Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously noted the measures taken by the Government to combat trafficking in persons, in particular through the adoption of Act No. 1/28 of 29 October 2014 on the prevention and repression of trafficking in persons and the protection of victims, and the establishment of a commission for consultation and monitoring of the prevention and repression of trafficking in persons. The Committee also referred to the growing number of women and girls who are trafficked out of the country for the purposes of domestic servitude and sexual slavery. It requested the Government to provide information on the application of Act No. 1/28 of 29 October 2014 in practice, as well as on the measures taken to prevent the trafficking of persons and to punish those responsible.

The Government indicates in its report, according to information from the Ministry of Justice, that since 2014 more than 100 cases have come before the courts and 40 have judgements have been handed down. In addition, 70 per cent of the country’s magistrates (541 out of 729 magistrates) have been briefed on the issue. In its report submitted under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Government indicates that according to the National Observatory of trans-border criminality, in 2018, 227 women victims of trafficking to the Gulf States were identified. The Committee also notes that sections 244 to 256 of the revised Penal Code of 2017 (Act No. 1/27 of 29 December 2017) concern trafficking in persons and related offences. In particular, section 246 provides for a penalty of five to ten years’ penal labour and a fine for any person found guilty of human trafficking.

The Committee notes that the Government indicates, in its third periodic report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, dated 30 November 2020, that an ad hoc commission has been established to examine strategies for dismantling trafficking networks (CCPR/C/BDI/3, paragraph 75). It also notes from the website of the Independent National Human Rights Commission that the Commission’s mandate includes receiving and managing complaints related to human trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to strengthen the capacities and the means at the disposal of the competent authorities, to be able to identify human trafficking situations and launch appropriate judicial procedures. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of enquiries undertaken, prosecutions filed and convictions issued in this field, as well as the number of complaints regarding human trafficking dealt with by the CNIDH. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken, in particular by the commission for consultation and monitoring of the prevention and repression of trafficking in persons, to raise citizens’ awareness of the risks of human trafficking, and also to protect and assist victims.

Article 1(1) and Article 2(1). 1. Conditions governing the resignation of military personnel. The Committee previously requested the Government to indicate whether requests to resign by military personnel may be refused or deferred and, if so, to specify the reasons for such refusals or deferrals.

The Committee notes that the Government refers to Acts Nos. 1/19, 1/20 and 1/21 of 31 December 2010 respectively establishing the status of troops, non-commissioned officers and officers of the national defence force. The Committee observes in this regard that the provisions of these Acts provide that any member of the military wishing to resign shall make the request to do so. The requests shall, according to rank, be accepted by the competent authority or the Chief of General Staff. The Government indicates that requests to resign by military personnel may, in practice, be refused or deferred on three grounds: (i) if the request to resign is unfounded; (ii) where it is difficult to find an immediate replacement; (iii) for reasons of national security. In this regard, the Committee stresses that career military personnel who have engaged voluntarily in the armed forces must not be deprived of the right to leave the service in peacetime within a reasonable period, either at fixed intervals, or by means of notice. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the criteria applied as to whether a request to resign is, or is not, unfounded. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of requests to resign by military personnel accepted, refused or deferred, together with the reasons for such refusal or deferral.

2. Suppression of vagrancy. The Committee notes that the Penal Code adopted in 2017 reintroduces provisions penalising vagrancy. Section 524 provides that any person found in the public highway, with no occupation or trade, and without means of subsistence or fixed abode, may incur from 14 days’ to two months’ penal labour and a fine, or one of these penalties alone. The Committee underlines that this broad definition of vagrancy contains provisions that are sufficiently general to constitute an indirect compulsion to work and are as such incompatible with the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take appropriate measures to limit the scope of section 524 of the Penal Code so that only persons who disturb the public order or engage in illicit activities may incur penalties. In the meantime, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which this section is applied in practice and to provide a copy of any legal decision taken on its basis.

3. Compulsory agricultural work. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide a copy of the texts repealing the provisions allowing for compulsory participation in certain types of agricultural work by virtue of the following texts: Ordinances Nos 710/275 and 710/276 of 25 October 1979 (agricultural work resulting from obligations relating to the conservation and utilization of the land and the obligation to recreate and maintain minimum areas of fruit crops), the Decree of 14 July 1952, Ordinance No 1286 of 10 July 1953 and Decree of 10 May 1957 (texts on compulsory cultivation, porterage and public works).

The Government reiterates that the legislation cited, which dates from the colonial period, is outdated and has been tacitly repealed. The Committee takes due note of this information and hopes that the Government will be able, when undertaking a revision of the legislation, to formally repeal the legislation cited in order to remove any ambiguity in the national legal system. Please provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 2(2)(c). Sentences of community work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Penal Code includes, among the principal penalties, the penalty of community work for a public legal entity or an association authorized to undertake community work. The Committee requested the Government to indicate whether the courts had handed down sentences of community work, and if so, these penalties could be handed down without the consent of the convicted person.

The Committee notes that within the meaning of section 44 of the revised Penal Code of 2017, community work constitutes a principal penalty. Section 54 provides that this penalty is applied by a judge in substitution for a penalty of penal labour of under two years. Moreover, the Committee notes that sections 361 to 370 of the revised Code of Criminal Procedure of 2018 (Act No. 1/09 of 11 May 2018) regulate the performance of community work. Associations wishing to obtain authorization to implement community work must request such authorization from the Minister responsible for justice (section 361); the list of community work and the procedures under which it is performed are fixed by decree (article 366). The Committee further notes, from the information submitted by the Government in 2018, that it is obligatory to obtain the consent of the convicted person when applying the penalty of community work, and that the courts have so far not handed down any penalties of community work. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the decree establishing the list of community work and the procedures under which it is performed procedures for the performance of community work, when it has been adopted.