Burundi Human Rights
Human Rights Concerns
Despite the end of the decade-long civil war in Burundi in 2003, where rape was widely reported as a weapon of war by government and rebel forces, sexual violence continues at an alarming rate, both in the home and the larger society, with police and judicial authorities doing little to respond to victims or find and punish those responsible. Because rape is not taken seriously by the authorities and victims themselves are shunned by relatives and their communities, women rarely report the crime. Those victims who come forward usually seek medical treatment and counseling at international health centers, rather than going to police.
In its 2007 report, Amnesty International, along with its partner organization in the central African nation ACAT (Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la Torture), called on the government of Burundi to immediately address the issue by monitoring rape, with the goal of developing adequate laws and judicial policies to prevent rape and respond to victims. Currently, government figures are sparse and unreliable, with no independent monitoring system to record rape.
In the absence of government figures, statistics obtained by Burundian and international NGOs show both reported and unreported rape occurring at high levels. The numbers, though, represent only the tip of the iceberg, said the report, titled "No Protection from Rape."
Between 2004 and 2006, an average of 1,346 women a year reported rape or sexual violence to Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) -- 26 per week. Other NGOs that offer treatment reported receiving as many as an average of 37 victims per week, or 1,913 a year in 2006.
Despite the fact that the rape of women and girls is widespread throughout the country, the Burundian authorities have systematically failed to take concrete steps to prevent, investigate and punish these crimes. As a result, perpetrators regularly escape prosecution and punishment by the state and victims are left without protection. The report said girls and young women are most at risk--60 percent of reported rapes are committed against minors.
Rape was endemic during the years of the armed conflict but continues to this day despite the end of hostilities between the Tutsi-dominated army and Hutu rebel groups, which flared from 1993 to 2003. The U.N. Security Council has directed that a truth and reconciliation commission be established, along with a special chamber to investigate war crimes. The issue of impunity has been stalled as discussions between the government and the United Nations have dragged on, without any advancement.
Systemic failures in the justice system have created a climate where rape victims are less willing or able to pursue criminal proceedings. The fact that the latest parliamentary elections held in Burundi in July 2005 brought an increased level of visibility for women parliamentarians (who fill 37 out of 118 seats and also fill important political and professional positions in government) has not improved the overall status of women in the country, who still face a culture of discrimination, including legal blocks to owning or inheriting property.
The system particularly fails women in rural areas, who are often unaware of how to instigate legal proceedings and are frequently cut off from psychosocial and medical assistance provided by some non-governmental organizations operating in Burundi. Women are often stigmatized by their communities if they make public the attack they endured--often leading them to keep their suffering a secret and cope with the consequences of the violations alone.
