Freedom in the World 2001 - Burkina Faso

2001 Scores

Status: Partly Free
Freedom Rating: 4.0
Civil Liberties: 4
Political Rights: 4

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Burkina Faso received an upward trend arrow for taking a step toward ending impunity for security forces.

Overview

Authorities in Burkina Faso made what appeared to be a step toward ending impunity for the country's security forces. Three presidential guards were sentenced in August 2000 to between 10 and 20 years of imprisonment for the 1998 torture death of a former chauffeur of François Compaoré, the brother of President Blaise Compaoré. A coalition of pressure groups, calling itself the Collective of Political Parties, Labor Unions, and Nongovernmental Organizations Against Impunity, said it was happy about the ruling, but not satisfied. They want the president's brother, who was implicated in the crime, to be brought to justice as well.

Four of the five presidential guards initially charged in the killing of the driver, David Ouedraogo, have also been implicated in the death of well-known journalist Norbert Zongo, who was investigating Ouedraogo's murder. The deaths have galvanized Burkina Faso's civil society to speak out against impunity. A three-day strike in April considerably slowed activity in the capital, Ouagadougou. Thirty people were detained in connection with the protest, including the country's most prominent human rights leader, but they were soon released.

After gaining independence from France in 1960 as Upper Volta, Burkina Faso suffered a succession of army coups. In 1983, Compaoré installed himself as president in a violent coup against members of a junta that had seized power four years earlier and had pursued a watered-down Marxist-Leninist ideology. The populist, charismatic president Thomas Sankara and 13 of this closest associates were murdered. More Sankara supporters were executed two years later.

Parliament in April 2000 adopted a law governing the role of opposition parties in the country's democratic process. It remains to be seen whether interpretations of the law will be manipulated by the state, and whether the greater freedoms the law provides for will be allowed in practice.

Burkina Faso is one of the world's poorest countries. More than 80 percent of its 11 million people rely on subsistence agriculture. Concern has grown that political upheaval in neighboring Côte d'Ivoire will trigger the return of millions of Burkinabé who have been working there.

Burkina Faso has come under widespread criticism from both within West Africa and abroad for allegedly allowing its territory to be used for illegal arms shipments destined for Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Angola.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Burkina Faso's 1991 constitution guarantees its people the right to elect their government freely through periodic multiparty elections. In practice, this right has not been realized. Presidential polls in December 1991 were marred by widespread violence and an opposition boycott. Opposition parties and independent observers charged that 1997 legislative elections for five-year national assembly terms were marred by fraud. Opposition disunity and electoral rules sharply combined to reduce the opposition's representation in the legislature to well below the 31 percent of the popular vote that opposition parties had received. The ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) took 101 of 111 national assembly seats.

The Independent National Electoral Commission established in May 1998 did not have control over important parts of the electoral process, particularly electoral rolls and voter cards. Compaoré was returned to office for a second seven-year term in November 1998 with nearly 88 percent of the vote. The polls were marked by heavy use of state patronage, resources, and media.

Municipal elections were held in September 2000 after being postponed twice because of protest activity. Several opposition parties boycotted the polls, saying that conditions for fair elections did not exist in the country and that further steps needed to be taken for ending impunity. Voter turnout was low. The ruling CDP won about 70 percent of seats available.

Burkina Faso has a vibrant fee press, and freedom of speech is protected by the constitution and generally respected in practice. There is some self-censorship. At least 50 private radio stations, a private television station, and numerous independent newspapers and magazines function with little governmental interference. The media, which are often highly critical of the government, play an important role in public debate. The government forced a radio station off the air briefly in 2000. Broadcasting soon resumed, but without the call-in show that was criticized.

The Burkinabé judiciary is subject to executive interference in political cases, but is more independent in civil and criminal cases. National security laws permit surveillance and arrests without warrants. Police routinely ignore prescribed limits on detention, search, and seizure. Prison conditions are harsh, with overcrowding, poor diets, and minimal medical attention.

Burkina Faso is a secular state, and religious freedom is respected. Freedom of assembly is constitutionally protected and generally respected, with required permits usually issued routinely. Many nongovernmental organizations operate openly and freely, including human rights groups, which have reported detailed accounts of abuses by security forces. There have been some reports of harassment.

Labor unions and their rights are provided for in the constitution. They are a strong force in society and have staged strikes about wages, human rights abuses, and the impunity of security forces. Several labor confederations and independent unions bargain with employers.

Customary law sanctions discrimination against women and is used by traditional courts to resolve civil and family disputes, especially in rural areas. Constitutional and legal protections for women's rights are nonexistent or poorly enforced. Women's educational and employment opportunities are scarce in the countryside. A ministry of women's affairs was created in 1997, but women hold few senior government posts or parliamentary seats. Female genital mutilation is still widely practiced, even though it is illegal and a government campaign has been mounted against it.