On Burkina Faso's terrible human rights record

 

Burkina Faso's human rights record collapses, NGO says, adding it to watchlist

Burkina Faso is officially being added to the international human rights Watchlist of the NGO CIVICUS, as the Sahelian country is currently rated as "repressed". Over the past few months, military authorities have drastically escalated restrictions on civil society and intensified reprisals against critics. The sheer scale of this crackdown is unprecedented, the NGO's expert states.

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By Melissa Chemam

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Burkina Faso has been added to the Civic Monitor watchlist for July 2026, due to the fact that the country has recently undergone a dramatic civic space contraction, since the military took over in September 2022.

""We have witnessed an escalating pattern of repression. But what pushed us to include the country this year is the sharp scale and intensity of state action against civil society," Nelson Baiye Mbu, a civic space research officer and an expert in human rights for the NGO CIVICUS Monitor, where he covers the Central, Western, and Lusophone regions of Africa.

There are three major reasons why Burkina Faso has been placed on this year's watch list by the NGO.

The first relates to the growing restrictive laws, particularly a law on freedom of association, enacted in July 2025.

This legislation introduced strict compliance requirements and regulations, which "the military authorities have instrumentalised to suspend civil society organisations and associations," Baiye Mbu says.

Another major reason is the fact that the military authorities have systematically used criticisms and dissent as grounds for civil repression, across multiple sectors.

"For example, the General Student Union of Burkina Faso published statements criticising the military authorities security record, and the authorities responded by suspending the union," Baiye Mbu continues. "We also have the case of the prominent Sunni Imam, Muhammad Ishaq, who was arrested in May 2026 after he publicly criticised a religious freedom bill."

And lastly, the third main reason to include Burkina in this year's watchlist is that the military authorities dissolved the about 100 registered political parties in January 2026, thus transferring their assets to the state. 

The military have this way decided to shrink the institutional channels for organised dissent and political participation, the NGO states.

Rapid, predictable deterioration

Burkina Faso's inclusion was actually anticipated, the expert also underlines.

He has monitored the country based on the information the NGO gets from online open source media, media sources, as well as from our research partners, to obtain regular updates on the civic space situation in Burkina Faso.

"If you look at the trajectory, it has been very visible since 2023. For example, we observed the forced conscription of journalists and activists under the guise of general mobilisation decree."

Regarding the press, outlets like The Voice of America, BBC Africa and others were suspended from 2024.

"So civil space deterioration wasn't a new thing. Even the dissolution of all political parties in January 2026 was a formality, as activities of political parties were already banned since September 2022."

As of 11 June, 2026, at least 1,174 civil society organisations have been suspended or dissolved. 

Activists, journalists, and religious leaders face arrests and enforced disappearances. Military authorities have also been accused of using forced military conscription to silence critics.

Censorship has deepened, notably with the indefinite suspension of TV5 Monde on May 5, 2026. Authorities are also increasingly limiting international scrutiny, recently suspending the United Nations Human Rights Office in Burkina Faso.

The military authorities dissolved 118 civil society organisations on 15 April 2026 alone, citing a non-compliance with the new Law on Freedom of Association.

Another 564 associations were suspended between April and May 2026. 

"These organisations were given a one year grace period to comply, yet the suspensions came before that period even ended and again one month later, on 11 June 2026, another 245 civil society organisations were suspended. We are looking at about 1174 civil society organisations either suspended or dissolved, and these suspensions and dissolution comes amidst trends of silencing critical voices in the country."

The worst in a grim regional context

Burkina Faso sits within a regional context where it shares very similar trajectories with its immediate neighbours, Niger and Mali, which all underwent coups and left the regional body Ecowas.

"What's striking is that all three countries are now under military rule, and they have made a deliberate choice to align themselves together rather than remain within traditional regional structures, in January 2024, formalising the confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States, presenting themselves as a distinct, bloc from the wider West African community."

"But what is peculiar about Burkina Faso in this equation is the intensity and the pace of civil space contraction," the expert insists.

"The military took power in September 2022, but the real acceleration happened in 2026. We are talking about 1174 civil society organisations suspended or dissolved by mid June alone. And this wasn't a gradual process.

The regime has moved beyond targeting individuals, they are cracking down on civil society.

"So, while Mali and Niger may be competing in this area, Burkina Faso's 2026 civil space record represents a particularly aggressive consolidation of military authority, with very little space left for dissent or independent organising," Baiye Mbu says.

"My suggestion and recommendation is that the international community monitors work, through secure channels, to aggregate information from multiple sources and build digital communication systems that can make it harder to suppress evidence," he adds.

The challenge is that local monitors or civil societies themselves are under tremendous pressure.

"So international capacity building support must become even more critical," Baiye Mbu concludes.

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*A shorter version of this piece is to come out on RFI's website

Newletter - Summer 2026

 

This summer in Africa (and how this impacts the world)

A round-up of news, some links and some insight.

Melissa Chemam

Jul 28, 2026

A new rhythm for this newsletter... ? We’ll see.

But for now, politics is dominated by fires literally and more metaphorically…

Here is a quick round-up of the biggest African stories of this first part of the summer that have an international impact.

https://melissa.substack.com/p/this-summer-in-africa-and-how-this

Palestinians hope UNESCO designation halts Israeli push at West Bank site

 

Palestinians hope UNESCO designation halts Israeli push at West Bank site

By Ali Sawafta

RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 25 (Reuters) - Palestinian officials welcomed UNESCO's designation of Sebastia in the occupied West Bank as a World Heritage site, hoping it will prevent Israel extending its control at the ancient village, while Israel condemned it as a political decision.

Sebastia, in the northern West Bank, has archaeological remnants from successive periods dating back at least to the 9th-century BC capital of the Israelite kingdom, through the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic periods, Crusader and Ottoman eras, according to UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organisation.

Olive trees surround the site, dotting a landscape of Roman columns, ancient walls and stone steps and an amphitheatre. It is traditionally seen as the burial place of John the Baptist.

But Palestinian residents of the adjacent village, many of whom rely on tourism for a living, are facing land confiscations after Israel announced a plan to seize about ​1,800 dunams (445 acres) at the site, which it said was meant to develop the area.

On Friday, UNESCO added Sebastia to its World Heritage List and to the List of World Heritage in Danger, a related mechanism used to flag listed heritage sites that are facing serious threats, to try and safeguard them.

"We hope that this decision will enable us to preserve Sebastia," said Nizar Kayed, the village deputy mayor. He said that Israel's land seizure decision, announced in late 2025, was part of an Israeli push to expand settlements in the area.

The Palestinian tourism and foreign ministries said on Friday that they hoped the UNESCO recognition would help mobilize international support against Israeli measures there.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the UNESCO decision was part of a Palestinian drive to obscure Jewish ties to the land. "No vote in an international organization can change history," he said in a statement.

Palestinian officials are also concerned about a new Israeli bill, that has yet to be written into law, that would extend Israeli civil control over ancient sites in the West ​Bank.

That in effect would strip away oversight of the ancient sites from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which under the 1990s Oslo peace accords has ​exercised limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank, territory Israel captured in a 1967 war.

Chad, fifth state to leave the ICC, amid US pressure

 

Chad becomes the fifth state to leave the ICC, after US pressure

Chad has become the fifth country to start a formal withdrawal process of the International Criminal Court in recent months, following Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

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The statement issued by the Chadian government spokesperson on Monday says that Chad has announced that it had notified the UN Secretariat of "its sovereign decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court (ICC)."

"This decision follows a thorough review of the International Criminal Court's operations since it began functioning in 2002, as well as its track record—characterised by limited and geographically uneven effectiveness," the statement emphasised.

It is also pointing to the Court's "judicial activity focused on the Global South in general and the African continent in particular—which have become the willing victims of the ICC's political instrumentalisation."

Out of the 13 investigations opened by the court since it came into force, nine concern African states, as opposed to four opened in other regions of the world "but without any concrete progress", the Chadian government said.

"The court has only seven people in custody, six of whom are being prosecuted in African situations," it added.

The decision comes amid claims by national and international organisations of Chad's suspected involvement in the conflict in neighbouring Sudan.

Fifth state to leave

Chad announced its withdrawal on Monday after Venezuela, where the ICC had been conducting investigations into allegations of crimes against humanity by the previous government, said late on Friday that it had started the formal procedure to withdraw.

And, in early July the court confirmed that the three military-led African countries in the Sahel, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, formally started their withdrawal, which will take a year to go into effect.

Like Chad's, Venezuela's authorities accused the court of disproportionately focusing on non-Western states.

The African state's announcement also comes just days after 82 of the court's 125 member states voted to dismiss Karim Khan as prosecutor for serious misconduct.

That triggered an election process for a new prosecutor but details still have to be hammered out and a vote is not expected before the new year.

After Khan's removal from office, the court said it will continue to carry out its mandate.

"The ICC remains firmly committed to advancing accountability and delivering justice for victims of crimes that deeply shock the conscience of humanity," it said.

While the ICC member states consider the procedure to find Khan's replacement, the office of the prosecutor will be run by the current deputy prosecutors, Nazhat Shameen Khan from Fiji and Senegal's Mame Mandiaye Niang.

US offensive against the court

According to the statement on Chad's foreign minister's official website last week, the decision to quit the ICC follows a request by the United States.

It said the US deputy secretary of state for African affairs had called on the Chadian government to reconsider its ICC membership during a telephone call on Thursday.

"The American side expressed its concerns about the functioning of this institution and called on Chad to review its accession to the Rome Statute," the statement said.

The United States launched a diplomatic campaign this year to undermine the court and a rise in states withdrawing from the institution.

Court observers say it may be hard to find a good replacement for Khan amid this US's ramped-up diplomatic campaign.

"Who is now going to want to nominate for a position that has such challenges, because they know they will automatically be sanctioned by the US," Melanie O'Brien, professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told Reuters.

Washington wants the ICC to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over Gaza and to stop investigating alleged crimes involving US troops.

Officials told Reuters they were considering pressuring countries to withdraw from the court.

The European Union and several of the court's big backers including the Netherlands and Japan, one of the court's biggest financial contributors, have voiced support for the court and concern over the US position but have not announced any practical steps to shore up the institution.

 (with newswires)

Unusual heat hits North Africa hard

 

Unusual heat hits North Africa hard with power cuts in Tunisia, blazes in Algeria

In Tunisia long power outages across the country have added to the strain of an intense heatwave, with temperatures as high as 49C, leaving many fearing for their livelihoods and without power. Meanwhile, in Algeria, more than 100 people were hospitalised after wildfires, the country's interior minister said this week.

"I’m adapting, since the power cuts out every two hours, I avoid stocking up on food so it doesn’t spoil," vendor Mohamed Ali told RFI's reporter in the city of El Fahs, North of Tunisia. "We’ve been in this situation for three weeks, and no one understands what’s going on because the outages happen constantly."

For days, the STEG state electricity and gas company has been issuing daily heat alerts in Tunisia listing neighbourhoods where it would cut electricity to reduce pressure on the national grid.

STEG Chief Executive Faycel Trifa said heavy air conditioner use had pushed the electricity network to its limit.

Another company official told state television that electricity demand may have reached a record six gigawatts on Tuesday, after hitting 5.6 gigawatts only days earlier.

Power and water cuts have affected parts of Tunisia in previous summers, but this year's outages have spread across much of the country. Some residents say their electricity had gone off for up to six hours at a time, others said even longer.

"It feels like God has opened the gates of hell," said an employee at a pastry shop in Tunis, where cakes sat in the dark and the refrigerators had stopped running.

The outages have become one of the country's main talking points, both online and in the streets. Some now say they avoid elevators for fear of being trapped inside.

Human-driven climate change

President Kais Saied said those responsible for the failures should be held accountable. He has also ordered immediate measures to address water and electricity outages, which he described as "abnormal phenomena."

The Young Doctors' Association has recorded nearly 150 heatwave-related deaths.

Tunisian business groups fear the outages are hurting the economy.

Employers' organisation CONECT said the lack of precise schedules for planned cuts made it difficult for companies to prepare for production.

An employee at a factory in a Tunis suburb who requested anonymity said work had almost stopped for two days because of the repeated outages.

One butcher raised concerns over the potential damage to his equipment by the cuts as well as a drop in voltage: "They're going to ruin my refrigerator."

Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the length, intensity and frequency of heatwaves.  

Tunisia also needed to speed up the development of renewable energy. The country has vast solar potential and favourable conditions for wind power, but the biggest challenge would be storing electricity.

That would require significant public investment, she added, arguing that Tunisia needs "a change of paradigm" diversifying its energy resources.

Drought, extreme warmth and fires

Meanwhile, fires broke out in neighbouring Algeria on Tuesday in Seraidi, a town west of the city of Annaba surrounded by forests.

More than 100 people were hospitalised this week after the wildfires reached nearly 150 homes in a small town in the north-eastern region of the country, according to the interior ministry.

Interior Minister Said Sayoud told reporters at a local hospital that most of the hospitalised people were in a "stable and reassuring" condition, adding that more than 150 homes had been affected by the fires.

Civil protection crews "were still battling the blazes" most of the week, the minister added.

Algeria has been grappling with hundreds of wildfires for days, with at least six people dead in several provinces, according to the interior ministry.

Every summer, northern Algeria is struck by forest fires, a phenomenon exacerbated by drought and climate change.

Dozens of people have been killed in recent years and thousands of hectares of forest or farmland destroyed, along with numerous homes.

A court in Algiers said Wednesday that four people had been placed in pre-trial detention for "setting fires within forest areas" around northeastern Algeria's Constantine province.

 (with AFP)

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For solutions, listen to our podcast episode:

 Climate justice in Africa: floods, fossil fuels and the fightback

Omer Bartov decries Israel's ongoing impunity

 

As NYC Mayor Mamdani calls on Trump to Arrest Netanyahu, Genocide scholar Omer Bartov decries Israel's ongoing impunity

Israeli American Holocaust scholar Omer Bartov says on Democracy Now Israel's assault on Gaza predicts "the future of genocide," with the perpetrator not only enjoying impunity for crimes against humanity but also profiting from the death and destruction. 

He adds that Israeli leaders will almost certainly escape accountability because international allies, including the United States and many European states, have failed to uphold international law.

 Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Livestream at democracynow.org  

On corporate support for Israel’s occupation

Rights groups sue France over failure to prevent corporate support for Israel’s occupation

 

Five human rights organisations filed a legal challenge this Wednesday before the Conseil d’État, France’s highest administrative court, seeking an order requiring the French government to adopt effective measures to prevent French corporate and financial actors from contributing to Israel’s unlawful occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). 

Paris, 22 July 2026. The plaintiffs–the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Jurists for the Respect of International Law (JURDI), the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), La Ligue des droits humains (LDH) and Law for Palestine–argue that France has failed to meet its obligations under international law by not implementing effective measures to prevent companies and financial institutions from engaging in trade, investment, and other commercial activities that sustain Israel’s continued unlawful presence in the OPT. They are represented by Henri Thulliez, Yacine Baita, and Frédéric Thiriez, and advised by Open Society Justice Initiative. The defendants include the French Prime Minister and several ministers responsible for the economy, foreign affairs, and commerce.

The case builds on the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in which the Court said it is of the opinion that Israel’s continued presence in the OPT is unlawful and clarified that all states are obligated not to recognise as legal the situation arising from Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and to neither render aid nor assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s continued presence in the OPT. The World Court further clarified that states must take steps to prevent trade and investment relations that contribute to the illegal occupation. The applicants contend that France has not translated these obligations into concrete regulatory or enforcement measures.

James Goldston, Executive Director of Open Society Justice Initiative, said "The International Court of Justice left no doubt that states cannot stand on the sidelines when faced with legal obligations. This case is about ensuring that France halts any aid or assistance for the unlawful occupation of Palestine. International law only has force if states are prepared to implement it in practice."

Ihsan Adel, Founder and Chair of Law for Palestine, stressed that "States cannot comply with their obligations while settlement goods remain on their markets and corporations continue settlement-related business activities."

The ICJ’s position on third-states obligations towards the situation in the OPT underscore that the occupation has been sustained not only by military force but also by the economic support of third states and private actors to the detriment of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and sovereignty over their land and resources.

Alexis Deswaef, President of FIDH, described the case "as an opportunity for the Conseil d’État to take a strong stance and reaffirm the State’s responsibilities with respect to corporate activities in occupied Palestine."

Ghislain Poissonnier, Vice President for JURDI, said: "JURDI notes that despite the ICJ’s 2024 Advisory Opinion, deeming the occupation illegal, France has not acted, making legal action necessary to end its corporate support to the illegal situation in occupied Palestine".

Although France recognised the State of Palestine in September 2025, it has not implemented effective measures that address any economic and commercial relations linked to the illegal occupation.

Before filing the case, the plaintiffs formally requested that the French government adopt measures to comply with the binding legal obligations set out in the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, including preventing trade and investment that sustain the unlawful situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and ensuring French companies do not contribute to it. The government did not respond but issued new recommendations to French businesses operating in the settlements on June 30th, 2026, that expose "themselves to the risk of being found guilty of violating international law".

For the claimants, the government failed to respond to their request, which amounts to an implicit administrative decision allowing the plaintiffs to challenge it before the Conseil d’État. They argue that this inaction contradicts France’s own public support for the Advisory Opinion and its acknowledgment of the duty to distinguish between Israel and the OPT in economic dealings. Citing evidence that French companies continue operating in sectors such as transportation, construction, finance, and commercial services in the OPT, the plaintiffs contend that France has failed to regulate corporate conduct and prevent businesses from contributing to violations of Palestinians’ rights. They are asking the Conseil d’État to declare the State’s inaction unlawful and order measures to ensure compliance with international law, including restrictions on occupation-linked trade and investment, corporate safeguards, and monitoring mechanisms.

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Read our Questions and answers here.

Mamdani on Netanyahu

 

'Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.'

- Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Mayor of New York City

"The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for a reason. He should be arrested and stand trial. My administration examined every legal avenue available to determine whether New York City could execute that warrant. The law is clear: we do not have that authority. The federal government does." 

"So we are calling on the United States to uphold international law, cooperate with the ICC, apprehend Benjamin Netanyahu and transfer him to The Hague to face justice. We cannot end this genocide on our own. But we can use every tool available to defend humanity and uphold justice. That is the responsibility of this city. And it is my commitment as mayor."

Stop atrocities in Sudan's El-Obeid

 

G7, EU urge halt to attacks in Sudan's El-Obeid, calls for wider arms embargo

G7 foreign ministers and the European Union's foreign policy chief on Wednesday urged Sudan's Rapid Support Forces and allied armed groups to stop all actions that could lead to further atrocities or endanger civilians in El-Obeid.

Displaced women in El Obeid (Reuters)

"We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union urge the Rapid Support Forces and allied armed groups to immediately cease any action likely to lead to further atrocities or endanger civilians in El-Obeid, including drone strikes and impediments to humanitarian access," the statement reads.

The ministers also called on all parties, including the Sudanese army, to cease hostilities, allow aid access and engage in good-faith talks.

"Following the atrocities committed during the Rapid Support Forces’ siege and attack on El Fasher, we remain gravely concerned about alleged severe violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law across Kordofan and Darfur regions, as well as Blue Nile in Sudan," the statement continues.

The countries urge the Rapid Support Forces, as well as the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied armed groups, "to abide by their obligations under the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable," it adds, as "civilians must be protected."

The G7 therefore calls on parties to the conflict to guarantee safe voluntary passage, and to facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access into and around El-Obeid and throughout the country.

Ministers also backed United Nations' efforts to de-escalate the crisis, called on the UN Security Council to expand the Darfur arms embargo to all of Sudan, urged external actors to halt military and financial support to the warring sides, and vowed to promote accountability for violations while supporting Sudan's unity and democratic aspirations.

"We support the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Mr. Pekka Haavisto, to advance de-escalation in El-Obeid and support ongoing broader efforts by the Quad and the Quintet to achieve a humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and an independent, inclusive, transparent and civilian-led political dialogue," the statement reads.

Spiralling crisis

Sudan has been at war since April 2023, with serious reports of human rights violations and crimes against humanity.

This war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, now in its fourth year, has displaced millions and devastated much of the country. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned of worsening food insecurity and limited humanitarian access.

The conflict has been described as the current worst humaniratian crisis in the world by the UN.

According to a senior World Food Programme (WFP) official, the country now risks sliding backwards into deeper hunger as conflict, aid funding cuts and rising agricultural costs driven by disruption linked to the Iran war threaten to reverse gains made after famine took hold in parts of the country, said on Tuesday.

Around 5 million people facing emergency or catastrophic levels of hunger, even after an intensive aid response helped reduce the number of people in famine-like conditions, Carl Skau, the WFP's acting executive director, told Reuters.

"It's a massive crisis, both in terms of numbers, but also the gravity," he said, adding that more than 100,000 people were still facing famine-like conditions, placing them in the highest level of the UN-backed IPC hunger classification.

"With these kinds of numbers in IPC (Phase) 5 starvation it is extremely, extremely serious," he said.

Across Sudan, nearly 19.5 million people face high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the IPC.

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On the evolution of the war, you can also listen to our recent podcast episode:

Sudan: Three years of war and new reports of meddling by Ethiopia

Gorillaz

 

Gorillaz - 'Damascus' 

(ft. Omar Souleyman & Yasiin Bey) 

 Live Together For Palestine