GENEVA - The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) has found that Burundi subjected lawyers to reprisals, including disbarment and the seizure of property, for cooperating with the Committee, in violation of the Convention against Torture.
The Committee published its decision today after reviewing a petition case concerning four Burundian lawyers who directly engaged with the Committee in 2016 during its examination of Burundi's compliance with the Convention. The complainants contributed to a joint civil society report submitted to the Committee, and three of them travelled to Geneva to participate in the country review during the Committee's 58th session.
"Civil society plays a critically important role in the Committee's country review process under Article 19 of the Convention," Todd Buchwald, Committee member, said. "States must protect, not punish, those who seek to engage with international human rights bodies."
According to the complainants, they participated in peaceful demonstrations in Burundi in 2015 opposing President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term in office, which they considered unconstitutional. The demonstrations were violently suppressed by the authorities, with security forces targeting protesters and political dissidents. The complainants publicly condemned the violent suppression and, amid the ensuing repression, fled Burundi and went into exile for fear of their safety.
The Committee noted that the State party declined to participate in the second half of the scheduled two-day session to object to the Committee's use of information submitted by civil society. On the same day, the Public Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal in Bujumbura formally sought the disbarment of the complainants, triggering judicial proceedings that resulted in the disbarment of three of them and the suspension of the license of the fourth.
The Committee raised concerns that these actions amounted to reprisals in its letters sent on 12 August 2016 and 21 February 2017 , to which Burundi did not respond. In addition, the president of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General in 2019 ordered the seizure of the complainants' property.
In the absence of any clarification about the timing of these actions, or explanation from the State Party, the Committee found it sufficiently established that these measures were reprisals for the complainants' cooperation with the Committee, in violation of article 13 of the Convention.
"The Committee reiterated that all States have an obligation to refrain from intimidation or retaliation against individuals who seek to cooperate with the Committee and to participate in good faith in the Convention's reporting and complaints procedures," Buchwald said.
The Committee urged Burundi to take immediate steps to remedy the violations. It called on the State party to restore the complainants' law licences, reverse all professional bans and restore their property rights. It also requested that Burundi provide full redress to the complainants and ensure that no similar violations occur in the future.
