Burundi

Victim Assistance

Last updated: 28 March 2018

Action points basedon findings

  • Dedicate funding to ensure continuity of services and develop a national database of mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) victims and their needs.
  • Improve access to physical rehabilitation for survivors by finding the means to overcome the barrier of fees for services present.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Burundi is responsible for a significant number of survivors of landmines and ERW who are in need. Burundi has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Burundi signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 26 April 2007. The parliament of Burundi formally adopted the CRPD on 6 March 2014 and it was ratified on 22 May 2015.[1]

Victim Assistance

In seven provinces surveyed through 2017 the Humanitarian Department for Mine/Unexploded Ordnance Action (Direction de l’Action Humanitaire contre les Mines et Engins non explosés, DAHMI)identified 644 mine/ERW survivors.[2] As of 2015, there were estimated to be 5,002 survivors in Burundi.[3] The General Direction of Civil Protection, through the DAHMI was conducting a nation-wide survey to evaluate the exact number of mine/ERW victims in Burundi and identify their needs. As of February 2018, seven of the 18 provinces had been surveyed.

Victim assistance in 2017

As of the end of 2017, the National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2011–2014 had not been updated and its implementation remained largely on hold.[4] The provision of victim assistance services continued to be undertaken for the most part by international and national organizations.[5]

Assessing victim assistance needs

The National Victim Assistance Action Plan, adopted in 2011, includes a target to conduct a qualitative survey on persons with disabilities and their needs by the end of the first half of 2012. This deadline was not met due to a lack of funding to conduct this survey. In 2014, the DAHMI made efforts, in collaboration with Humanity and Inclusion (HI, formerly Handicap International), to identify victims and assess their needs, but this was restricted to three Burundian provinces (Makamba, Rutana, Ruyigi).[6] As of February 2018, seven of the 18 provinces had been surveyed.[7]

Victim assistance coordination[8]

Government coordinating body/focal point

DAHMI

Coordinating mechanism

Inter-ministerial and Inter-sectorial Coordinating Committee for Victim Assistance

Plan

National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2011–2014

 

Burundi’s National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2011–2014 was detailed.[9] However, there were no efforts to revise or adopt a new plan. Thus the 2011–2014 plan remained in place, yet little could be done to achieve its goals.[10]

An Inter-ministerial and Inter-sectorial Coordinating Committee for Victim Assistance was established in 2011. Its tasks included monitoring the Action Plan and supporting the government in to implement the national law for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.[11] The physical rehabilitation sector of Burundi is the responsibility of the Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights, and Gender.[12]

Burundi did not include updated information on victim assistance its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2016, submitted in August 2017. Burundi did not submit its Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report for calendar year 2016. Burundi did not give updates on victim assistance during international meetings of the Mine Ban Treaty or Convention on Cluster Munition in 2017.

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

Mine/ERW survivor organizations participated in a workshop for developing a draft law for the protection of persons with disabilities in 2015.[13] The law was adopted by parliament, but as of 2 February 2018 it had not yet been promulgated.[14]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities

Name of organization

Type of organization

Type of activity

Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender

Government

Physical rehabilitation; social and professional reinsertion

Center for Training and Development of Ex-Combatants(CEDAC)

National NGO

Economic inclusion (micro-credit); psychosocial assistance; advocacy

Union of Persons with Disabilities (Union des Personnes Handicapées du Burundi, UPHB)

National NGO

Advocacy and economic inclusion; referrals for other services

HI

International NGO

Disability rights; physical rehabilitation; capacity development of disabled persons’ organizations; access to education for children with disabilities

Action on Armed Violence (AOAV)

International NGO

Advocacy on rights and gender issues; capacity-building; socio-economic reintegration; psycho-social support; community inclusion

ICRC

International organization

Support for physical rehabilitation at the Saint Kizito Institute (ISK); management training and assistance

 

Access to appropriate physical rehabilitation services remained inaccessible in 2016 for most of those in need. The greatest obstacles for accessing services remained the lack of rehabilitation professionals and the cost of treatment, since users had to pay for the services.[15] Through the Solidarity Fund, the Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender covered the cost of physical rehabilitation for poor people.[16] The Ministry of Public Health covered the cost of physical rehabilitation for children under the age of five.[17]

The ICRC worked to reinforce the quality and sustainability of physical rehabilitation services.[18] It also supported healthcare providers, including the Burundi Red Cross with supplies and training. However, the ICRC was planning to end its technical support to the Saint Kizito Institute in Bujumbura in 2017.[19]

Following implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Development of Medical Rehabilitation 2011–2015, the Ministry of Public Health also addressed rehabilitation.[20] The government of Burundi continued to support a center for physical therapy for persons with disabilities in Gitega and a center for social and professional reinsertion in Ngozi.[21]

HI continued to improve access to physical rehabilitation for persons with disabilities, provide support to rehabilitation centers in Gitega, Muyinga, and Makamba, train local physiotherapists, and provide materials. In 2016, HI also worked to improve access to education for children with disabilities and advocate for their specific needs to be included in national education policies. HI collaborated with national social services to support access to employment for young persons with disabilities.[22]

The constitution prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities. However, the rights of persons with disabilities were not promoted or protected with regard to employment, education, or access to healthcare. Although persons with disabilities are eligible for free healthcare through social programs targeting vulnerable groups, these were not widely publicized. Legislation did not mandate access to buildings, information, or government services for persons with disabilities.[23]



[1] Email received from Eric Niragira,Director, Center for Training and Development of Ex-Combatants(CEDAC), 7 March 2014; responses to Monitor questionnaire by Eric Niragira, CEDAC, 6 October 2015; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Méthode Niyungeko, Humanitarian Department for Mine/Unexploded Ordnance Action (Direction de l’Action Humanitaire contre les Mines et Engins non explosés, DAHMI), 1 August 2016.

[2] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, 2 February 2018. The figure of 644 in seven provinces is not consistent with the previous DAHMI figure of 680 mine/ERW survivors identified as of April 2014 in only three provinces. See statement of Burundi, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Session on Victim Assistance, Geneva, June 2014.

[3] This figure includes the 1,300 survivors identified as of the end of 2008. Interview with Nkeshimana Nicodème, DAHMI, in Geneva, 16 March 2010; email from Désiré Irambona, DAHMI, 11 April 2011; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, 1 August 2016.

[4] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, 2 February 2018.

[5] In Form J of its Article 7 report covering calendar year 2016, submitted in August 2017, Burundi covers victim assistance activities, which the government conducted in 2012. Burundi does not report on any more recent victim assistance activities in Burundi.

[6] Statement of Burundi, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Session on Victim Assistance, Geneva, June 2015; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Eric Niragira, CEDAC, 6 October 2015.

[7] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, 2 February 2018.

[8] National Victim Assistance Action Plan, 2011–2014, January 2011; statement of Burundi, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 9–11 April 2014; statement of Burundi, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Session on Victim Assistance, Geneva, June 2014; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for the period 2006 to June 2015), June 2015; ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programme (PRP), “Annual Report 2014,” Geneva, 2015; United States (US) Department of State, “2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Burundi,” Washington, DC, 13 April 2016; and response to Monitor questionnaire by Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, 1 August 2016.

[9] National Victim Assistance Action Plan, 2011–2014, January 2011.

[10] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, 2 February 2018.

[11] Ibid., 1 August 2016.

[12] ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2016,” Geneva, November 2017, p. 14.

[13] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, 1 August 2016.

[14] Ibid., 2 February 2018.

[15] ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2016,” Geneva, November 2017, p. 14.

[16] Ibid., p. 14.

[17] Ibid.

[18] ICRC, “Annual Report 2016,”Geneva, May 2017, p. 106.

[19] Ibid., pp. 106–107.

[20] ICRC PRP, “Annual Report 2016,” Geneva, November 2017, p. 14.

[21] US Department of State, “Burundi 2016 Human Rights Report,” Washington, DC, March 2017, p. 35.

[22] HI, “Country card Burundi,” July 2016, pp. 2–6.

[23] US Department of State, “Burundi 2016 Human Rights Report,” Washington, DC, March 2017, pp. 34–35.