Torture of children "widespread" - Amnesty

Human rights advocacy group, Amnesty International, has called for an end to the torture and ill-treatment of children which, it says, is "widespread" in Burundi. "Age is no protection," says AI in a new report entitled "Poverty, Isolation and Ill-treatment, Juvenile Justice in Burundi". It said it had recorded scores of cases both at the hands of civilians and Burundi authorities. Children in detention who were interviewed by AI in March 2002 had been subjected to beatings using electric flexes, sticks and other weapons; beatings on the soles of feet and joints; some had been cut or stabbed with bayonets or knives; and others had been tied in excruciating positions for long periods of time. The majority of the children interviewed displayed scars which appeared to be consistent with their stories, AI reported. Children were also vulnerable to sexual abuse in detention, including rape and prostitution, because of the practice of detaining children and adults together. Boys appeared to be particularly at risk, AI said. It was "extremely rare" that authorities took any action against members of the security forces or civilians responsible for torture and ill-treatment. "Members of the security forces convicted of torturing detainees to death had, for instance, been allowed to continue in their functions," AI reported. Speaking on Radio Burundi on Wednesday the Minister for Human Rights, Alphonse Barancira, denied the charges. "The government of Burundi does not violate children's rights. We have been in a war situation for 10 years now. All this has had an effect on the situation in the country." While acknowledging that there were children under 18 in prison in Burundi and that the conditions of their detention may not be respecting international norms, he said it was "not something we would have wished". "Special laws which protect children's rights should be put in place. The government of Burundi will study how to put them in place. Reforms have been planned in the ministry of justice and I do hope that they will take into account the children's situation," he added. Full report See IRIN focus on children in Burundi prisons