Burundi

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Burundi is a densely populated, poor, and highly fragile country. It is the least urbanized country in Sub-Saharan of Africa[1], with a 13,7% urban population[2]. It is a young and highly rural country with almost half of the population below 15 years and 64% under the age of 25[3]. It is one of the poorest countries in the world with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.433, and it is, ranked at 185 out of 189 countries with 81% of its citizens multidimensionally poor[4].

Agriculture is the backbone of Burundi’s economy and more than 90% of the population depends on agriculture for livelihood.  Despite the fact that more than 90% of Burundians are farmers, the country still experiences food shortages. Food insecurity is a major issue in Burundi, with 53% of children under five stunted with higher levels of malnutrition among rural children[5]. Some of the drivers of food insecurity are poverty, rapid population growth, vulnerability to climate-related shocks, poor access to clean water, and worsening access to basic services which placed the country in an extremely vulnerable position and have constrained economic growth increasing the reliance on humanitarian assistance[6]. As of April, 2021, 14% of the population (1.61 million) faced emergency and crisis levels of food insecurity[7]. 

With its stretched resources, Burundi is a host to about 80,000 refugees mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and many former Burundian refugees are returning home (about 60,000 have returned home in 2021)[8] – adding more pressure to the already stretched resources.       

BASIC/BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Burundi is a landlocked country in East Africa surrounded by Rwanda to the North, Tanzania to the East, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the West, and Lake Tanganyika to the Southwest. It has a total surface area of 27,830 sq km, with a population of 11.8 million, of which 50.4% are women[9]. It is one of the most densely populated countries in the Great Lakes region. In 2019, the Burundian parliament voted to make Gitega the political capital of the country shifting it from Bujumbura. It has two official languages – Kirundi and French. Kirundi is widely spoken (29.7%), and French (0.3%)[10]. Other languages include Swahili and English. The country has three main Ethnic groups – Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. Burundi has a relatively large Christian population. The religious demographics are as follows Roman Catholic 62.1%, Protestants 23.9% (includes Adventist 2.3% and other Protestants 21.6%), Muslim 2.5%, other 3.6%, and unspecified 7.9%[11].

INTERNAL AND INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

Current internal migration in Burundi consists of rural-urban migration. Even though it is the least urbanised country in the Horn, Eastern, and Central Africa region, it is one of two countries with the fastest-growing rural-urban population with a growing urbanisation rate of 5.7%[12]. Rural-urban migration in Burundi is influenced, primarily, by young people who are in search of employment opportunities in urban areas. The majority of the urban dwellers (58%) live in under-resourced unplanned urban areas which are characterised by a lack of basic services, for example, unaffordable and inadequate health care, education, water sanitation and waste management, and mobility and transportation options[13]. The under-resourced nature of the unplanned areas has exacerbated poverty within such areas.

Burundi has a positive net migration rate of 2.6%[14]. International migrants in Burundi come predominantly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (167768), followed by Rwanda (64363) and Tanzania (28008). Other international migrants come from Kenya (1032) and Uganda (891)[15].

EMIGRATION AND SKILLED MIGRATION

Under the supervision of the Ministry of External Relations and International Cooperation, there is the Burundi’s Diaspora Organisation which overseas diaspora relations with Burundi. Both the Ministry of External Relations and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasize the contributions of the diaspora in the development projects of Burundi. There are no clear statistics on the number of skilled Burundian living abroad. However, Burundians living abroad are viable partners in nation-building in Burundi. As individuals and collective (diaspora organisation), they offer much in terms of monetary support and in the transfer of knowledge and skills as many members of the diaspora are highly skilled and specialised in areas of health and education[16]. For example, the Burundian Diaspora in Denmark (DBD) supports development efforts in Burundi through projects for children, education, health, poverty reduction, and protection for human rights[17]. There is IZERE-Hollande that among other things, provides surgical services that meet Dutch standards to correct cleft lips and palates, sports development, and social investment through MURYANGO Brickyard[18]. They send money to their families and finance the construction of important infrastructure like hospitals, schools, and hotels. However, there is no record of how large this cash flow is. In 2017, the World Bank reported that there was an estimated inward remittances flow of $33.51 million[19]. The primary destination countries for Burundi emigrants are Tanzania (87099),  Rwanda (64501), Uganda(45345), DRC (39062) and Canada (7474) [20].

FORCED MIGRATION

Burundi is more of a refugee sending than a receiving country. By October 2021, there were 266,351 Burundian refugees living in Tanzania (126,534), Uganda (51,410), Rwanda (47,806), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (40,601)[21]. Since 2017, when the assisted returnee programme began, more than 180,000 Burundian refugees have voluntarily returned home from Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and Uganda. Most of the refugees hosted in Burundi come from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Burundi currently hosts about 80,000 registered urban and camp-based refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo[22]. Burundi operates an encampment policy concerning refugees and asylum seekers. Refugees in Burundi have access to primary health care. There are five refugee camps and eight transit facilities in Burundi.

There were 115,981 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burundi identified by the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), 83% of the displacement was due to natural disasters, for example, flooding, and 17%, for other reasons, for example, conflict or violence[23]. Bujumbura Mairie and Bujumbura Rural recorded the highest number of displacements – 26,891 and 17,079 respectively, and Gitega and Mwaro recorded the lowest, 390 and 84 respectively[24]. The majority of those displaced live in host communities (94%), while a small fraction lives in sites (5%) and collective centers (1%)[25]. The majority of IDPs were under the age of 18 and 54 percent of IDPs were female.[26]

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The government of Burundi and other international organisations in Burundi are at the forefront of fighting human trafficking in Burundi. Because of the high unemployment rate in Burundi with 65% of Burundian living below the poverty line, victims of human trafficking in Burundi are mostly children and young adults as they are easily misled and exploited for monetary gains. Burundi is a Tier 2 country and does not entirely meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking despite efforts to do so[27]. According to the US State Department TIP report 2021, the government identified 174 victims of trafficking and of these 45 were identified abroad in China, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Tanzania, 133 were en route to the Middle East, and 16 en route to Tanzania[28]. All 174 victims were referred by the government to government shelters or NGOs run-shelters, while child victims were sometimes placed into foster care where they were provided with psychosocial assistance and care[29]. The government in collaboration with foreign governments also repatriated 134 Burundian victims from abroad and provided legal and consular assistance to them, including facilitating their return and reintegration into their host communities[30]. The government identified 101 female victims during a raid in 2020. In 2020, an international organisation and its partner identified 25 victims of human trafficking, 6 children – all victims of labour exploitation repatriated from abroad, and 17 children identified en route to Tanzania[31]. Another international organisation identified an additional 403 child victims including, 361 boys and 42 girls[32].

NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Burundi is a member of several regional organisations, for example, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (CMESA), East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries, and International Conference on the Great Lakes Countries (ICGLR), which has as one of its priority to facilitate the movement of people within the region. At the continental level, Burundi is a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 protocol, the 1969 AU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugees Problems in Africa. In January 2020, during a Regional Ministerial Forum organised by IOM in Nairobi, the Government of Burundi signed an agreement to harmonise labour migration policies from the East and Horn of Africa making it harder for human traffickers to exploit young people looking for work in the Great lakes Countries[33]. Also at the international level, Burundi is a signatory to the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. At the national level, the Government of Burundi with support from IOM is working towards the establishment of a National Labour Migration Policy that aims to provide longer-term protection and good governance for migrant workers[34]. There is Ordinance No. 530-443 of 7/4/2009 on the implementation of Law No. 1/32 of November 13, 2008 on asylum and refugee protection in Burundi and on the composition, organization and functioning of the Consultative Commission for Foreigners and Refugees and the Appeal Committee among other things seeks to ensure the physical, material, legal, and administrative protection of asylum seekers and refugees[35]. There is also the Protocol for the creation of a permanent framework for the consultation on the protection of displaced persons which among other things seeks to share information on the protection of displaced persons and determine preventive measures[36]. There is also Law No. 1/28 of October 29, 2014 on the Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Persons and the Protection of Victims of Trafficking[37].

MAIN ACTORS

The State

The two ministries in charge of migration issues in Burundi are The Ministry of Interior which determines the patterns and trends of migration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and development Cooperation which engages with the diaspora for development in Burundi.

International Organisations

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) are the most important international organisations dealing with migration-related issues in Burundi. The UNHCR works with the government of Burundi (Ministry of Interior, Patriotic training and local Development, Ministry of Public Security and collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and other partners – World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Food and Agricultural Programme (FAO), World Health Organisation (WHO), the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAID) in providing security, social, legal, health, and livelihood assistance to people in need including refugees in Burundi[38]. Other UNHCR regional partners include International Conference on the Great Lakes Countries (ICGLR) and African Union (AU) which help in developing the policy framework to facilitate the movement of people within the region. UNHCR implementing partners include Office National et de Protection des Refugies Apatride (ONPRA), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Caritas Burundi, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Refugee Education Trust (RET), Red Cross, and Grupo di Volontariato Civile[39]. The IOM focuses on refugee resettlement and reintegration, works with the government in areas of migration policies and research.

Other organisation

The Ubuntu Centre in partnership with the Catholic Church through research and other activities (drama, psychosocial counselling, peace education, and media programmes) focuses on promoting peace and reconciliation in Burundi. Recently, they included socioeconomic development projects like housing, goat farming, and training in project management. The Association of Female Lawyers of Burundi (AFJB) offers counselling, legal advice, information on rights, drafting of legal documents, legal support, and legal assistance. Association for the Defence of Refugee Rights (ADR), Lique Burundaise des Droits de l’Homme, Nibitegeka & Co. Advocates,  and Avocats Sans Frontieres in partnership with other human Rights Organisations provides representation for and advocates on behalf of refugees guaranteeing the protection of their fundamental human rights (civil, political, economic, and social). Using human rights and good governance education, the Initiative for Peace and Human Rights (ipeace) provides assistance to communities and individuals in Africa’s Great Lakes Region to achieve sustainable peaceful coexistence. Solidarite d’Action Pour la Paix/Grands Lacs (SAP/GL), identify refugee and returnee victims of torture and provide counselling, psychosocial assistance, and medical treatment in their clinic in Bujumbura. They also assist in vocational or technical training and basic micro-business skill training. Rema Ministries provides social support through community sensitization programmes to refugees, returnees, and disadvantaged people in Burundi.

The Catholic Church

The Catholic Church has a large presence in Burundi and has a series of organisations that assist migrants, refugees, internally displaced people, and returnees. Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Burundi provides psychosocial, educational, and livelihood support to the vulnerable population in Burundi. For example, in the provinces of Bujumbura, Ruyigi, and Muyinga, JRS facilitates formal and informal education in the camps of Kinama and Musasa in Muyinga, and Bwagiriza in Ruyigi where more than 32,000 Congolese families are settled[40]. In Bujumbura, with the support of Fund For Women, some 300 urban refugees (mostly girls) have access to public education and livelihood training which facilitates their integration within the local communities[41]. Also, JRS implements early childhood development, sports, and leisure activities to enhance psychosocial welfare for refugee children in camps[42].

Caritas Burundi in its move in bringing about a reunited society in which human dignity is paramount, and the rights of everyone are respected especially, the poorest, the most vulnerable, the excluded, and the oppressed together with its partners provide support for agricultural growth, health, and nutritional support, career development, and psycho-social support to refugees with mental health-related problems. Caritas partners include The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis, UNHCR, FAO, WFP, UNICEF, GAVI, CRS, The World Bank, Caritas Netherland (Cordaid), Trocaire (Caritas Ireland) Caritas Austria, Caritas Italy, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and the Fight Against Aids, the French Embassy, and USAID[43]. In the health domain, Caritas support people affected by AIDS through psycho-social counselling, and Caritas implements a Prevention of Transmission from Mother to Child (PTMC) programme in 11 hospitals, 2 maternity wards, and 87 health centres of the Catholic Church in Burundi[44]. Caritas also provides nutritional needs for people at special risk to over 3000 people[45].

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Burundi serves the poor and vulnerable in Burundi through coordinating complex and multi-sectoral emergency and development programmes. Together with its partners, CRS projects focus on youth empowerment and social cohesion[46]. For example, CRS Dukire Tubane Project which implements the People-to-people (P2P) programme draws diverse youth from across Burundi’s political, social, and ethnic divides to break down divisions by emphasising commonalities, developing a shared vision for the future to attain social cohesion[47]. The project also works with local authorities in addressing development challenges including unemployment, for example, through its Ikawa Yacu Project which complements the Amashiga Programme, in the area of coffee production in Muyinga engages and encourages youth to be involved in the coffee production business for sustainable development[48]. At the verge of abandonment before the launch of Ikawa Yacu, the 4035 participating households are now farming 8,456 fields containing 994,147 coffee trees. There is also the Amashiga Programme and the Development Food Assistance Programme (DFAP) which work in all seven communes of Muyinga, across 809 different communities with the aim of providing sustainable nationally replicable improvements in child nutrition designed around three integrated purposes – nutrition, agriculture, and governance[49]. 

Food insecurity in Burundi is a major issue as 53% of children under the age of five suffer from stunted growth caused by poor infant feeding, inadequate food, and a low-quality diet. The Salesian Missions in Burundi provide access to nutrition to more than 800 youth in three different run programmes through a donation from the Salesian Missions and Rise Against Hunger[50]. For example, 750 students in Don Bosco High School receive three balanced meals a day, Don Bosco Buterere Youth Centre provides food, shelter, and education for youth and orphans once living on the streets, and in the first, second, and third quarter of 2019, more than 1,200 students attending Lycee Don Bosco, located in Bujumbura had better nutrition[51]. 

Endnote

[1] World Bank, 2018
[2] The World Bank, 2021
[3] Oxfam, 2019
[4] UNDP, 2020
[5] Salesian Missions, 2021
[6] Ibid
[7] World Food Programme, 2021
[8] UNHCR, 2021
[9] The World Bank, 2021
[10] CIA – World Factbook, 2021
[11] Ibid
[12] Oxfam, 2019
[13] Ibid
[14] Verite, 2018
[15] Ibid
[16] Kanyange, 2021
[17] Burundian Diaspora in Denmark, 2021
[18] Republic of Burundi, 2020
[19] Sustainable Development Goal, 2021
[20] Verite, 2018
[21] Operational Data Portal, 2021
[22] IOM, 2021a
[23] IOM, 2021b
[24] Ibid
[25] Ibid
[26] Ibid
[27] US Department of State, 2021
[28] Ibid
[29] Ibid
[30] Ibid
[31] Ibid
[32] Ibid
[33] IOM, 2020
[34] IOM, 2021c
[35] Ecoi.net, 2016
[36] Ibid
[37] Ibid
[38] UNHCR, 2019
[39] Ibid
[40] JRS, 2021
[41] Ibid
[42] Ibid
[43] Caritas, 2021
[44] Ibid
[45] Ibid
[46] CRS, 2021
[47] Ibid
[48] Ibid
[49] Ibid
[50] Salesian Missions, 2021
[51] Ibid

Banner photo: Burundi by jfavron from Flickr