Burundi

Victim Assistance

Last updated: 01 October 2019

Survivor assistance action points

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

Survivor assistance planning and coordination

Government focal point	Humanitarian Department for Mine/Unexploded Ordnance Action (Direction de l’Action Humanitaire contre les Mines et Engins non explosés, DAHMI)[1]
Coordination mechanisms	None[2]
Coordination regularity/frequency and outcomes/effectiveness	None[3]
Plans/strategies	The National Victim Assistance Action Plan 2011–2014 has not been updated[4]
Disability sector integration	The Ministry of Health is responsible for all persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors[5]
Survivor inclusion and participation	Not reported
Reporting (Article 7 and statements)	Burundi did not report on its survivor assistance obligations in 2018

International commitments and obligations

The Republic of Burundi is responsible for a significant number of survivors of landmines and ERW who are in need. As of 2015, there were estimated to be 5,002 survivors in Burundi.[6]
Mine Ban Treaty	Yes
Convention on Cluster Munitions	Yes
Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Protocol V	Yes
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)	Yes

Laws and policies

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.[7]

Buildings and government services accessibility was not mandated by law.[8]

Major Developments in 2018-2019

Burundi adopted law no.1/03 of 10 January 2018 promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in Burundi.[9] There were no ongoing survivor assistance projects and therefore no survivor assistance coordination, due to the lack of funding.[10]

Humanity & Inclusion (HI) stopped its activities in Burundi on 31 December 2018.[11] The ICRC ended its technical support to the Saint Kizito Institute in Bujumbura in 2017.[12] The 2019–2023 Strategic Plan for the Development of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Plan stratégique de développement de la médecine physique et de réadaptation 2019–2023) signed in March 2019 aimed at improving accessibility, quality, and availability of rehabilitation services across the country.[13]

Needs assessment

The General Direction of Civil Protection, through DAHMI, conducted a nation-wide survey to evaluate the exact number of mine/ERW victims in Burundi and identify their needs.[14] All 18 provinces were surveyed, but data was reported to be partial due to the lack of cooperation of survivors in certain provinces.[15]

Medical care and rehabilitation

While mine/ERW survivors were eligible for free healthcare through social programs targeting vulnerable groups, access to this information or to the benefits was limited.[16] The physical rehabilitation sector faced a lack of qualified personnel, rehabilitation centers, material and equipment in existing centers, and community-based rehabilitation programs.[17] The three physical rehabilitation centers were nearly nonfunctional[18] and users had to pay for the services.[19] A center for physical therapy in Gitega continued to receive government support.[20]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

A center for social and professional inclusion of persons with physical disabilities in Ngozi continued to receive government support.[21]

Survivor assistance providers and activities

Name of organization	Type of activity
Government
Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender	Physical rehabilitation; social and professional reinsertion
National
Center for Training and Development of Ex-Combatants (Centre d’encadrement de développement des anciens combattants, CEDAC)	Economic inclusion (micro-credit); psychosocial assistance; advocacy
Union of Persons with Disabilities (Union des Personnes Handicapées du Burundi, UPHB)	Advocacy and economic inclusion; referrals for other services

[1] Interview with Méthode Niyungeko, Direction of Humanitarian Action Against Mines and Unexploded, Ordnance, in Amman, 13 September 2019.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] 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.

[7] United States (US) State Department, “2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Burundi,” 13 March 2019.

[8] Ibid.

[9] “Loi n°1/03 du 10 janvier 2018 portant promotion et protection des droits des personnes handicapées au Burundi” (“law n°1/03 of 10 January 2018 promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in Burundi”), 10 January 2018.

[10] Interview with Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, in Amman, 13 September 2019.

[11] Humanity & Inclusion (HI), “Burundi,” undated but 2019.

[12] ICRC, “Annual Report 2016,” Geneva, May 2017, pp. 106–107.

[13] “Plan stratégique de développement de la médecine physique et de réadaptation 2019–2023” (“2019–2023 Strategic Plan for the Development of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation”), January 2019, pp. 8–9; and APEFE, “Plan stratégique de développement de la médecine physique et réadaptation au Burundi 2019–2023” (“2019–2023 Strategic Plan for the Development of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Burundi”), 29 April 2019.

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

[15] Interview with Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, in Amman, 13 September 2019.

[16] US State Department, “2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Burundi,” 13 March 2019.

[17] “Plan stratégique de développement de la médecine physique et de réadaptation 2019–2023” (“2019–2023 Strategic Plan for the Development of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation”), January 2019, pp. 8–9.

[18] Interview with Méthode Niyungeko, DAHMI, in Amman, 13 September 2019.

[19] Ibid.; and response to Monitor questionnaire, 1 August 2016.

[20] US State Department, “2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Burundi,” 13 March 2019.

[21] Ibid.