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III. Methods

This report is based on interviews carried out by Human Rights Watch researchers between May 2006 and February 2007 with 112 children imprisoned in ten of the eleven prisons in Burundi. We also interviewed another 30 children, including children recently released from detention, others held at a demobilization center for former participants of the rebel group, the National Liberation Forces (Forces Nationales pour la Libération, FNL), children detained in police lock-ups and communal holding cells. Some parents of imprisoned children were also interviewed. Interviews were conducted in Kirundi and Kiswahili, with translation into French.

In addition, in conjunction with the Burundian Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained People (APRODH), Human Rights Watch researchers questioned all the 136 children incarcerated in Mpimba central prison in Bujumbura between January 31 and February 2, 2007 about family background, level of education, work experience and access to legal assistance. Quantitative results presented in this study and in the annex are based on those 136 interviews.  Children jailed at the central prison may not be representative of all children in prison, but little or no differences are expected in the profile of children jailed at Mpimba prison compared to other prisons in Burundi. The majority of children accused of involvement with the rebel group are held there so other prisons have a smaller percentage accused of that crime. The alleged crimes and physical conditions of those at Mpimba were generally similar to those found in the other prisons throughout the country. It is possible that children in Mpimba benefit from better access to legal assistance than those in other prisons because of the proximity to Bujumbura, where most lawyers are based.  

Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed prosecutors, judges, and current and former members of the prison administration. We also spoke with child protection officers of United Nations Operations in Burundi (ONUB), Integrated Office of the United Nations in Burundi (BINUB), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as well as with representatives of local non-governmental organizations that currently provide legal and medical assistance in the prisons and jails.

In this report, we use “prison” to refer to the 11 government facilities so designated by the Burundian government and we use the word “child” to refer to anyone under the age of 18.¹ For their protection and in respect of their right to privacy, we use pseudonyms for children interviewed and for some interviews we omit the place or time of the interview.

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