Burkina Faso

Featured Report

Not Available

Immigration detainees

2019

No Data

Detained children

Featured Report

Overview

Types of facilities used for migration-related detention
Administrative Ad Hoc Criminal Unknown

Related Reading

May 2020
Burkina Faso Immigration Detention Data Profile (2020)
Read more

05 May 2020

A Soldier Standing Behind ICRC Provided Equipment for Prisons, (
A Soldier Standing Behind ICRC Provided Equipment for Prisons, ("Prévention du Covid-19 dans les Prisons: Le CICR Fournit du Matériel au Ministère de la Justice," Lefaso.net, 14 April 2020, https://lefaso.net/spip.php?article96172)

Burkina Faso has rapidly turned into an “unprecedented humanitarian emergency” as conflicts in the Sahel region have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the past two years, according to MSF. As the Covid-19 pandemic takes hold in the country, UNHCR has expressed alarm over “the growing insecurity in Burkina Faso, where violence is forcing thousands of people to flee their homes every day.’’

On 3 May, there were 652 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Burkina Faso, making it the most affected of the West African Sahel country. Authorities declared a state of sanitary emergency on 27 March, closed its borders, and announced a quarantine in eight cities. A week before, on 19 March, the Ministry of Justice suspended most visits in prisons, allowing only lawyers to visit clients if they respected sanitary measures.

On 3 April, the president announced the release of 1,207 detainees based on their age, state of health, amount of time served. At that time, 7,621 people were imprisoned in the country and the occupancy level in prisons, based on official capacity, was at approximately 190 percent. In 2019, the UN Committee against Torture expressed concern ‘’about conditions of detention, impunity, impacts of counterterrorism measures on human rights, and actions by members of self-defence militias (Koglweogo) who are reportedly carrying out illegal arrests, detention, murder and acts of torture.’’

On 10 April, the ICRC distributed medical equipment to the country. Soap, antiseptic gel and thermometers, amongst other things, were then re-distributed by the government to prison facilities.

In the Goudoubo refugee camp, located in the northeast, attacks from armed groups forced refugees to flee in early April. A UNHCR spokesperson reported that “Some took refuge in the overcrowded sites initially reserved for the internally displaced.’’

Last updated:

ENFORCEMENT DATA

Total Migration Detainees: Flow + Stock (year)
Not Available
2019
Criminal Prison Population (Year)
7,544
2015
5,823
2013
5,198
2010
4,207
2007
2,799
2004
2,757
2001
2,039
1998
1,653
1995
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
4.1
2013
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
41
2015
32
2013
31
2010
28
2007
20
2004
21
2001
17
1998
15
1995

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
20,900,000
2020
18,106,000
2015
International Migrants (Year)
718,338
2019
704,700
2015
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
3.9
2015
Refugees (Year)
25,869
2019
25,122
2018
24,155
2017
32,546
2016
34,017
2015
31,894
2014
Ratio of Refugees Per 1000 Inhabitants (Year)
1.75
2016
1.81
2014
New Asylum Applications (Year)
28
2019
77
2016
190
2014
Refugee Recognition Rate (Year)
100
2014
Stateless Persons (Year)
0
2016
0
2015

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
1,094
2014
Remittances to the Country
121
2014
Unemployment Rate
2014
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (in Millions USD)
1,119.9
2014
Human Development Index Ranking (UNDP)
183 (Low)
2015

B. Attitudes and Perceptions

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

GOVERNANCE SYSTEM

Legal Tradition(s)
Civil law
2017
Customary law
2017

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

GROUNDS FOR MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

LENGTH OF MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

DETENTION MONITORS

> National human rights monitoring bodies

> National Preventive Mechanisms (Optional Protocol to UN Convetion against Torture)

> Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

> Governmental monitoring bodies

> International detention monitoring

TRANSPARENCY

READMISSION/RETURN/EXTRADITION AGREEMENTS

COVID-19

HEALTH CARE

COVID-19 DATA

Has the country released immigration detainees as a result of the pandemic?
Unknown
2021
Has the country used legal "alternatives to detention" as part of pandemic detention releases?
Unknown
2021
Has the country Temporarily Ceased or Restricted Issuing Detention Orders?
Unknown
2021
Has the Country Adopted These Pandemic-Related Measures for People in Immigration Detention?
COVID-19 Testing: UnknownVaccinations: UnknownProvision of Masks: UnknownProvision of Hygiene Supplies: UnknownSuspension of Visits: Unknown
2021
Has the Country Locked-Down Previously "Open" Reception Facilities, Shelters, Refugee Camps, or Other Forms of Accommodation for Migrant Workers or Other Non-Citizens?
No
2020
Have cases of COVID-19 been reported in immigration detention facilities or any other places used for immigration detention purposes?
Unknown
2021
Has the Country Ceased or Restricted Deportations/Removals During any Period After the Onset of the Pandemic?
Unknown
2021
Has the Country Released People from Criminal Prisons During the Pandemic?
Yes
2020
Have Officials Blamed Migrants, Asylum Seekers, or Refugees for the Spread of COVID-19?
Unknown
2021
Has the Country Restricted Access to Asylum Procedures?
Yes but restrictons ended
2020
Has the Country Commenced a National Vaccination Campaign?
No
2021
Have Populations of Concern Been Included/Excluded From the National Vaccination Campaign?
People in Immigration Custody (including legal in "alternatives to detention" or at open reception centres): UnknownRefugees: UnknownUndocumented Migrants: UnknownAsylum Seekers: UnknownStateless People: Unknown
2021

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CRSSP, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
2012
2012
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2010
2010
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2009
2009
OPCRPD, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2009
2009
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2009
2009
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2003
2003
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2002
2002
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2002
2002
ICESCR, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1999
1999
ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
1999
1999
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1999
1999
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1990
1990
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1987
1987
PCRSR, Protocol to the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1980
1980
CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1980
1980
ICERD, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1974
1974
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1964
1964
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 18/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1999 2005
2005
CRPD, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2009
2009
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 1999
1999
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
3/9
2017
Relevant Recommendations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on Migrant Workers "§25 (b) ensure that any form of detention of migrant workers for offences against immigration law is not arbitrary and is used only as a measure of last resort; (c) take measures to improve conditions of detention, including in detention facilities for foreign nationals, in the light of international standards." 2013
2013
2017

NON-TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Relevant Recommendations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2009
2017
No 2013
2017

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
ACHPR, African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights 1984
1984
2017
ACRWC, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1992
1992
2017
APRW, Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) 2006
2006
2017

DETENTION COSTS

OUTSOURCING

FOREIGN SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR DETENTION OPERATIONS