Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Burkina Faso
| Publisher | Child Soldiers International |
| Publication Date | 2001 |
| Cite as | Child Soldiers International, Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Burkina Faso, 2001, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4988060cc.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
BURKINA FASO
Mainly covers the period June 1998 to April 2001 as well as including some earlier information.
- Population:
– total: 11,616,000
– under-18s: 6,295,000 - Government armed forces:
– active: 10,000
– paramilitary: 45,250 - Compulsory recruitment age: 18
- Voluntary recruitment age: 20
- Voting age (government elections): 18
- Child soldiers: none indicated
- CRC-OP-CAC: not signed
- Other treaties ratified: ACRWC; CRC; GC/API+II; ILO 138
- There are no indications of under-18s in government armed forces.
GOVERNMENT
National Recruitment Legislation and Practice
According to Article 10 of the Constitution of 11 June 1991, "Each citizen of Burkina Faso is required to contribute to the defence and preservation of territorial integrity. Each citizen is required to carry out national service upon demand.290 According to the initial report of Burkina Faso to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, submitted in 1993, the minimum age for voluntary enlistment in the armed forces is 20 whereas the minimum age of conscription, known as National Development Service, is 18.291 However, the UN reported in 1997 that there is no conscription in Burkina Faso.292
Military Training and Military Schools
According to Rädda Barnen (Swedish Save the Children) the military school Prytanée militaire of Kadiogo accepts children between ages 11 and 13, but pupils are not members of the armed forces.
290 Law No. 48/93ADP on the Establishment of National Service. Updated in Law n° 002/97ADP of 27/6/97. Unofficial translation.
291 Initial report of Burkina Faso to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Doc. CRC/C/3/Add.19 of 15/7/93, para. 12. (submitted in 1993).
292 Report of the Secretary-General, UN doc. E/CN.4/2000/55, op. cit.
