CIVICUS adds Burkina Faso to watchlist over ‘severe repression’
CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists, has added Burkina Faso to its monitor watchlist over concerns of state suppression of civil society and civic freedom.
In the monitor, updated on July 29, Burkina Faso was rated “repressed” — the second-worst category on the CIVICUS watchlist. Bahrain, Ecuador, Georgia and India were also added to the updated list.
Earlier this year, the Burkinabe junta dissolved all political parties and repealed laws governing their operation.
“The scale of this assault on civil society is unprecedented,” Pierre-Claver Akolly Amegnikpo of the West African Human Rights Defenders’ Network said.
Authorities are using restrictive legislation and ambiguous administrative measures to dismantle organisations,” Akolly Amegnikpo added.
In May, the ruling military junta also suspended the General Student Union of Burkina Faso (UGEB), the country’s largest student movement, over allegations of “glorifying terrorism” after it criticised the administration’s handling of the country’s security situation.
Religious organisations were similarly suspended, including the Coordination of Young Muslims of Burkina and Association As Salam, on grounds of “public disorder’” or alleged activities “not conforming to their stated mandate.
The junta also adopted restrictive laws criminalising same-sex relations and granted authorities the power to revoke citizenship and tighten financial controls on non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Akolly Amegnikpo said the dissolution of all political parties in Burkina Faso represents an “extraordinary attack” on political pluralism.
“Combined with the targeting of civil society groups and critics, it points to a systematic effort to silence independent voices,” he added.
CIVICUS also criticised Burkina Faso’s repression of press freedom, noting the abduction of Atiana Serge Oulon, a journalist, by security forces in June 2024. Oulon’s whereabouts remain unknown.
The global alliance of CSOs also frowned at the country’s suspension of the United Nations Human Rights Office (UNHRC) and its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), along with Mali and the Niger Republic. CIVICUS said the moves stunted efforts to boost international security.