Constitutional Provisions
Article 23 of the 2005 Constitution of the Republic of Burundi (as amended) prohibits arbitrary treatment by the state and its organs. "The State has the obligation to indemnify all victims of arbitrary treatment by the State or its organs." Article 24 provides that: "All women and men have the right to life." Article 25 prohibits torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 32 guarantees freedom of assembly.
Article 159(3) stipulates that law shall set down the general rules of organisation of the national police.
Treaty Adherence
Global Treaties
| 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) | State Party |
| ICCPR Optional Protocol 1 | Not party |
| 1984 Convention against Torture (CAT) | State Party |
| Competence of CAT Committee to receive individual complaints | Yes |
| CAT Optional Protocol 1 | State Party |
| 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court | Not party* |
* Burundi withdrew from the ICC on 27 October 2017.
Regional Treaties
| 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights | State Party |
| 1998 Protocol to the African Charter on the African Court | State Party |
| Article 34(6) declaration regarding individual petitions | No |
| Malabo Protocol on the African Court of Justice and Human Rights | Not party |
National Legislation
Police Use of Force
According to Article 13 of the 2017 law on the police, the Burundi Police may only use force where necessary for a legitimate law enforcement objective. All use of force must be "reasonable and proportionate to the objective being sought".
The law does not regulate the use of firearms. Police use of firearms is instead governed by Ordinance No. 215/891 of 9 July 2009 on the Code of Ethics of the Burundi National Police. This directive stipulates that firearms may be used where necessary:
- in self-defence
- against criminals who have a firearm ready to use against people
- when they cannot otherwise defend people, stations, the transportation of dangerous objects or other items under their protection.
This is more permissive than international law allows.
Police Oversight
There is no effective independent civilian oversight body for the police in Burundi. In its 2016 Concluding Observations on Burundi, the Committee against Torture had urged the government to "set up an independent, effective and properly resourced national mechanism for the prevention of torture".
There is an "Independent National Human Rights Commission" in Burundi. But in its concluding observations in 2023, the Human Rights Committee expressed its concern at reports that the Commission "is not independent, that it is selective in its follow-up of cases of human rights violations and that its reports do not sufficiently reflect cases of violations committed by members of the police, the National Intelligence Service and the Imbonerakure (the youth league of the ruling party)". The Committee was further concerned by the fact that the Commission "does not have branches in the provinces that would enable it to carry out its work countrywide.".