Astere Muyango, IBJ Burundi Country Fellow

The topic of legal guarantees for detained persons is highly relevant in Burundi. There are several articles in the Code of Criminal Procedure that offer legal guarantees to accused persons. Basic and essential rights such as the right to know the reason for an arrest at the time of arrest and the right to have legal assistance at all stages of the criminal process are mandated by law. Unfortunately, accused people’s rights are rarely honored in practice. As roundtable participants discussed, this is due to a lack of lawyers to defend the rights of the accused, as well as a lack of awareness of these rights among the criminal justice actors who are responsible for carrying out these laws on a daily basis, such as police.

IBJ Legal Fellow Maître Janvier Ncamatwi stated that a standard of law only becomes effective when it is legal and legitimate. He also added that the effectiveness of legal guarantees of charged persons can only come from the actors who are dealing with these matters on a day-to-day basis. That is why it is so important to have the different kinds of stakeholders in the justice system come together to discuss these matters and get new ideas and refreshed energy to work for change. Indeed, productive discussions ensued. The president of the Gitega Bar Association, Rafhael Gahungu, urged that detainees should be treated with humanity. He stressed that everyone should be able to agree that it is preferable that an accused persons be discharged rather than detained; in other words, the notion of a presumption of innocence should guide the treatment of an accused before anything has been proven.

Although there still is need for many improvements in the Burundian justice system, what is uplifting is that the participants were engaged in working for a better tomorrow. The strategies for change they presented were, among other, sensitizing all different actors involved in the juridical processes, informing citizens about legal principles, and maintaining police officers’ awareness through training sessions. The group discussed the fact that, at times, prosecutors want accused persons to be held in jail with the argument being that this is necessary to ensure their security. One prison officer showed his discontent with this practice by saying that the prison is not like an embassy, meaning that detaining someone in prison is no way to secure a person from harm.

Participants in discussion on commitments

At the end of the program, participants were encouraged to commit themselves to making concrete changes, to take responsibility for achieving the progress they all could agree was needed. They committed to, among other things, being more persistent in their opposition to interference by authorities within the judiciary, processing cases without delay, and informing prisoners on their rights and duties. During the event, the participants confirmed that the roundtable process was very productive, as they suggested similar happenings be held for professionals not only in the justice system but also other sectors of Burundian society. Participants left the roundtable better equipped and more motivated than before to devote themselves to working towards a brighter future for accused persons in Burundi.

Burundi signed and ratified the convention on child rights in 1990. But until now the situation has not yet improved in practice. The penal code of 2009 has brought about many reforms in the protection of minors, including raising the age of penal responsibility from 13 to 15. Under these new provisions, if the minor had been sentenced to life imprisonment, he must be resentenced to between five and ten years of penal servitude; if the minor incurs a time sentence or a fine, the penalties that can be imposed against him may not exceed four years.

With this new penal code, many measures of protection of the minor accused of crime have been provided, such as: warning, reminder of the law; returning them to their parents, guardians or an otherwise trustworthy person; providing educational assistance; institutionalization in a social institution, school or other educational institution authorized by the court. These measures must intend to match the imprisonment with a measure of protection such as educational assistance or institutional care.

In practice, these provisions are not yet implemented in daily practice, because in prisons we still find minors accused of crime who have been waiting for trial during several months or even years. Some prosecutors still are pushing for life imprisonment. Also, many jurisdictions have not yet set up special sessions for minors, they are still heard in public hearings as adults and there is no separation of them from adults in jail and this situation exposes them to different kinds of abuse, according to results of IBJ rights awareness campaigns to detainees conducted in different prisons. In addition, the infrastructure is not in place for education.

In the perspective of helping  to reinforce the implementation of existing criminal provisions in the area of juveniles, International Bridges to Justice organized a roundtable discussion in September. On the 23^rd of September, IBJ gathered prosecutors and judges who have been nominated as “focal points” in juveniles’ cases by the ministry of justice within the courts of Bujumbura township and Bujumbura rural. Clerks and secretaries of these courts also participated in the discussion.

Judges and prosecutors of courts (TGI & Parquets) of Bujumbura township and Bujumbura rural

After discussing many challenges encountered by the actors who were present, many solutions were adopted in favour of those of the accused who deserve special protection. Representatives of these courts committed to set up special sessions for minors, and to schedule many cases to be heard at the same dates and in private hearings. All this will be in coordination with IBJ which will provide the accused with qualified legal representation. Law clerks and secretaries committed to facilitating the paperwork of minors’ cases and communicating with IBJ when such cases are scheduled to be heard.

After these important measures were agreed upon, another crucial gathering was held on September 28. This was with lawyers who participated in the July training in order to follow up on the training. After reviewing modules of the previous training and discussing challenges encountered in meantime, lawyers committed to assist in cases provided by IBJ on a pro bono basis.

Group of lawyers after the roundtable

Each of these actions identify the gaps between the criminal laws of Burundi and their implementation, and show how these gaps can be bridged when key actors collaborate on constructive solutions. It is in this way that IBJ builds bridges between the law as it has been written and its just implementation in practice.

Lawyer’s group discussion on the implementation of criminal law provisions protecting juveniles accused of crime

]]> http://www.ibj.org/2010/12/ibjs-glossary-creates-sensation-at-eals-conference/ Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:34:28 +0000 http://www.ibj.org/wp_main/?p=1698 On November 19^th and 20^th, IBJ Rwanda Fellow John Bosco Bugingo, IBJ Burundi Fellow Astère Muyango and one of IBJ Burundi’s Legal Fellows, Janvier Ncamatwi, attended the East Africa Law Society (EALS) Annual General Meeting and Conference hosted by the Burundi Bar Association at the Hotel Celexon in Bujumbura, Burundi. The theme of the conference was “One East Africa: Democracy and Good Governance” and it aimed to bring together lawyers from different countries in the East African region. With IBJ’s aim of providing legal assistance and due process to the accused all over the world and in light of the East Africa Defender Manual Project, it promised to be an important and interesting meeting for IBJ to contribute to.

The two-day conference included presentations on various relevant topics of interest for the legal community of East Africa. The topics that were discussed were harnessing democracies in East Africa; progress towards the East African Common market; the quest for free and fair electoral processes in East Africa and access to justice for all. Papers on these topics that were written for the purpose of the discussions will be available soon on the EALS website.

With the growing standardization and harmonization of laws across the East Africa Community (EAC), the language barrier between the Anglophone Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and the mostly Francophone Burundi and Rwanda becomes particularly challenging. Even within Rwanda the situation is tricky as lawyers can plead in court in French, English or Kinyarwanda, making the procedure at times very complex, labor-intensive and time-consuming. To get lawyers excited about the upcoming manual, IBJ developed a 50-page glossary of English/French and French/English legal terms pertaining to the field of criminal law with the support of the EALS, the Burundi Bar Association and the Kigali Bar Association. The glossary translates more than 800 legal terms from English to French and vice versa. 400 printed copies of the manual have been distributed at the East Africa Law Society Annual General Meeting and Conference on November 19^th and 20^th 2010 in Bujumbura, Burundi, creating a sensation within the East African legal community. Many lawyers appreciated the glossary and showed interest in IBJ’s work in the different communities of East Africa. At the end of the conference, only ten of the 400 copies were left. Additionally, a reception that was organized for those attending ensured that lawyers could interact informally and enabled our fellows to meet interesting people – including the newly elected President of the EALS, the CEO of the EALS and of the national bar associations, as well as individual lawyers – and spread the word about IBJ.

This meeting was an excellent platform to increase IBJ’s work visibility across East africa, launch the IBJ East Africa project and to reassert IBJ’s commitment to improving the legal system and legal integration in East Africa.

Above: IBJ Rwanda Fellow John Bosco Bugingo (left) and Burundi Fellow Astère Muyango (right) meet with the EALS CEO Tito Byenkya (middle) (Photo by Janvier Ncamatwi).

Above: IBJ Burundi Fellows Astère Muyango and Janvier Ncamatwi congratulate the new President of the EALS (far left) (Photo by Aline Nijimbere).

Above: IBJ Rwanda and Burundi Fellows pose with the CEO of the EALS (far left) and the Burundi expert of the drafting committee of the IBJ/EALS defense manual (far right) (Photo by Aline Nijimbere).

Above: The newly elected committee of the EALS (Photo by Astère Muyango).

After explaining the major changes and the added value of the new criminal procedure code, the roundtable discussion brought forward some important issues that the criminal defense system in Burundi faces. These included the problem and consequences of incrimination of prosecutors who are accused of illegal detention, the new responsibility of police officers to inform family members of detainees’ whereabouts, and punishment for juvenile offenders. One magistrate explained after the meeting: “The theme of the roundtable discussion was very relevant for legal practitioners because it will help us clarify points that had remained unclear in the criminal process up to this day.” Prison officials learned that the new bill will allow them to release prisoners whose detention warrants are not valid anymore.

Outcomes and recommendations that arose from the discussions were very positive. First of all, increasing awareness of the new code among all actors of the criminal justice system was emphasized as a priority. Public and justice officials advised IBJ to organize these types of activities in all provinces across Burundi. Also, justice officials agreed that magistrates who committed illegal acts, such as torture and illegal detention, should be prosecuted. Furthermore, the need to separate the work of investigating and accusing arrested individuals was pointed out, so that the same prosecutor is not in charge of both investigating a crime and charging and discharging detainees. Lastly, it was agreed that there should be legal provisions to implement and enforce all the new principles of the criminal procedure code.

The meeting had some promising outcomes. Participants saw the need for increased collaboration between the different institutions. A representative from the prison authorities assured that they will work more closely with prosecutors and the high court of Rutana. Referring to the widespread issue of prolonged pre-trial detention, a police officer indicated: “We commit to work better with the prosecution’s office and the court so that the delays are increasingly respected.” Acknowledging the lack of access to legal counsel in this remote province, lawyers committed to providing pro bono legal assistance to detainees in Rutana Province.

At the end of the forum discussion, all participants indicated that the discussions made them reflect upon their work and will influence their day-to-day practice. 94% of them claimed that the discussions made them change their perception of the difficulties encountered by the other actors and their role in the criminal justice process.

Enthusiastic about the discussions, participants pledged to repeat the roundtable discussion across the country, especially members of the Parliament. IBJ’s efforts were acknowledged when one of the participants noted: “I would like to thank IBJ for its noble work, which contributes to the promotion of basic legal rights and legal assistance provided to vulnerable people. I wish IBJ to organize activities across all of the country’s provinces.” It appears that most participants agreed, as they all mentioned they would recommend the roundtable to colleagues and peers. The prison authorities of Rutana have since contacted the Bujumbura DRC to request help with legal assistance for vulnerable detainees. One of the members of Parliament has recommended that IBJ set up a pilot legal aid center in Rutana. Rutana is a “neglected” province where no other NGOs work in the field of criminal defense. IBJ will make sure to fill the gap by organizing a group of volunteer lawyers who will travel to Rutana to assist the accused who are defenseless and thus help the justice system move forward.

Above: a group photo of the participants of the Rutana Roundtable Discussion (Photo by: Nadege Kwizera)

The content of the manual will be jointly developed by an international expert in the field of criminal defense and a team of local experts, nominated by the national Bar associations, who are best poised to make sure that cultural and country-specific issues are tackled in the manual.  The manual will outline best practices and advocacy techniques with a focus on enhancing legal knowledge, practical defense skills – particularly trial skills, education on international norms and standards and some examples of their domestic implementation in all five countries. It will include practical tips about ways to mount a vigorous defense and include forms, checklists, and memos to help lawyers prepare and manage their cases.

It will be distributed through the national Bar Associations of the member countries and will be available online on the EALS website and IBJ’s Elearning platform. A French version will also be made available for Francophone lawyers in Rwanda and Burundi. We expect the first draft of the manual to be completed by April 2011.

Download the IBJ English/French Legal Lexicon

IBJ is committed to contributing to the growing regional integration in other ways aswell. On November 19 and 20, the EALS is hosting its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bujumbura, Burundi. IBJ Rwanda and Burundi Fellows John Bosco and Astère and IBJ Burundian Legal Fellows Aline Nijimbere and Janvier Ncamatwi will participate in the lively discussions that will undoubtedly take place, strengthening the relationship with the East Africa legal community. Furthermore, IBJ has produced a glossary of English/French legal terms for the use of East Africa Francophone lawyers which will facilitate the integration of Rwanda and Burundi into the Anglophone East Africa Community. We are hoping to distribute copies of the glossary at the EALS AGM.

Furthermore, this cooperation is an excellent opportunity for IBJ to establish a base to promote access to legal counsel and human rights across East African countries. With this project we have laid the first foundations for a possible East Africa Defender Resource Hub which will support – both at the national and regional level – criminal defender trainings as well as the implementation of coordinated answers to the challenges of the criminal justice system  throughout East Africa. This way, we will reduce the prevalence of torture in pretrial detention and help the accused in East Africa. Therefore, we are very excited to kickstart the development of the manual and future cooperation in East Africa and thank the International Bar Association for their support.

Above: John Bosco (left), IBJ Rwanda Fellow and Astère (right), IBJ Burundi Fellow at the EALS 2009 AGM where the foundations for cooperation between the EALS and IBJ were laid

Above: Astère (left) and Bruce Kyerere, the Uganda Law Society President at the 2009 EALS AGM (Photo by John Bosco Bugingo)

Above: Astère (right) with Dr. Fauz Twaib, the Tanzania Law Society President at the 2009 EALS AGM (Photo by John Bosco Bugingo)

From July 5th to July 9th, Burundian lawyers will be brought together to brainstorm solutions to the crucial issues of rights at arrest and interrogation, pre-trial detention and access to legal counsel. Burundian lawyers’ trial skills will be enhanced through role plays, visual representations and group discussions. For the very first time, Burundian lawyers will get exposed to the adversarial process, in particular to cross-examination, which is particularly relevant in light of the recent integration of Burundi into the predominantly English-speaking East African Community. International trainer and US Public Defender Stephanie Slattery will urge lawyers to reflect upon her experience to gain the necessary boldness to carry the reform of their system. The training will integrate potential future instructors and equip them with the legal teaching skills they need to replicate small legal defense trainings to their peers.

On July 8th, a series of justice community roundtable discussions on the rights of the accused will be conducted to captivate the attention and imagination of lawyers, judges, prosecutors, police officers and prison officials in conceiving and implementing an efficient and equitable judicial future.

Finally, July 9th will see lawyers try their hand as prosecutors, police officers as lawyers, magistrates as accused persons, and prison directors as judges during mock-trial exercises. The hope is to make them become aware of the constraints each actor of the system face and make them realize how critical it is to join forces if they are to improve the administration of justice in their country.

As the country slowly advances towards democratic stability, it is crucial to integrate all the actors of the system to consolidate the progress made the past few years in promoting a fair and effective justice system in Burundi.

Above: Celebrating  the Victims of Torture on June 26 (Photo by Nathalie Mohadjer)

Above: Young Burundian males working in the streets of Bujumbura often are a target of legal abuses as they are not aware of their rights at arrest.  (Photo by Nathalie Mohadjer)

This act of grace, hailed by the international community, is aimed at decongesting the Burundian prisons. The prisons undeniably show a worrisome rate of occupancy, namely 277%, with the prisons currently holding more than 11,000 detainees while the prison capacity is 4,050 people. These overcrowded and sub-standard prisons are unable to meet the basic medical, legal and social needs of the inmates and to fulfill a satisfying role in their reintegration into society.This situation has been highlighted many times by IBJ, especially during the roundtable discussions organized throughout 2009 and 2010. During these events, the main members of the criminal justice system such as lawyers, prosecutors, judges, police officers, prison officials and representatives of the administration, are encouraged to come up with their own solutions to the challenges of the criminal justice system. The last roundtable, held in Rumonge, gave the opportunity to tackle the issue of pre-trial detention. Many detentions prove to be illegal and some detainees spend months, if not years, waiting for trial, because time limits of detention are very often exceeded. This phenomenon widely contributes to prison overcrowding. During the meeting, participants had suggested that a mass release of detainees would be an appropriate answer to address prison overpopulation.

Above: The roundtable held in Gitega in October offered the opportunity to tackle the issue of pre-trial detention, which is one of the main causes of prison overcrowding in Burundi. (Photo by Jean-Baptiste Bouzard)

Conveyed by the Burundian media – including Isanganiro and Bonesha radios which always attend these roundtables – and jointly with other non-governmental Human Rights organizations, the government seems to have heard our requests to increasingly promote respect of the procedure. This decree is a resounding success for the criminal justice system, and for the overall observance of Human Rights in Burundi, as prison conditions should be improved. This decree gives once more the opportunity to recall that freedom always is the rule and detention the exception, as portrays IBJ banners in rights awareness campaigns. The President’s spokesperson actually reminded that principle on the radio when the decree was announced. This growing consciousness of the need to increasingly uphold the criminal procedure and safeguard the rights of the accused with Burundi’s government is a truly inspiring dynamic for our work in Burundi.

Above: The IBJ panel that reads: “Freedom is the rule, arrest and detention the exception”. Pictured here during the legal rights street campaign in Cibitoke. (Photo by Caroline Arnaud)

The day after started at 7am with our pre-ordered breakfast and we then dropped Astère at the venue so as for him to begin preparing for the event. Maître Herman Ndayishimiye, freshly recruited IBJ lawyer, was already waiting for us and replaced Astère in the car to head to the Vice Governor’s office, whom we had met 3 weeks before to express our wish to hold a roundtable and ask him to open the session. Unfortunately, he had forgotten the event and committed himself to open another roundtable. At the last minute, he nevertheless managed to free himself up to respect his initial engagement. In the meantime, the first participants had arrived at the venue, among them 6 lawyers coming from Bujumbura with Dieudonné, who has recently joined IBJ Burundi as a volunteer. After the opening speech of the Vice Governor and Astère’s welcome speech, Herman started animating the debates and introducing the problematic. Following the results reached in Bubanza, the session was once again dedicated to the question of pre-trial detentions. After having seen how pre-trial detentions were averse to the principle of alleged guiltlessness, the participants broke out into groups in order to identify the root causes of this phenomenon. Various ideas were suggested such as the lack of vehicles and fuel to allow judges to visit detainees and speed up procedures, the lack of access to lawyers or even paralegals to inform detainees of their rights. More challenging, some participants highlighted a certain shortage of professional conscience and even political pressures put on magistrates that lead to the justice dysfunction.

During the afternoon, participants were requested to reflect upon concrete solutions to put an end to this predicament. Numerous ideas were put forward, ranging from pleading the nullity of the procedure for lawyers defending long-term pre-trial detainees to making available police escorts to facilitate detainees’ transfers to courts so as to accelerate procedures. The most interesting proposal came along with the lawyers’ group suggesting to renew the operation held in Bubanza consisting in mandating lawyers coming from Bujumbura to visit Gitega prison and to point out illegal detentions. A few days after, a special court hearing could be organized where judges would statute on potential releases. Members of the penitentiary administration turned out enthusiastic and magistrates were not opposed to the proposal. Details have now to be discussed between IBJ and APRODH on how we could effectively support this effort.

After group pictures, participants went back home but the IBJ delegation stayed in Gitega for another last day of rights awareness campaign. Overall, about 1450 people have been educated about their rights in Gitega. We had a very safe night too, surrounded by several machine gun equipped security men, as the President of the Senate was also finding shelter at our guest house, even if he was hardly recognisable the next morning, as he was wearing sport suit and slippers… Our last day in Gitega went on smoothly and was dedicated to post-campaign surveys, aiming at evaluating the efficiency and visibility of our awareness efforts in Burundi. We finally left Gitega Friday at the beginning of the afternoon, after having shared a last lunch with our local partner APRODH representative and the young volunteers who helped us raising the population awareness. The drive back was a bit longer due to abundant rains making the road slippery and a few stops to buy delicious vegetables, while listening to rock music or religious preaches, depending on preferences. Anyhow, at the end of the path, it was a well deserved week-end for everyone.

Above: The banner displayed in downtown Gitega (Photo by Jean-Baptiste Bouzard)

Above: The Senior Counsellor of Gitega Governor opening the roundtable (Photo by Claire Habimana)

Above: Breaking out into groups: lawyers discussing strategies to curb pre-trial detention (Photo by Jean-Baptiste Bouzard)

Above: Senior prison officials putting together ideas to fight prison owercrowding in Gitega (Photo by Claire Habimana)

Above: Police officer exposing the commitments of the police to reduce pre-trial detention (Photo by Claire Habimana)

Above: Participants of the roundtable reflecting upon the challenge of delayed justice (Photo by Jean-Baptiste Bouzard)

Above: The entrance to Gitega Prison, whose occupancy rate is 377% as of May 2009. (Photo by Nathalie Mohadjer).

There is no doubt that the continuous lobby of IBJ Fellow and Country Manager, Astère Muyango, the series of meetings conducted with top officials in June 2009 and the momentum created by the widely-publicized training and roundtable events contributed to this unanimously acclaimed decision. The government representatives who took part in the series of training and roundtable workshops got invited via the Office for the Coordination of the Stakeholders of the Justice Sector (“Bureau de coordination des intervenants dans le secteur de la justice”), the initiator of the circular within the Ministry of Justice, with which Astère has been in constant touch, lobbying in favor of the rights of the accused persons.

Efforts to comply with the provisions of the newly enacted penal code, which brings up the age of criminal responsibility from 13 to 15 years-old, are greatly needed. However, when operating in a system which strives to rebuild from ashes, the key to reform is sometimes in the provision of the most basic tools. The Prison Director of Bubanza, Salvator Ngendahayo, recently admitted that he was very enthusiastic about implementing this circular and improving the living conditions in his prison, but that handcuffs crucially lack for wardens to escort detainees to the courtroom. The sad reality is therefore that people, whose guilt has not yet been objectively established, end up languishing in prison because unable to assist to their hearing. The Bubanza Prison occupancy rate – 430% – is amongst the highest in the country. The country’s penitentiary administration is significantly under-resourced: there is only one truck to transport prisoners from and to courts; and, quite frankly, after seeing the state of the vehicle at Mpimba Prison in late June 2009, we cannot seriously imagine that it can meet the demands of the country’s 6837 pre-trial detainees (May 2009 data from the Burundian Penitentiary Administration). Lack of transportation therefore means that, guilty or not, some detainees can stay up to 9 years waiting to appear before the judges. This is a “pretty” long period of time considering that life expectancy for men is equal to 51 years (according to 2009 data from the CIA World Fact book). This situation is unacceptable in the light of the principle of presumption of innocence which is enshrined in Burundi’s Constitution (art. 40).

Above: Bubanza Prison wardens lack handcuffs to escort detainees to the courtroom; here with defendants that IBJ volunteer lawyers eventually helped get released, July 2009. (Photo by Astère Muyango).

The urgency of the situation urged Déogratias Suzuguye, the Director of the Penitentiary Administration, whom IBJ delegation has already met twice, to invite IBJ to take part in a newly set up Task Force (“Plan d’action sur la maîtrise de la population carcérale 2009-2010”) whose main objective is to reduce prison overcrowding in 2009-2010. Specifically, the Task Force seeks to reduce pre-trial detention through improved coordination among the major stakeholders, institutional capacity-building and enhanced respect for the criminal procedures, in particular when it comes to delays. The hope is to expedite trials, have magistrates resort to pre-trial detention in the least cases possible, and make sure the accused are aware of their rights and legally assisted throughout the proceeding. This is a formidable window of opportunity for IBJ which, three years after its initial trip to Burundi, clearly has had an impact on building a climate for reform in Burundi.

Above: From left to right: Karen Tse, IBJ Founder and CEO, Déogratias Suzuguye, the Director of the Penitentiary Administration and Astère Muyango, IBJ Burundi Fellow and Country Manager meeting on June 26th, 2009. (Photo by Fanny Cachat)

Ci-dessus: Des participants à la marche contre la torture organisée par USAID à Bujumbura le samedi 27 Juin 2009 (Photo de Nathalie Mohadjer)

Un mois plus tard, IBJ prenait la direction de Bubanza pour y tenir une table ronde consacrée au phénomène de la détention préventive et des conséquences qu’il peut engendrer en terme de surpopulation carcérale. Elle fut précédée de plusieurs sessions de distributions de posters servant là aussi à informer de leurs droits les populations rurales n’ayant souvent pas accès aux informations diffusées à l’échelle nationale. Cette table ronde fut un franc succès au regard des résultats obtenus qui ne manquèrent pas d’être soulignés dans les médias régionaux dépêchés pour l’évènement. Les échéances à venir, nouvelles tables rondes ou début des activités d’aide juridictionnelle, représentent autant de possibilités de médiatisation, mais de part ces témoignages, IBJ commence déjà à s’inscrire dans le paysage burundais dans son domaine de prédilection.

Ci-dessus: Sensibilisation médiatique sur les murs du Tribunal de Grande Instance de Gitega (Photo de Nathalie Mohadjer)

Mais au-delà de l’action d’IBJ, c’est bien la question du fonctionnement même de la justice qui tend à prendre une place centrale au Burundi, les différents acteurs semblant prendre conscience que la paix et la démocratie ne pourront être garantis sans un fonctionnement efficace et équitable du système. Le Bureau intégré des Nations Unies au Burundi (BINUB) et certaines ONG ont ainsi eu un rôle crucial dans la médiatisation de l’aspect respect des Droits de l’Homme et des personnes détenues dans le processus de réconciliation nationale. Ces organisations ne manquent pas de convoquer la presse à chacune de leurs interventions et leurs manifestations sont régulièrement retransmises par les médias locaux et nationaux. Cette place prise dans les médias tend dès lors à correspondre avec un changement de mentalité des décideurs. Sans que l’on puisse exclusivement en attribuer le mérite à la médiatisation du travail des ONG, il est en effet indéniable que les instances judiciaires semblent plus ouvertes au dialogue et enclines à accepter les appuis non gouvernementaux à la réforme du système judiciaire. De cette manière, l’administration pénitentiaire, le corps des magistrats, la police judiciaire et le barreau ont pleinement joué le jeu des tables rondes d’IBJ en facilitant la participation de leurs membres. Plus important, les recommandations ont été suivies d’effets concrets avec la tenue d’un conseil spécial aboutissant aux libérations rapides de prisonniers en détentions irrégulières dans la province de Bubanza. Cette tendance est également perceptible au niveau ministériel avec la parution récente d’une circulaire visant à s’attaquer à la surpopulation carcérale en ciblant deux catégories de détenus pouvant bénéficier d’une mesure de libération. Cela concerne les mineurs de moins de 15 ans, dans le but de se mettre en conformité avec le nouveau Code Pénal, et les prévenus ayant passés 12 mois en détention préventive alors qu’ils encourent une peine ne dépassant pas 5 ans de servitude pénale (art.75 du Code de Procédure Pénale). Enfin, un projet d’envergure ayant pour but de limiter le recours à l’emprisonnement est actuellement en cours d’analyse, et devrait impliquer les membres de la société civile autant que les instances officielles. Ces prémices de changements institutionnels se révèlent au final très encourageants, et IBJ compte bien faire entendre sa vision originale et novatrice de la promotion des Droits de l’Homme et apporter sa pierre à l’édification d’un système mettant la dignité humaine au cœur de ses préoccupations.