Human trafficking in Burundi

Burundi ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2012.

In 2010 the government made clear progress in combating trafficking during the reporting period, particularly with regard to identifying trafficking victims, investigating potential trafficking offenses, and raising public awareness. In 2009, a Bujumbura court heard a case involving child domestic servitude, the first known prosecution of a case involving elements of a human trafficking offense. In 2014, a law was enacted that criminalized all forms of trafficking, but little was done to enforce action, so many officials did not change how trafficking was prioritized or recognized.

In 2018, Burundi was a source country for children and possibly women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of involuntary domestic servitude and forced prostitution. Children and young adults may also have been coerced into forced labor on plantations or small farms in southern Burundi, or to conduct informal commerce in the streets. Child labor was very common in agricultural fields where major exports, like tea and coffee, were harvested. Forced labour of children and adults was also very common in mines due to a large market for valuable stones and ores. Many trafficking victims could be found in mines in the northern area of Burundi, especially around Cibitoke. Some traffickers may have been family or acquaintances of victims who, under the pretext of assisting underprivileged children with education or with false promises of lucrative jobs, subjected them to forced labor, most commonly as domestic servants.