Human Rights-Letter to the Government

To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter as a member of the new established organization, the Protectors of Children Rights. PCR is created by the concerns of the people, in variety of countries, about the children rights. We believe that NCOs are not capable of detecting of all the unfair acts done on children. This is why we established the 29th group of PCR which is right here in Burundi. We had some negotiations with UNICEF by helping those finding children who need the help of UNICEF. I want to clarify that this letter is written to give some advice to the Government of Burundi.

As deduction, throughout the researches we have made as the PCR organization we found out the following information about the abuse of children rights in Burundi. At the end of the year 2006 about 400 children are imprisoned in Burundian prisons, mostly awaiting for their trials. However, these kids aged between 13 and 18 are treated if they are adults. Thus lots of their rights are abused because of them being only children. In the Burundian courts, children treated as adults. Seventy-five percent of the kids are getting the same punishment with the adults. The criminal age is 13 in Burundi, thus people are considered minor criminals who aged between 13 and 18. So there has to be a benefit for being a minor criminal. On the other hand the conditions of the prisons are appalling. The Burundian prisons do lack of space, food, water, dormitory and sanitary facilities. Especially the lack of food and education specifically affect the children. Also they are kept with the adult criminals where they are defenseless against the physical and sexual abuse by the adults. Unfortunately, these are the few out of hundreds ways that children rights are being abused.

As the PCR Organization of Burundi, we have some recommendations to the government of Burundi. First of all, amendments, about rising the age of criminal responsibility, have to be made