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2007 Assessment

Burundi: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Burundi: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Society Organizations
Indicators		Score
1	Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?	100
2	Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?	83
3	Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?	33
4	Can citizens organize into trade unions?	75

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?

1a: In law, citizens have a right to form civil society organizations (CSOs) focused on anti-corruption or good governance.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Articles 19 et 32 de la constituton Art.19 Les droits et devoirs proclamés et garantis, entre autres, par la Déclaration universelle des droits de lhomme, les Pactes internationaux relatifs aux droits de lhomme, la Charte africaine des droits de lhomme et des peuples, la Convention sur lélimination de toutes les formes de discrimination à légard des femmes et la Convention relative aux droits de lenfant font partie intégrante de la Constitution de la République du Burundi. Ces droits fondamentaux ne font lobjet daucune restriction ou dérogation, sauf dans certaines circonstances justifiables par lintérêt général ou la protection dun droit fondamental. Art. 3 2 La liberté de réunion et dassociation est garantie, de même que le droit de fonder des associations ou organisations conformément à la loi.

1b: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are free to accept funding from any foreign or domestic sources.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The law on the ASBL (association sans but lucratif)

1c: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are required to disclose their sources of funding.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The law on the ASBL (association sans but lucratif)

Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?

2a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to the organization of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no real interaction with the government, but the registration process can be long due to bureaucracy.

References: Interview with Gabriel Rufyiri, president of the Observatory for Fight Against Corruption and Economic Embezzlements, July 24, 2007, in Bujumbura.

2b: In practice, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs actively engage in the political and policymaking process.

Score:

100

Comments: OLUCOME has a leading role in shaping public opinion and has obliged the government to act ruthlessly with some organizations or people involved in corruption matters. But they are not successful all of the time. They even get in trouble with the government in some cases.

References: The different media outlets, especially the private radio stations, extensively cover their reports.

Interview with Gabriel Rufyiri, president of the Observatory for Fight Against Corruption and Economic Embezzlements (OLUCOME), July 24, 2007, in Bujumbura.

Interview with Gabriel Nikundana, editor in chief of Radio Isanganiro, Aug. 24, 2007, in Bujumbura.

Peer Review Comments: OLUCOME is one of several CSOs which work on governance. While it is the only one with the sole mission of fighting corrupton, the Observatoire de l'Action Gouvernementale is one of the others that do extensive work on the corruption question and they are engaged in the political process. I agree with the score because there are so many decisions/policies that don't take into account the recommendations of the CSOs

2c: In practice, no anti-corruption/good governance CSOs have been shut down by the government for their work on corruption-related issues during the study period.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned is there were no CSOs shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of their work on corruption-related issues during the study period. NO: A NO score is earned if any CSO has been effectively shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of its work on corruption-related issues during the study period. The causal relationship between the cessation of operations and the CSO\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the CSO was forced to cease operations due to its work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: International Crisis Group. « Burundi : la paix et la démocratie en danger »30 novembre 2006

Ligue burundaise des droits de lhomme ITEKA. Rapport annuel sur la situation des droits de lhomme 2006

Association burundaise pour la protection des droits humains et des personnes détenues (APRODH). Rapport dactivités : exercice 2006.

Peer Review Comments: No CSOs were shut down, but there were intimidations.

Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?

3a: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSO activists imprisoned because of their work covering corruption. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any activist was jailed in relation to work covering corruption. The causal relationship between the official charges and the person\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the person was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: The source was detained in prison for several months.

References: Interview with Gabriel Rufyiri, president of the Observatory for Fight Against Corruption and Economic Embezzlements, July 24, 2007, in Bujumbura.

3b: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists covering corruption being assaulted in the specific study period. A YES score can be earned if there was an attack but it was clearly unrelated to the activist\'s work. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period of assault to an activist who covers corruption. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: The source himself has been physically harmed.

References: Interview with Gabriel Rufyiri, president of the Observatory for Fight Against Corruption and Economic Embezzlements, July 24, 2007, in Bujumbura.

3c: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists being killed because of their work covering corruption in the specific study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period where a person was killed related to a corruption trial, scandal or investigation. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s history may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is reasonable that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Association burundaise pour la protection des droits humains et des personnes détenues (APRODH). Rapport dactivités : exercice 2006. Human Rights Watch. On senfuit quand on les voit Exactions en toute impunité du service national de renseignement. Octobre 2006.

Human Rights Watch. « Un lourd fardeau à porter : les violations des droits des enfants en détention au Burundi.» Mars 2007.

International Crisis Group. « Burundi : la paix et la démocratie en danger »30 novembre 2006

Ligue burundaise des droits de lhomme ITEKA. Rapport annuel sur la situation des droits de lhomme 2006

Can citizens organize into trade unions?

4a: In law, citizens have a right to organize into trade unions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Article 37 de la constitution Le droit de fonder des syndicats et de sy affilier, ainsi que le droit de grève, sont reconnus. La loi peut réglementer lexercice de ces droits et interdire à certaines catégories de personnes de se mettre en grève. Dans tous les cas, ces droits sont interdits aux membres des corps de défense et de sécurité.

4b: In practice, citizens are able to organize into trade unions.

Score:

100

Comments: Trade unions are more and more common but are not relevant to policy debates and they still are intimidated. There have been several cases of leaders of trade unions being harassed at work for their activity in their trade union.

References: Ligue burundaise des droits de lhomme ITEKA. Rapport annuel sur la situation des droits de lhomme 2006

Peer Review Comments: The situation with respect to organizing trade unions is the same as for corrupt CSOs, as discussed in item 2c.