Burundi

Paragraph 14

The following are punishable offences: the abduction by means of violence, frauds, or threats of any person for the purpose of trade or slavery, the receiving, conveying or transportation of slaves (Decree of the King Sovereign of 1 July 1891 to suppress the slave trade), and acts whereby a person disposes of other placed under his authority for sale as slaves (Penal Code, section 68)

Article 19

The rights and duties proclaimed and guaranteed, between others, by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Pacts related to human rights, the African Charter of human and community rights, the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination at towards women and the Convention related to children’s rights are an integral part of the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi.

These fundamental rights are not the object of any restriction or derogation, except in certain circumstances justifiable by the general interest or the protection of a fundamental right.

Article 20

All the citizens have rights and duties.

Article 21

Human dignity is respected and protected. All violations of human dignity are punishable by the penal code.

Article 25

All women and men have the right liberty, notably to physical and psychic integrity and the freedom of movement. No one may be submitted to torture, cruel, inhumane, or degrading torture or punishment.

Article 26

No one may be kept in slavery or servitude. Slavery and human trafficking are prohibited in all their forms.

Article 29

The liberty to marry is guaranteed, as is the right to choose one’s partner. Marriage may not occur without the freedom and full consent of the future spouses.

Marriage between two people of the same sex is prohibited.

Article 44

All children have the right to particular measures to assure or ameliorate the care necessary to their wellbeing, health, physical security protection against abuse, violence or exploitation.

Article 54

The state recognizes to all citizens the right to work and endeavors to create the conditions that render effective the enjoyment of this right. It recognizes the right of all persons to enjoy proper and satisfying work conditions and guarantees to the laborer the just compensation for his or her services or production.

Constitution of Burundi 2005 (PDF)

Article 196 

A crime against humanity of any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population with knowledge of the attack:  

3 Enslavement;  

5 Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;  

7 Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity;  

11 Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health. 

Article 197 

For the purposes of the preceding article: 

3 The term "enslavement" means the pursuit of a person any or all powers relating to property rights, including in the context of human trafficking, especially women and children; 

Article 242 

Any person who has entered into an agreement to alienate the freedom of a third person, whether gratuitously or for consideration, shall be punished with penal servitude from five years to ten years. 

Money, goods and other valuables received in execution of the agreement shall be forfeited. 

The same penalties are imposed on persons who have concluded such a convention for the purpose of sexual exploitation or domestic exploitation of the victim. 

Article 243 

The penalties provided for in article 242 shall be the introduction into Burundi of persons intended to be the subject of the aforesaid Convention, or of removing individuals from the country for the purpose of the said Convention to contract abroad. 

However, the penalty shall be increased to twenty years if the person who has been subjected to it, either inside or outside Burundi, is a child under the age of eighteen years. 

Article 519 

Anyone who has used, hired or offered a child for prostitution, production of pornography or for pornographic performances is punishable by imprisonment of three to five years and a fine of one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand francs .  

Article 540 

The penalties in the first paragraph of the preceding article shall apply to: 

1 ° Every person hired, abducted or enticed, to debauchery or prostitution, another adult or minor, even with the consent; 

2 ° Anyone who enjoys the same purpose, an adult or minor, even consenting. 

Article 542 

Is punishable by two to five years' imprisonment and a fine of one hundred thousand to one million francs, who, directly or through intermediaries, conducts, manages, or knowingly finances or takes part in financing a brothel. 

Article 543 

Is punishable by one year to five years' imprisonment and a fine of twenty thousand to two hundred thousand francs, anyone, in any form, taking advantage of prostitution, sharing the proceeds of prostitution of an adult or minor, even if it is willing, or receives payments from a person who habitually engages in prostitution. 

Article 544 

Is punishable by imprisonment of one to three years and a fine of twenty thousand to fifty thousand francs, anyone, in any way aids, assists or knowingly protects the prostitution of others, or soliciting for prostitution. 

Article 545 

The penalties provided in the preceding article shall apply to any person who acts as an intermediary in any capacity between those who habitually engages in prostitution and individuals who exploit or remunerate the prostitution of others. 

Article 546 

Anyone who knowingly gives or takes rent, in whole or in part, a building or any premises for the purpose of prostitution of others is punishable by two to five years' imprisonment and a fine of fifty thousand to one million francs or one of these penalties.

Article 4 

For the purposes of this Act: 

(a) "Trafficking in persons" means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, accommodation or receipt of persons, by the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, by kidnapping, fraud, deception, abuse of authority or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having authority over another, including the parental or legal authority, the purpose of exploitation. 

Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced work or services, or slavery practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. 

(g) The term "debt bondage" means the state or condition resulting from the fair a debtor has committed to provide as security for a debt his personal services or those of someone on whom he authority, if the fair value of these services is not be affected in the liquidation of the debt or the length of these services is not reasonably limited nor defined their character.  

(i) The term "forced labour or services" means Article 2 of the Code debts, serfdom, forced or servile marriages and the exploitation of children.  

(j) The term "practices similar to slavery" includes debt bondage, serfdom, forced or servile marriages and the exploitation of children. 

(m)  the term "servitude" means a dependence condition in which the labour or services of a person are provided or obtained by means of threats serious harm to that person or another person, or by a ploy, plan or manoeuvre aimed to convince the person, if not provide work or services in question, she or another person would suffer serious harm knowing that the person cannot escape or change this.  

(n) the term "exploitation" includes the following cases: 

4) the work, workfare permission or holding a person in conditions for forced work or services, to slavery, servitude, or similar practices to slavery, to sexual exploitation or in conditions contrary to human dignity. 

(p) The term “slavery” means the state or condition of a person on which exercised the attributes of ownership or some of them even when this state or condition results from the consequence of a debt or contract entered into by the person concerned.

Burundi Trafficking in Persons Law (PDF)

Article 2  

Forced or compulsory labor is absolutely prohibited. 

Any work or service required of an individual under threat of any kind of punishment for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily falls under the prohibition. 

Excluded are: 

1. Military obligations or other civic obligations in the public interest;
2. The services required in cases of force majeure such as war, disasters, threats of loss, prevention of famine, natural disasters, epidemics and, in general, circumstances likely to endanger the life of others or conditions of existence Of all or part of the population;
3. The work required of an individual as a result of a judicial conviction, provided that such work is carried out under the supervision of the public authorities and that the individual is not placed at the disposal of individuals or private legal persons.

Article 292 

The perpetrators of violations of the provisions of Articles 2, 81, 103, 115 and 269 and their execution measures are punished with a fine of 2,500 to 5,000 FBU and in the event of a recurrence of 5,000 to 10,000 FBU. 

Burundi Labour Code (PDF)