Burundi is a state party to the African Charter on the rights and welfare of the child who never produced a report as it is one of the most obligations has however to implement this charter in the way of protection and promotion of the child. The failure to report obligation calls on doubt about children’s rights situation for lacking references. This research aims the analysis of the steps probably Burundi has already done or difficulties it met in the implementation of the ACRWC. The findings [from existing literature together with reports of human rights association (public and private)] in the children’s rights domain show that in Burundi, violation of some children’s rights, even though contained as provisions in the ACRWC has been and is taking place in Burundi. Research throughout this paper used the documentary method, analyzing, criticizing and commenting results of existing writings and reports about children’s rights in Burundi. Findings in this research are to ensure, even though Burundi is a State party to the ACRWC, it did not make a great step in its implementation. Violations of most of children’s rights inside that Charter are evident. Steps forward are considerably very few.
KeywordsChildChildrenBurundiChildren’s RightsAfrican Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
Aase, C. C. (2013). The Voices of the Invisible Girls: Reintegration of Former Female Child Soldiers in Burundi. Master’s Thesis, Universitetet i Agder.
Adeola, R. (2016). Ending Child, Early and Forced Marriage in Africa: A Human Rights-Based Approach. In K. Matlosa, W. Musabayana, N. Abdulmelik, & J. Nyoyo (Eds.), 2016: African Year of Human Right with a Focus on the Rights of Women (pp. 50-52). African Union Commission.
Adu-Gyamfi, J., & Keating, F. (2013). Convergence and Divergence between the UN Convention on the Rights of the Children and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Sacha Journal of Human Rights, 3, 47-58.
Ankut, P. Y. (2003). Balancing Parental Responsibility and State Obligation in Fulfilling the Socio-Economic Rights of Children under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pretoria.
Bizimana, E. (2013). Assessing the Protection of Child Offenders in Burundian Criminal Law: International Human Rights Law Perspective. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pretoria.
Bizimana, S. (2007). A Critical Analysis of the Right to Education for Refugee Children in Great Lakes: The Case Study of Burundi. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pretoria.
Bundervoet, T., Annan, J., & Armstrong, M. (2012). Urwaruka Rushasha (New Generation): Improving the Wellbeing of Vulnerable Children in Burundi. IRC and USAID.
Bundervoet, T., Verwimp, P., & Akresh, R. (2009). Health and Civil War in Rural Burundi. Journal of human Resources, 44, 536-563. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhr.2009.0000
Comandini, O., Cabras, S., & Marini, E. (2016). Birth Registration and Child Undernutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. Public Health Nutrition, 19, 1757-1767. https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898001500333X
Crombach, A., & Bambonyé, M. (2015). Intergenerational Violence in Burundi: Experienced Childhood Maltreatment Increases the Risk of Abusive Child Rearing and Intimate Partner Violence. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 6, Article No. 26995. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v6.26995
Custodio, E., Herrador, Z., Nkunzimana, T., Węziak-Białowolska, D., Perez-Hoyos, A., & Kayitakire, F. (2019). Children’s Dietary Diversity and Related Factors in Rwanda and Burundi: A Multilevel Analysis Using 2010 Demographic and Health Surveys. PLOS ONE, 14, e0223237. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223237
Dryden-Peterson, S. (2015). The Educational Experiences of Refugee Children in Countries of First Asylum. British Columbia Teachers’ Federation.
Durojaye, E. (2013). The Potential of the Expert Committee of the African Children’s Charter in Advancing Adolescent Sexual Health and Rights in Africa. Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa, 46, 385-409.
Ebbers, A. L. (2020). Counting Children to Make Children Count: Determinants of Birth Registration and the Importance of Context Characteristics in Sub-Saharan Africa. Master Thesis, Radboud University.
Ekesa, B. N., Blomme, G., & Garming, H. (2011). Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Status of Pre-School Children from Musa-Dependent Households in Gitega (Burundi) and Butembo (Democratic Republic of Congo). African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 11, 4896-4911. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajfand.v11i4.69141
Feller, M. (2000). Rights of the Child in Burundi.
Fransen, S., Vargas-Silva, C., & Siegel, M. (2018). The Impact of Refugee Experiences on Education: Evidence from Burundi. IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 8, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40176-017-0112-4
Gibbons, E. D., Huebler, F., & Loaiza, E. (2005). Child Labor, Education and the Principle of Non-Discrimination. Capítulo, 10, 214.
Guarcello, L., Lyon, S., & Rosati, F. (2004). Orphanhood and Child Vulnerability: Burundi. Understanding Children’s Work Project.
Hajayandi, N. (2013). La sociabilité des jeunes comme mécanisme d’adaptation et de promotion des acteurs. Les Cahiers d’Afrique de l’Est, 46, 135-149. https://doi.org/10.4000/eastafrica.426
Hall, B. J., Tol, W. A., Jordans, M. J. D., Bass, J., & de Jong, T. V. M. (2014). Understanding Resilience in Armed Conflict: Social Resources and Mental Health of Children in Burundi. Social Science & Medicine, 114, 121-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.042
Jooma, M. B. (2005). “We Can’t Eat the Constitution”. Transformation and the Socio-Economic Reconstruction of Burundi (p. 16). Institute for Security Studies Papers 106.
Jordans, M. J., Tol, W. A., Susanty, D., Ntamatumba, P., Luitel, N. P., Komproe, I. H., & de Jong, J. T. (2013). Implementation of a Mental Health Care Package for Children in Areas of Armed Conflict: A Case Study from Burundi, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Sudan. PLOS Medicine, 10, e1001371. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001371
Kaneko, K., Niyonkuru, J., Juma, N., Mbonabuca, T., Osaki, K., & Aoyama, A. (2017). Effectiveness of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook in Burundi for Increasing Notification of Birth at Health Facilities and Postnatal Care Uptake. Global Health Action, 10, Article ID: 1297604. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2017.1297604
Karekezı, Y. T. (2019). Evaluation of Shelter Services for Internal Unaccompanied Minors in African’s Post Conflict Countries: “The Case of Burundi”. Master’s Thesis, Hacettepe University.
Kassan, D. (2013). The Protection of Children from All Forms of Violence—African Experiences (pp. 165-182).
Kitheka, B., Nibigira, C., Mgonja, J., & Mcguire, F. (2017). Play and Recreation in a Developing Country Context: Assessing Utility of Jardin Public Gardens, Bujumbura, Burundi. African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences (AJPHES), 23, 590-607.
Lloyd, A. (2008). The African Regional System for the Protection of Children’s Rights (pp. 33-51). Ashgate
Mezmur, B. D. (2007). Still an Infant or Now a Toddler? The Work of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and Its 8th Ordinary Session: Recent Developments. African Human Rights Law Journal, 7, 258-275.
Mezmur, B. D. (2020). The African Children’s Charter@ 30: A Distinction without a Difference@ The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 28, 693-714. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-28040015
Mezmur, B. D., & Kahbila, M. U. (2018). Follow-Up as a “Choice-Less Choice”: Towards Improving the Implementation of Decisions on Communications of the African Children’s Committee. African Human Rights Yearbook, 18, 200-222.
Ndimurwimo, L. A. (2014). Human Rights Violations in Burundi: A Case Study in Post-Conflict Reconciliation and Transitional Justice. Doctoral Dissertation, Nelson Mandela University.
Nizigiyimana, M. G. (2014). The Role of the Church in Education in Burundi. Danubius, 32, 167-179.
Ntahiraja, B., & Nkurunziza, N. (n.d.). The State and Social Rights of Her Citizens: The Right to Health in Burundi. https://www.hamann-legal.de/upload/7Bernard_Nestor_eng.pdf
Quénivet, N. (2008). Girl Soldiers and Participation in Hostilities. African Journal of International and Comparative Law, 16, 219-235. https://doi.org/10.3366/E0954889008000182
Rodríguez, L. (2016). Intra Household Inequalities in Child Rights and Well-Being. A Barrier to Progress? World Development, 83, 111-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.02.005
Roelen, K., & Leon-Himmelstine, C. (2019). Graduating out of Poverty across Generations: Unpacking Children’s Well-Being Trajectories in Burundi. Children & Society, 33, 507-523. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12346
Shabani, R. (2019). The Effects of the Rehabilitation Centers on the Children in Conflict with the Law in Burundi: Case Study of the Rumonge Rehabilitation Center.
Sloth-Nielsen, J. (2008a). Children’s Rights and the Law in African Context: An Introduction (pp. 3-11). Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Sloth-Nielsen, J. (2008b). Domestication of Children’s Rights in National Legal Systems in African Context: Progress and Prospects. In J. Sloth-Nielsen (Ed.), Children’s Rights in Africa. A Legal Perspective (pp. 53-72). Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Sloth-Nielsen, J. (2017). The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. In Child Law in South Africa (2nd ed., p. 431). Juta.
Sloth-Nielsen, J., & Kruuse, H. (2013). A Maturing Manifesto: The Constitutionalisation of Children’s Rights in South African Jurisprudence 2007-2012. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 21, 646-678. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-02102005
Song, S. J., de Jong, J., O’Hara, R., & Koopman, C. (2013). Children of Former Child Soldiers and Never-Conscripted Civilians: A Preliminary Intergenerational Study in Burundi. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 22, 757-772. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2013.813881
Strömberg, L., & Svensson, J. (2015). A Child Belongs to the Whole Community. A Qualitative Study about Two Support Systems for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Burundi.
Tol, W. A., Komproe, I. H., Jordans, M. J., Ndayisaba, A., Ntamutumba, P., Sipsma, H., & De Jong, J. T. (2014). School-Based Mental Health Intervention for Children in War-Affected Burundi: A Cluster Randomized Trial. BMC Medicine, 12, Article No. 56. https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-12-56
UN Security-Council Resolution 1261 (1999).
Verbeke, F., Karara, G., Bastelaere, S. V., & Nyssen, M. (2012). Patient Identification and Hospital Information Management Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Prospective Study in Rwanda and Burundi. Rwanda Medical Journal, 69, 7-12.
Warrilow, F. (2008). The Right to Learn: Batwa Education in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Minority Rights Group International.