LGBT Asylum News: Report: LGBTI in Burundi

Friday, 2 December 2011

Report: LGBTI in Burundi

The violation of rights on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the Republic of Burundi under the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights.

A shadow report.

In response to the periodic report of the Republic of Burundi. Presented at the 50th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, 50th Session, October and November 2011, Banjul, The Gambia.

This shadow report is a collaborative effort created and submitted by the Mouvement pour les Libertés Inviduelles (MOLI), the African Men for Sexual and Health Rights (AMSHeR), Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, and the International Human Rights Clinic, and Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School.

Burundi signed the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ("the Charter") on June 28,1989 and ratified it on July 28, 1989. The African Commission will consider Burundi’s September 2010 periodic report during the 50th ordinary session of the Commission from October 24th to November 7th, 2011. In its first periodic report to the African Commission, the government of Burundi held up the report as a symbol of its “commitment to the respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of the human being.”

The Burundian government’s failure to remedy or report on human rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity seriously undermines this commitment. Every day in Burundi, individuals continue to face criminalization, violence,intimidation and threats because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We hope that the findings in this report will be useful to the African Commission and also serve as a tool for the promotion and protection of rights under the African Charter.

ACHPR Burundi Shadow Report