Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2025, publiée 114ème session CIT (2026)

Convention (n° 29) sur le travail forcé, 1930 - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)

Article 1(1) and Article 2(1) of the Convention. Community development work. The Committee previously noted that the population participated in community development work, as referred to in Basic Act No. 1/04 of 19 February 2020 amending certain provisions of Act No. 1/33 of 28 November 2014 organizing municipal administration. Under this Act, municipalities must promote their economic and social development at both the individual level and on a collective and unified basis, and it is up to the municipal council to monitor implementation and carry out the evaluation of the community development programme. The Committee noted that no text governed the ways in which the population participated in community work.

The Government once again indicates, in its report, that community work is carried out freely, without coercion or penalties.

The Committee notes the adoption of Basic Act No. 1/18 of 7 June 2024 reorganizing municipal administration, which provides that each municipality shall prepare and implement its own municipal community development plan, setting out strategic measures to combat poverty and create employment. The Committee notes, however, that, as with previous laws concerning municipal administration, the Act does not regulate the arrangements for participation in community development work or the manner in which such work is decided.

The Committee further notes that, according to information available on the website of the National Assembly, community development work is a cornerstone of the country’s development and would save the country millions of Burundian francs if its value were to be assessed in monetary terms. The information further indicates that the President of the Republic has called on the population to participate in community work every Saturday, and several political representatives have relayed this message and encouraged the population to participate in such work, which includes, for example, road rehabilitation, cleaning, maintenance and clearing of brushwood, and construction.

Given the nature, scale and importance of community development work, the Committee once again insists that the Government take steps to ensure that national legislation enshrines the voluntary nature of participation in such work, in order to ensure legal certainty and full compliance with the Convention. It also requests the Government to provide information on the adoption of any text governing the participation in and organization of community development work.

Article 1(1) and Article 2(1) and Article 25. Trafficking in persons. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation regarding the launch, in February 2023, of the standard operating procedures to combat trafficking in persons, prepared by the Coordination and Monitoring Committee on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Persons. These procedures are intended to improve the identification of and support for victims of trafficking, and the prosecution of those responsible.

The Committee also notes that, according to the 2023 overview on Burundi of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), internal and cross-border trafficking persists in the country. According to estimates, 82 per cent of victims are women and girls, who are often subjected to forced domestic work, sexual exploitation and forced marriage in neighbouring countries or in the Gulf States. The information available on the IOM website further indicates that the Government has launched a National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons for the period 2023–27, and that the Coordination and Monitoring Committee on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Persons meets every month to assess objectives, results and needs.

The Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to combat trafficking in persons and asks it to provide information on: (i) the activities carried out by the Coordination and Monitoring Committee on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Persons, and the results achieved following the implementation of the 2023–27 National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons; (ii) the number of victims of trafficking identified, the protection and assistance services established and the number of persons having benefited from these services, specifying the measures taken to give particular attention to women; and (iii) the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed for trafficking in persons, under the Criminal Code and Act No. 1/28 of 29 October 2014 preventing and combating trafficking in persons and protecting victims.

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