GE.18-03296 (E) 060618 060618
Human Rights Council
Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Thirtieth session
7–18 May 2018
National report submitted in accordance with paragraph 5 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21*
Burkina Faso
* The present document has been reproduced as received. Its content does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations.
A General Assembly Distr.: General
2 March 2018 English
Original: French
Contents
Page
Introduction ... 3
I. Preparation of the report ... 3
II. Changes in the normative and institutional framework and public policies for the promotion and protection of human rights ... 3
A. Normative framework ... 3
B. Institutional framework... 5
C. Public policies ... 5
III. Promotion and protection of human rights ... 6
A. Fulfilment of international obligations ... 6
B. Human rights education and awareness-raising ... 6
C. Efforts to protect and defend human rights ... 7
D. Cooperation with human rights mechanisms ... 7
IV. Implementation of recommendations ... 7
A. Status of implementation of accepted recommendations ... 6
B. Challenges and constraints ... 19
C. Good practices ... 19
V. Human rights priorities, initiatives and commitments ... 20
A. Priorities... 20
B. Initiatives ... 20
C. Commitments ... 20
VI. Needs ... 21
A. Capacity-building ... 21
B. Technical and financial assistance ... 21
Conclusion ... 21
Introduction
1. Following its second report examined by the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review on 22 April 2013 and adopted by the Human Rights Council on 18 September 2013, Burkina Faso submits the present report for the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review. It has been prepared pursuant to resolution A/HRC/RES/16/21 of 25 March 2011 on the outcome of the review of the work of the Human Rights Council and in accordance with decision A/HRC/DEC/17/119 of 17 June 2011 on matters relating to the universal periodic review.
I. Preparation of the report
2. The process of preparing this report was inclusive and participatory and involved the following stages:
• Establishment of a multisectoral drafting committee composed of representatives of ministerial departments, institutions and civil society organizations
• Consultations with State and non-State actors
• Preparation of the draft report
• Examination and adoption of the draft report by the multisectoral committee which monitors the implementation of recommendations made in the course of the universal periodic review
• Validation of the draft report at a national workshop attended by representatives of ministries, institutions and civil society organizations
• Consideration of the draft report by the Interministerial Committee on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
• Adoption of the report by the Council of Ministers.
II. Changes in the normative and institutional framework and public policies for the promotion and protection of human rights
A. Normative framework
3. Since 2013, Burkina Faso has adopted a number of important pieces of legislation to protect the rights of specific groups, guarantee the independence of the judiciary, punish perpetrators of human rights violations and strengthen the general framework for the promotion and protection of human rights. They include:
• Act No. 011-2014/AN of 17 April 2014 on combating the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
• Act No. 015-2014/AN of 13 May 2014 on the protection of children in conflict with the law or at risk
• Act No. 022-2014/AN of 27 May 2014 on the prevention and punishment of torture and related practices
• Organic Act No. 003-2015//CNT of 23 January 2015 on the powers, membership, organization and functioning of the National Reconciliation and Reforms Commission
• Act No. 004-2015/CNT of 3 March 2015 on preventing and combating corruption in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 005 -2015/CNT of 7 April 2015 amending Act No. 014 2001/AN of 3 July 2001 on the Electoral Code
• Act No. 036-2015/CNT of 26 June 2015 on the Mining Code
• Organic Act No. 050-2015/CNT of 25 August 2015 on the status of judges
• Act No. 051-2015/CNT of 30 August 2015 on the right of access to public information and administrative documents
• Act No. 057-2015/CNT of 4 September 2015 on the legal regime for print media in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 058-2015/CNT of 4 September 2015 on the legal regime for online media in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 059-2015/CNT of 4 September 2015 on radio and television broadcasting in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 060-2015/CNT of 5 September 2015 on a universal health insurance system in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 061-2015/CNT of 6 September 2015 on the prevention, punishment and reparation of violence against women and girls and support for victims
• Act No. 062-2015/CNT of 6 September 2015 on the status of wards of the State
• Act No. 064-2015/CNT of 20 October 2015 on freedom of association
• Constitutional Act No. 072-2015/CNT of 5 November 2015 amending the Constitution
• Act No. 077-2015/CNT of 23 November 2015 amending Act No. 010/93/ADP of 17 May 1993 on the organization of the judiciary in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 080-2015/CNT of 23 November 2015 on the regulation of advertising in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 081-2015/CNT of 24 November 2015 on the General Civil Service Regulations
• Act No. 084-2015/CNT of 17 December 2015 amending Act No. 60-2009/AN of 17 December 2009 punishing acts of terrorism in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 103-2015/CNT of 22 December 2015 on private tenancy leases in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 010-2016/AN of 20 April 2016 on the establishment, composition, organization, powers and functioning of the Administrative Court of Appeal and applicable procedure
• Act No. 016-2016/AN of 3 May 2016 on combating money-laundering and the financing of terrorism in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 024-2016/AN of 17 October 2016 on the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons
• Act No. 030-2016/AN of 20 October 2016 on the establishment of the employment tribunals of Dori and Fada N’gourma
• Act No. 006-2017/AN of 19 January 2017 on the establishment, organization and functioning of a specialized judicial hub for the suppression of terrorist acts
• Act No. 005-2017/AN of 19 January 2017 on the establishment, organization and operation of specialized judicial hubs in the suppression of economic and financial crimes and organized crime
• Act No. 10-2017/AN of 10 April 2017 on the prison system in Burkina Faso
• Act No. 039-2017/AN of 27 June 2017 on the protection of the rights of human rights defenders
• Act No. 040-2017/AN of 29 June 2017 amending Order No. 68-7 of 21 February 1968 establishing a code of criminal procedure
• Act No. 041-2017/AN of 29 June 2017 on the organization, functioning and procedures applicable before the Criminal Chamber
• Act No. 043-2017/AN of 04 July 2017 amending Organic Act No. 20-95/ADP of 16 May 1995 on the composition and functioning of the High Court of Justice and procedures applicable thereto
• Act No. 044-2017/AN of 04 July 2017 amending Act No. 24/94/ADP of 24 May 1994 establishing the Code of Military Justice.
4. In addition, the country has ratified the following international instruments:
• International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention (No. 187) concerning the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health
• Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled
• African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation
• Paris Agreement on Climate Change
• Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the adoption of an additional distinctive emblem (Protocol III)
• Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War
• Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
B. Institutional framework
5. The institutional framework has been strengthened through the creation of new institutions and the reinforcement of existing ones:
• The Supreme Council of Justice1
• The State Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority2
• The National Human Rights Commission3
• The High Council for Reconciliation and National Unity4
• The High Council for Social Dialogue5
• The National Observatory for the Prevention and Management of Community Conflicts6
• The National Council for Children7
• The National Observatory on Religious Affairs8
• The National Observatory of Solidarity9
• The Fada N’gourma Appeal Court10
• Administrative courts11
• The Koupéla Court of Major Jurisdiction12
• The National Academy of Sciences, Arts and letters.13
C. Public policies
6. Burkina Faso has adopted a new development framework, the National Economic and Social Development Plan for 2016–2020, together with strategies and programmes for heightening the effective enjoyment of human rights by all. The public policy tools being used to achieve this objective include:
• The National Pact for Justice Reform
• The National Strategy on Migration 2016–2025
• The National Water and Sanitation Sector Governance Programme 2016–2030
• The National Clean Drinking Water Programme 2016–2030
• The National Wastewater and Sewage Treatment Programme 2016–2030
• The National Border Management Strategy 2016–2025
• The Emergency Programme for the Sahel 2017–2020
• The National Strategy for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Marriage 2016–
2025
• The National Strategy for the Promotion and Protection of Young Girls 2017–2026
• The National Civil Registration Strategy 2017–2021
• The Programme for the Economic Empowerment of Young People and Women 2017–2019.
III. Promotion and protection of human rights
A. Fulfilment of international obligations
7. Article 151 of the Constitution of Burkina Faso stipulates that treaties and agreements that have been duly ratified or adopted take precedence over national laws from the moment that they are promulgated. The human rights treaties and agreements that Burkina Faso has ratified thus form part of its domestic legal system and are invoked by individuals and applied by domestic courts and national institutions. Laws and regulations are also adopted in order to bring national legislation into conformity with international standards.
8. Burkina Faso also implements the decisions of international human rights mechanisms.14
B. Human rights education and awareness-raising
9. The steps taken to promote human rights education are described in paragraph 38 of this report. Awareness-building efforts have included a national caravan to promote good citizenship in 2014 and a nationwide citizenship week that has been organized every year since 2004.15 These events have helped to instil the values of good citizenship, peace, tolerance and human rights among the members of social and professional groups and the population at large.
10. A journalists’ network for the promotion of human rights was established in 2014, and its members have received training in civics, good citizenship and the protection of human rights. In addition, 13 awareness-raising sessions on the inclusion of materials relating to human rights and civic responsibility in media programmes were organized in 2015 for 400 local media professionals. These activities have also involved the development of mini-programmes on human rights in collaboration with community media professionals.
11. Training and awareness-raising activities are regularly organized for social and professional groups on international and national legal instruments relating to human rights and good governance.
C. Efforts to protect and defend human rights
12. The Government has taken steps to ensure the effective enjoyment of rights by members of the population.
13. Persons who claim that their human rights have been infringed receive counselling and guidance. Several ministerial departments have counselling centres that provide people with advice and information regarding their rights and the procedures for availing themselves of those rights.16 These services are provided completely free of charge.
14. In order to inform members of the public about how to exercise their rights and the available procedures for use in doing so before the courts, open days on the justice system are organized annually. On these occasions, free legal counselling is provided by staff of the justice system.
15. To identify the instigators and assist the victims of the popular uprising of 30 and 31 October 2014 and the failed coup of 16 September 2015, the Government has established independent commissions of enquiry. This led to the initiation of judicial proceedings against suspected perpetrators. Steps have also been taken to identify the injured and the deceased. Ten decrees relating to assistance for victims and their beneficiaries have been adopted and, as a result, 2,339 members of victims’ families have received psychosocial, medical, financial and food support. Children under 18 of deceased victims are recognized as wards of the State and the cost of their schooling is being covered.
16. In order to gauge the size of the backlog of court decisions pending issuance with a view to its elimination, audits were carried out by the Technical Inspection Service.
Following these audits, a manual on the procedures for keeping track of such backlogs has been developed.
17. In order to the equitable administration of justice, the Supreme Council of Justice has established a commission of enquiry to investigate suspected breaches of professional ethical standards by judges. In its report, the commission concluded that there had been misconduct on the part of certain judges and court officials. These matters are to be referred to disciplinary councils authorized to impose appropriate sanctions, without prejudice to any criminal action that may be taken.
18. The law provides for the monitoring of places of detention by investigating judges, sentence enforcement judges and prosecutors. In addition, inspections of places of detention are carried out by the technical departments of the Ministry responsible for human rights and by the National Human Rights Commission. These inspections are intended to ensure that conditions of detention meet international standards.
19. The National Human Rights Commission carried out monitoring duties to protect and promote human rights during the combined presidential and legislative elections of 2015.17
D. Cooperation with human rights mechanisms
20. Cooperation with human rights mechanisms takes the form of positive responses to requests for information and for authorization to visit the country made by special procedures. Burkina Faso regularly submits its reports to the treaty bodies, implements the recommendations arising therefrom and develops action plans for that purpose and provides timely reports on follow-up to priority recommendations.18 It participates regularly in the sessions of the Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’
Rights, the United Nations General Assembly and other international human rights bodies.
IV. Implementation of recommendations
21. On the occasion of the second universal periodic review in 2013, Burkina Faso received 165 recommendations, of which 138 were accepted. This report on their implementation groups these recommendations by objective and subject matter.
A. Status of implementation of accepted recommendations19
1. International and regional cooperation
Accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the reduction of statelessness (135.1)
22. Burkina Faso has been a party to the 1954 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons since 1 May 2012. It has also ratified the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness by Decree No. 2017-0177/PRES/PM/MAEC-BE of 5 April 2017.
Ratify the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (135.2)
23. The participants in a workshop for discussions and consultations between State and non-State actors held in August 2015 agreed on the need for Burkina Faso to ratify the Kampala amendments, and the ratification process is under way.
Bring the penal code into conformity with article 5 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (135.11)
24. Act No. 015-2014/AN of 13 May 2014 on the protection of children in conflict with the law or at risk prohibits the application of the death penalty to children.
Ratify International Labour Organization Convention No. 189 (135.103)
25. A study on children employed as domestic servants was approved on 8 December 201520 and served as a basis for the formulation of recommendations concerning the steps that need to be taken in order to open the way for the ratification of Convention No. 189. In accordance with principles laid down by the International Labour Organization (ILO), social partners have been informed and consulted about the Convention. Exchanges with a view to its ratification are ongoing.
Step up cooperation with special procedure mandate holders and treaty bodies (135.41, 43) 26. Burkina Faso has expressed its readiness to receive all special procedures mandate holders wishing and requesting to visit the country. The request made in 2017 by the Special Rapporteur on human rights and extreme poverty to visit the country has been accepted. From 3 to 9 December 2017, Burkina Faso hosted a mission by the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.
27. In addition, the authorities have responded to the requests for information received from special procedures mandate holders.
28. Furthermore, with the exception of the report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Burkina Faso is up to date with its reports to the treaty bodies.21 Implement accepted recommendations (135.42)
29. Following the presentation of its report at the second universal periodic review, Burkina Faso undertook a review of the recommendations it has received.22 An action plan has been drawn up for the implementation of the recommendations of the universal periodic review and of the treaty bodies, along with the country’s voluntary commitments.
30. The committee tasked with monitoring the implementation of recommendations made in the course of the universal periodic review met regularly and, as part of its work, secured stakeholders’ approval of the 2014 report, the indicators to be used in assessing implementation of the action plan and the 2015 mid-term report. As of the end of 2016, the implementation rate for these recommendations was 75 per cent.
2. Democratic governance, transparency and combating impunity
Investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment and ensure the prompt administration of justice (135.67, 68)
31. Act No. 022-2014/AN on the Prevention and Punishment of Torture and Related Practices provides for the establishment of the National Observatory for the Prevention of Torture. Steps are being taken to make this mechanism operational.23
32. Members of the investigative police force are being prosecuted on charges of mistreating persons in custody and have incurred disciplinary penalties, without prejudice to the outcome of ongoing legal proceedings.24
Improve the conditions of detention and the right to a fair trial of prisoners and take into account the norms on the treatment of women prisoners (135.68, 69, 70, 72)
33. The Prison System Act (No. 10-2017/AN of 10 April 2017) is in line with international standards for the protection of detainees. In addition, a programme is under way that focuses on standardizing and improving prison conditions and ensuring that different categories of prisoners are held in separate facilities.
34. Awareness-raising sessions for judges and prisoners are also organized with a view to the promotion and implementation of alternatives to detention. Many convicts have had their prison sentences replaced with semi-custodial or external placement orders. In order to improve detention conditions, a new prison has been built in Koupéla and new buildings constructed in some of the other prisons.
35. The Prison System Act also provides for a flexible prison regime for pregnant women, nursing mothers and women accompanied by their children, in accordance with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders. Provision is also made for activities that help these women to re- enter society and the labour market.
36. Legal assistance has been provided during preliminary investigations since 1 January 2015. The amendment of the law governing the High Court of Justice and the Code of Military Justice in 2017 has provided greater legal support for the principle of the right to a second hearing and greater protection for the rights of defendants. The Government has also established a legal aid fund for needy persons to enable them to benefit from the services of an officer of the court.25
Take measures to ensure the independence of the judiciary and the High Council of the Judiciary and improve the juvenile justice sector (135.107, 108, 110, 111)
37. With a view to strengthening the independence of the judiciary, the following measures have been taken:
• Adoption of an amendment to the Constitution under which the functions of the President of the Supreme Council of Justice are now entrusted to the First President of the Court of Cassation rather than to the President of Burkina Faso26
• Adoption of laws concerning the status of the judiciary and the organization, composition, powers and functions of the High Council of the Judiciary on 25 August 2015 which strengthen the independence of the judiciary
• Adoption of amendments to the law governing the High Court of Justice and the Code of Military Justice in June 2017.
38. Thus the Minister of Justice is no longer a member of the High Council of the Judiciary, judges are rated by their immediate superiors rather than by the Minister of Justice, and vacancy announcements for the positions of court president and prosecutors are now issued.
39. In order to promote adherence to professional standards and ethics within the judiciary, the High Council of the Judiciary has set up an ad hoc committee to investigate allegations of misconduct on the part of members of the judiciary and has established a
committee that has been tasked with receiving and processing complaints of misconduct on the part of judicial officers.
40. The legal framework for the juvenile justice system has been strengthened with the adoption of a law prohibiting the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and a law on the protection of children in conflict with the law or at risk. The latter instrument provides for the appointment of juvenile court judges with exclusive jurisdiction in cases involving minors and establishes a mediation mechanism for minors in conflict with the law.27
3. Strengthening legislation, policies, strategies and national initiatives in the area of human rights
Accelerate efforts to enable the National Human Rights Commission to carry out activities and bring it into line with the Paris Principles. (135.21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
41. The law on the establishment of a national human rights commission provides for that institution’s alignment with the Paris Principles.28 Innovations include:
• Reduction in the number of Commission members and the length of their mandates29
• Consideration of the need to maintain a gender balance when determining the composition of the Commission’s membership and officers
• Reinforcement of the institution’s financial and administrative autonomy and independence of action
• Recognition of a right of unrestricted access to places of deprivation of liberty
• Entitlement of the institution to recruit its own staff
• Decentralization of the Commission’s services nationwide.
42. In addition, the State has provided the Commission with specialized support staff.
The technical capacities of the Commission’s membership have been strengthened through four training sessions and a study tour to the Togolese National Human Rights Commission.30 These activities have enabled the institution to carry out its mission more effectively.31
Continue efforts to promote civic responsibility and responsible citizenship (135.22) 43. A number of measures have been undertaken:
• In the period 2014–2016, 1,000 members of the defence and security forces, opinion formers, political party leaders and economic actors have received training in the areas of civic responsibility and responsible citizenship
• The International Day of Peace and the International Day for Tolerance were celebrated in 2015 and the national strategy for the promotion of a culture of tolerance and peace was reviewed32,33
• The National Observatory for the Prevention and Management of Community Conflicts, with branches in the administrative districts and villages, was established in 2015 in order to promote peaceful coexistence, tolerance and non-violence among the population and provide the State with a structural mechanism for community conflict management
• The annual National Citizenship Week was celebrated with awareness-raising activities, public lectures on civic responsibility and citizenship, and human-rights- themed competitions.
Continue to implement the programme of human rights education and further incorporate human rights education in school curricula (135.25, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 132,133)
44. Activities to give effect to this recommendation have included:
• Piloting of a teacher’s guide to human rights education in primary schools in the provinces of Houet and Kadiogo in 2013–2014
• Development of an instructional module for teachers in primary education training colleges in 2015 which began to be used to provide human rights training to student teachers starting in the 2016–2017 school year
• Provision of human rights training to trainee educational counsellors at the Ecole Normale Supérieur/Université de Koudougou (ENS/UK) starting in the 2014–2015 school year
• Integration of human rights topics in new curricula and testing approaches for their use in basic education
• Provision of instruction in international humanitarian law at all military academies.
45. In 2016, work began on revising the 2009 instructional handbook in order to incorporate the lessons learned from the testing of the handbook and topics relating to civic responsibility and citizenship.
Continue to support civil society in the country (135.26)
46. This recommendation has been given effect by means of the following measures:
• Adoption of a law on freedom of association which defines its content and scope in order to enable civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations to make full use of that freedom34
• Adoption of a law on the protection of human rights defenders which provides them with a specific legal framework for their work which allows them to go about their activities without hindrance35
• Establishment at the national, regional and sectoral levels of forums for consensus- building and dialogue between the State and civil society organizations aimed at enhancing the involvement of these organizations and highlighting the active part that they play in the development process
• State support for civil society organizations in the form of capacity-building and technical and financial assistance.
Strengthen the Ministry for the Advancement of Women (135.35)
47. Since 2016, the Ministry for the Advancement of Women has been decentralized to the departmental level so that the department responsible for women’s issues and the department responsible for social welfare can join forces. This merger has made it possible to consolidate efforts and resources focusing on the specific needs of women and girls at the grass-roots level.
48. To improve follow-up on commitments and recommendations for the advancement of women, members of the National Commission to Follow up on the Commitments of Burkina Faso regarding the Advancement of Women and members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women have received training in report preparation techniques.
49. A fund for women and girls who are victims of violence has been set up to ensure that they receive the care that they need. A legal aid fund for women and girl victims of violence involved in court proceedings has also been created.
50. A counselling centre and shelter for women victims of violence was established in 2014 and has been assigned a multidisciplinary staff that includes lawyers, psychologists and gendarmes. The centre assisted 80 victims of violence in 2015 and 110 in 2016.
Continue efforts to promote gender issues in all areas of socio-economic life and implement a campaign to promote the effective implementation of the law relating to land ownership (135.47, 48, 50, 51,53, 54, 56, 59)
51. To promote the economic empowerment of women, a national strategy for the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship and an accompanying action plan were adopted in 2015.
52. In addition, the Government has launched development projects and programmes, national funds such as the Fund to Support Income-generating Activities for Women, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Project and the Programme for the Economic Empowerment of Young People and Women.
53. In line with the social policies adopted by the Government in March 2014, a line of credit of CFAF 5 billion and loan guarantees totalling CFAF 500 million have been established and have been used to support the efforts of some 690 women’s groups and associations and 478 individual women entrepreneurs.
54. To promote women’s access to land in rural areas and to further gender equality, Burkina Faso has taken the following measures:
• Establishment of village land committees on which women’s groups must be represented
• Training of municipal councillors and establishment of a requirement that municipal councils must include women members
• Implementation of various projects, including a project designed to increase women’s access to secure land titles
• Organization of training activities on gender and land tenure for adolescent girls, young women and other key stakeholders in rural land management
• Advocacy activities involving landowners and traditional and religious leaders aimed at facilitating women’s access to land and land ownership.
55. In 2016, 46 per cent of the land that has recently been developed by the State was awarded to women.
Speed up efforts to establish a system for free universal birth registration (135.18, 19, 20) 56. Birth registration in Burkina Faso is free of charge. As part of the modernization of the civil registry, the Government adopted a national civil registration strategy in 2014.36 Under this strategy, 5,000 new secondary registration centres were established between 2014 and 2017.
57. In order to make civil registration services more effective, the State provides the registries with grants and material and logistical support. In 2015, for example, 10 provinces received subsidies to help them improve their birth registration procedures and to ensure that birth certificates are issued in duplicate. In addition, 500 civil registries were equipped with typewriters, 100 computers were distributed to civil registries, and 351 civil registration centres, 350 departmental and district courts and 35 diplomatic missions received registers and other print materials.
58. Between 2014 and 2016, 1,393 staff members of the departmental and district courts and civil registration officers and officials were trained in the management of civil registration services.
59. In 2016, as part of the computerization of the civil registry network, the Government acquired a software application (“Citoyen”) for processing civil registry data. This software will be used to interconnect all of the country’s provincial civil registries and to digitize and centralize civil registry records.
60. In addition, a project on the processing of birth registration applications via mobile phones (known as the EDEN Project) is currently being piloted.
61. The birth registration rate increased from 70.6 per cent in 2009 to 79.2 per cent in 2015.
Review, with a human rights approach, the legal framework for the promotion of investment (135.24)
62. A new mining code that supports human rights was adopted on 26 June 2015.
Article 7 of that c ode requires the State to ensure that human rights and the principle of gender equality are upheld in the implementation of mining projects. Article 19 requires the State to establish a mechanism for preventing violations of the human rights of communities affected by mining activities and, if such violations should occur, for providing compensation. The code also provides for the creation of a number of funds to be used in helping to protect the rights of the communities concerned. These are:
• A mining fund for local development
• A rehabilitation and mine closure fund
• A fund for reclaiming and securing artisanal mining sites and combating the use of prohibited chemicals
• A fund for financing geological and mining research and supporting training in earth sciences.
63. This code also requires mining companies to carry out an environmental and social impact study and to draw up an environmental and social management plan before launching mining projects. The National Bureau of Environmental Assessments is the body responsible for environmental monitoring.
Continue to prioritize policies and programmes aimed at eradicating poverty and
underdevelopment and eliminate regional disparities in access to water (135.116, 117, 118, 119, 124, 125, 126)
64. In the context of the Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Sustainable Development, the Government has launched numerous development programmes which succeeded in raising the country’s Human Development Index ranking from 0.388 in 2013 to 0.402 in 2015. As from 2016, the overarching goal of the National Economic and Social Development Plan for 2016–2020, which serves as the country’s new development framework, is to restructure the economy of Burkina Faso in ways that will enable the country to achieve robust, sustainable, resilient and inclusive growth and to create decent jobs for all, thereby leading to greater social well-being.37 As part of this plan, on 3 August 2017 the Government launched an emergency programme for the Sahel region with a budget of CFAF 415 billion for the period 2017–2020 to increase access to basic social services and build the resilience of the population in that region.
65. The agricultural sector provides employment to over 80 per cent of the working population, and each year the Government grants subsidies to producers in order to help them to increase their yields; 27,614 tons of improved seeds and over 30 million tuber cuttings were distributed to producers between 2013 and 2016. In 2014, these measures contributed to estimated increases in cereal yields of between 14 per cent and 42 per cent, according to the recipient producers. In all, 78 per cent of the subsidy recipients have become self-sufficient in cereals since the start of the operation, compared with 53 per cent previously.
66. The right to drinking water and sanitation was given constitutional force by Act No.
072-2015/CNT. Furthermore, one of the strategic objectives of the National Economic and Social Development Plan is to improve the quality of life of the population by providing greater access to drinking water, sanitation services and a reliable energy supply.
67. Between 2014 and 2016, 6,839 water works were completed in rural areas, increasing the rate of access to drinking water from 63.5 per cent in 2013 to 65.3 per cent in 2016. Achievements in the area of sanitation have included the construction of household and school latrines and soakaways. From 2013 to 2016, the completion of 150,160
sanitation works raised the rate of access to sanitation facilities from 6 per cent to 13.4 per cent.
68. In urban areas, the rate of access to drinking water increased from 86.2 per cent in 2013 to 91 per cent in 2016. From 2013 to 2016, 111,594 sanitation works involving the construction of household and public latrines and soakaways were carried out, thereby raising the rate of access to sanitation facilities from 29.1 per cent to 36.8 per cent.
69. The National Plan for Water Supply and Sanitation and the National Wastewater and Sewerage Treatment Programme have been adopted for the period 2016–2030.
Continue efforts to support employment among the youth (135.114)
70. The Government-run Special Job Creation Programme for Young Persons and Women for 2012–2014 has helped to reduce unemployment and underemployment among young people and women. The programme’s outputs include the following:
• Recruitment of 83,720 young people and women (including 7,684 school dropouts or out-of-school children and 3,767 women) for labour-intensive work in 49 urban communities
• Placement of 13,634 young people, including 6,599 women, in workplace internships
• Placement of 2,137 young people, including 809 women, in pre-employment internships
• Provision of entrepreneurship training to 5,433 young graduates, including 1,730 women
• Recruitment of 673 young people for local government jobs
• Recruitment of 9,663 young volunteers to work on development projects
• Training of 65 school dropouts or out-of-school young people to operate heavy machinery used in the construction and public works sector and the mining industry
• Provision of 20,275 multifunctional platforms and technologies to 3,450 women’s groups and associations.
71. In addition, the Support Fund for Youth Initiatives, the Informal Sector Support Fund and the Employment Promotion Support Fund were given CFAF 1 billion in fresh funding in 2014 that was used to finance 3,516 micro-projects. The Emergency Socioeconomic Transition Programme, adopted in 2015 with a total budget of CFAF 25 billion, has supported economic initiatives by young people and women; CFAF 7 billion of these monies have been used to help to finance 3,455 economic initiatives.
72. To address the shortage of teachers and combat unemployment, 3,510 young graduates were recruited in 2016 and 3,054 in 2017 under the Programme for the Employment of Young People in National Education.
73. In addition, the Government conducted a review of the National Employment Policy and adopted the Programme for the Social and Occupational Integration of Young People on 26 November 2016.
4. Strengthening human rights legislation, policies, strategies and sectoral initiatives
Continue to promote women’s rights in the framework of the national gender policy, adopt specific legislation to prohibit violence against women and continue efforts to combat gender discrimination (135.3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10, 44, 45, 46, 52, 56, 58, 61, 77, 78, 86, 87, 88, 89, 95, 96, 112)
74. To strengthen the effective exercise of women’s rights, the Act on the Prevention, Elimination and Reparation of Violence against Women and Girls and Support for Victims was adopted.38 This law makes all forms of violence against women, including social exclusion for alleged witchcraft, punishable offences.
75. Measures adopted under the national plan of action for 2012–2016 to combat the social exclusion of persons accused of practising witchcraft succeeded in mobilizing all the various groups concerned with this issue. Public statements have been made by religious and customary leaders in which they call on their communities to abandon the practice of shunning such people.
76. In addition, a road map for the rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons who have been shunned because they were suspected of practising witchcraft was adopted in 2015 to coordinate the efforts of the different parties involved. Rehabilitation and reintegration measures of this kind have resulted in over 204 reported cases of persons returning to their families between 2013 and 2016.
77. A national strategy for the prevention and elimination of child marriage was adopted in 2015. The measures provided for under this strategy, which are linked to the implementation of a sub-project aimed at countering the practice of child marriage, enjoy considerable support from the public and particularly from traditional leaders for the eradication of this practice.
78. A number of meetings have been held to sensitize customary and religious leaders, members of civil society organizations, police officers and journalists to the problems of discrimination, inequality and gender-based violence A compendium of legal instruments relating to the protection of women’s rights has also been produced and made available to members of the judiciary in six regions of the country.
Undertake internal consultations to accelerate the adoption of a Child Protection Code and adopt an implementation plan for the new legislation (135.12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 23, 27) 79. National consultations were initiated during the drafting of the Child Protection Code. However, the process was suspended pending the review of laws that could have an impact on the Code, including the Individuals and Family Code and the Criminal Code.
Continue to strengthen policies for the protection of children with disabilities (135.65, 66) 80. The State has undertaken efforts at various levels to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities.
81. At the institutional level, the Multisectoral National Council for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been strengthened with the creation of a permanent secretariat in 2014.
82. A department for the promotion of inclusive education has been established to further the integration of children with disabilities in mainstream schools. In addition, a national strategy for the development of inclusive education was formulated in 2015.
Implementation of this strategy produced the following outputs in 2015 and 2016:
• Enrolment of over 10,000 children with disabilities in school
• Provision of inclusive education training to 1,435 primary school teachers, 127 training college teachers, 1,345 school counsellors, 106 post-primary and secondary school teachers, 14 principals and 74 journalists
• Sensitization to the importance of inclusive education of 519 student teachers and 766 customary and religious authorities, members of parents’ and mothers’
associations, members of school management committees and local authorities
• Payment of the school fees and purchase of school materials for children with disabilities
• Provision of financial support to organizations of persons with disabilities for the promotion of inclusive education
• Organization of 12 advocacy workshops for non-State actors and local authorities to promote the effective inclusion of children with physical disabilities in school programmes
• Preparation of a study on schools equipped with access ramps and the organization of regional workshops to advocate school compliance with access ramp construction requirements.
83. Mobility equipment has been provided to persons with disabilities, and organizations of persons with disabilities are provided with subsidies for the acquisition of mobility equipment.
Continue its efforts to improve the participation of women in decision-making (135.49, 57) 84. To strengthen the political participation of women, the Government has undertaken a review of Act No. 010-2009/AN, which establishes quotas for legislative and municipal elections. This review is being conducted with a view to requiring the names of male and female candidates to be alternated on the electoral lists for parliamentary and municipal elections, with a gender balance being attained of at least one third versus two thirds as a minimum.39
85. The law providing for the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission requires that a gender balance must be attained in the Commission’s membership (no less than one third of one or the other gender) and that gender parity must be achieved in the Bureau’s membership. Article 5 of the law on the establishment, powers, composition and functions of the High Council for Reconciliation and National Unity also sets a minimum quota for women members.
86. In addition, the following actions have been taken:
• Training for 160 leaders from 80 political parties concerning the incorporation of the consideration of men’s and women’s aspirations into political programmes
• Training for at least 2,500 women candidates on female leadership
• Training in the areas of communication, campaign organization and resource mobilization for 2,000 women candidates standing for election
• Sensitization training for 200 political party leaders on the inclusion and proper positioning of women on their electoral lists
• Advocacy activities designed to encourage village leaders to support women candidates in local elections
• Organization of a national forum on women’s political participation and leadership
• Organization of a subregional forum on civic participation by women in the decentralization process with a view to encouraging their political involvement.
Promote policies aimed at reducing inequalities in access to the full enjoyment of human rights by all social groups (135.60, 62, 63, 64)
87. Act No. 60-2015/CNT on a universal health insurance system in Burkina Faso has been adopted in order to reduce inequalities in access to health care. This law establishes a basic social security scheme for the provision of health insurance coverage and is intended to ensure universal access to health care for all that will be free of any form of discrimination.
88. In an effort to promote the effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities of their human rights, 600 persons with disabilities have received mobility equipment. In 2014, 97 persons with disabilities were recruited into the Burkina Faso civil service and 41 were recruited in 2017.40
89. The Disability and Social Inclusion Project is being finalized. Covering the period 2017 to 2019, the project has an overall budget of CFAF 1,193,665,675 and is designed to provide support for policies and specific measures for the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
90. With specific reference to children with disabilities, the Government conducted a census in 2013 that identified 79,617 children with disabilities, including 31,491 girls and
in terms of access to basic social services and to provide a basis for the development of indicators and a specific database for this purpose. As a result, 800 children with disabilities received comprehensive care, and a national programme for the provision of comprehensive care to children with disabilities has been developed.
91. The Government provided 3,690 older adults with health care and supported 1,125 individual projects targeting this age group between 2013 and 2015. In addition, the Act on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Older Persons provides for the issuance of a senior citizen’s card to older adults that makes them eligible for significant benefits in such areas as health care, welfare schemes, social security, the justice system, public freedoms, employment, vocational training and housing.41
Continue efforts to raise awareness with a view to eradicating female genital mutilation and initiate legal proceedings against persons who practise it (135.73, 74, 75, 76,79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85)
92. As part of the effort to eradicate female genital mutilation, a number of television and radio programmes have been produced in several different languages and a number of forum theatre performances have been organized. Other measures to suppress female genital mutilation have also been taken. From 2013 to 2017, 605 sensitization and deterrence patrols were carried out by defence and security forces in collaboration with local services and civil society.
93. Six capacity-building sessions were attended by 335 teachers and researchers in 2016. These workshops focused on the integration and extension of instructional modules on the harmful effects of female genital mutilation. In addition, 95 instructional posters were developed and widely distributed.
94. A hotline has been set up that can be used by members of the public to report cases of female genital mutilation anonymously and free of charge,42 and the excision rate among women of childbearing age declined from 76 per cent in 2010 to 63 per cent in 2016.43,44 From 2013 to 2016, 91 convictions for practising female genital mutilation were handed down and 1,066 victims received compensation to cover the cost of medical and psychosocial care.
Make more efforts to ensure universal access to education (135.10)
95. The State has taken steps to expand school infrastructure and staffing in an effort to ensure universal access to education. For example, the number of primary schools increased from 13,204 in 2014 to 14,655 in 2016. Over the same period, the number of classrooms rose from 50,429 to 59,938, and the number of teachers from 50,579 to 59, 001. As a result, the gross enrolment rate climbed from 83 per cent in 2014 to 86.1 per cent in 2016.
96. At the level of post-primary and secondary education, efforts are continuing to increase the number of classrooms and the construction of middle schools, technical colleges and secondary schools specializing in vocational and technical studies. The gross school enrolment rate rose from 29.45 per cent in 2014 to 32.2 per cent in 2016.
97. In higher education, there has been a rapid expansion of staffing, and the number of private institutions of higher learning is on the rise. In addition, public universities are being decentralized at the regional level and training opportunities are becoming more diversified. The number of public and private institutions of higher education increased from 87 in 2013 to 122 in 2016.
Continue the promotion of access to education, especially for the benefit of persons with disabilities and girls (135.127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133)
98. As part the effort to promote an education for all, an inclusive trainer-training module has been developed. In 2014, 100 educators received training in serving the needs of students with intellectual or visual impairments, in sign language and in approaches to inclusive education.45
