punished by a sentence of penal servitude of three to five years and a fine of between 100,000 to 500,000 francs. However, the Committee notes that, according to the information contained in a 2009 report on the worst forms of child labour in Burundi, available on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the sexual exploitation of children for economic purposes still occurs. Sometimes women initially offer accommodation to girls, and then force them to engage in prostitution to pay their expenses.

The Committee notes the conclusion of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards that, although the law prohibits the commercial sexual exploitation of children, it remains an issue of serious concern in practice. The Committee requests the Government to take immediate and effective measures on an urgent basis to ensure that persons who use, procure or offer a child under 18 years of age for prostitution are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are applied in practice. It requests the Government to provide information on the number and nature of violations reported and penal sanctions applied.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities. Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the indication by COSYBU that the extreme poverty of the population drives parents to allow their children to engage in begging. The Committee expressed grave concern at the increase in street children who are exposed to numerous risks, including being used or recruited for armed conflict or other illicit activities. It requested the Government to take the necessary measures to protect street children and to prohibit, in the national legislation, the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities.

The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 518 of the Penal Code provides that it is prohibited “to induce, directly, a child to commit an unlawful act or an act that is liable to harm her or his health, morals or development” and that, under the terms of section 512 of the Penal Code, the term “child” means any person under 18 years of age.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, removing them from these worst forms and providing for their rehabilitation and social integration. 1. Child soldiers. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the framework of the ILO–IPEC inter-regional project, the United Nations programme for demobilization, reintegration and prevention and the National Structure for Child Soldiers, thousands of children had been demobilized and socially reintegrated. The Committee noted that, according to the Government, all the children had been demobilized, except for those used by the armed movement FNL, which had not yet laid down its arms.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication that all the children who had been enrolled in the FNL have been reintegrated into civilian life and that many of them have returned to school. In this respect, in his Seventh Report on the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi of 30 November 2010, the Secretary-General of the United Nations indicates that the reintegration of 626 children formerly associated with armed groups was successfully concluded on 31 July 2010 (S/2010/608, paragraph 48). Of these 626 children, over 104 have returned to school in their original communities and the others have been engaged in vocational training or income-generating activities.

However, the Committee notes that the Government representative at the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards indicated that combating poverty in Burundi was the basic problem preventing the successful social reintegration of demobilized child soldiers. With reference to the conclusions of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue adopting effective time-bound measures for the rehabilitation and social integration of children previously involved in armed conflict.

2. Commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures for the removal of children under 18 years of age from prostitution and for their rehabilitation and social integration. The Committee notes that, in the context of the National Programme of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (PAN), prepared in collaboration with ILO–IPEC for the period 2010–15, one of the objectives is to reduce the vulnerability of children to the worst forms of child labour through the implementation of community development programmes including, among other elements, education and socio-economic reintegration of children engaged in or removed from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation who have, in practice, been removed from this situation and provided with rehabilitation and social integration, particularly following the implementation of the PAN.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Street children. The Committee noted previously that, in its report of 23 September 2005, the United Nations independent expert on the situation of human rights in Burundi had indicated that, according to some estimates, there were over 3,000 street children in the country (E/CN.4/2006/109, paragraph 55). It also noted that, in the report of 19 September 2006 of the independent expert on the situation of human rights in Burundi, the Secretary General of the United Nations had indicated that the numbers of street children were on the rise in Bujumbura (A/61/360, paragraph 79).

The Committee notes that the PAN has to be implemented so as to provide protection in particular for children in a situation of vulnerability. The Committee also notes that, in its concluding observations of 20 October 2010, the Committee on the Rights of the Child noted the efforts made by Burundi to address the widespread phenomenon of children in street situations through, inter alia, the establishment of centres for care, protection and reintegration of children in street situations (CRC/C/BDI/CO/2, paragraph 72). However, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at the high number of children in street situations identified in the main towns, who are predominately children living in poverty and HIV/AIDS orphans.

In this regard, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards also expressed its serious concern that the number of children working on the streets remained high and that these children were exposed to various forms of exploitation. Recalling that street children are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to protect them from the worst forms of child labour, to remove children from work in the streets and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the PAN in this regard, as well as on the number of street children who are in practice removed from that situation and socially reintegrated through the action of protection and reintegration centres for street children.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.