Urgent call for human rights protection for peul communities in Burkina Faso

as the 45th session of the human rights council concludes in the coming days, the world organisation against torture and its sos-torture network partners implore the special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and all council members to direct critical attention towards the peul populations of Burkina Faso. these communities find themselves ensnared in the intense struggle against terrorism across the Sahel region.

since 2016, the peul people in Burkina Faso have been subjected to grave human rights violations, actions that frequently align with international crimes. the sheer scale of massacres in certain localities suggests a potential ethnic cleansing, characterized by their widespread, systematic, and indiscriminate nature.

these incidents predominantly involve the extrajudicial killing of thousands of civilians, carried out either by state security forces aided by government-backed self-defense groups, or by non-state armed factions. between january 2019 and may 2020 alone, hundreds of non-combatants were brutally slain in areas such as yirgou, kain ouro, banh, barga, djibo, and tawalbougou. moreover, thousands of other civilians, including children, languish in inhumane conditions within prisons, particularly those in kaya and loumbila. these individuals face arbitrary arrests and secret detentions, often denied access to magistrates or legal counsel. compounding these issues, a pervasive environment of discrimination and stigmatization has emerged against these communities, who also suffer from severe food insecurity.

despite numerous investigative reports and formal complaints submitted to the courts, burkinabé authorities have shown a reluctance to identify and hold accountable those responsible for these transgressions. we urge the human rights council to recommend that the Burkina Faso government implement comprehensive security and judicial measures, thereby fostering a protective environment for this vulnerable group.

media contact:

iolanda jaquemet, communications director
[email protected]
(+) 41 79 539 41 06

the world organisation against torture (omct) is the foremost global coalition of ngos committed to combating torture and ill-treatment. it encompasses over 200 member organizations across more than 90 countries. its international secretariat is located in geneva, switzerland.