The Chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights-CNIDH deplores the cruel treatment that some parents or neighbors give to children who are caught trying to steal in the fields because they are hungry. During the press conference that was held this 9 February, Jean Baptiste Baribonekeza has said some cases are gruesome.
Two children were buried alive in Bubanza province
He was referring to the most serious case of a parent who buried his children alive in Bubanza province and that of young people who amputated the wrists of two children accusing them of having stolen maize from their fields in Itaba commune of Gitega central province.
Another serious and crucial case that he mentioned was that of a child who was stabbed by his mother accusing him of being careless while cooking in Kanyosha southern neighborhood of the capital Bujumbura. “All of these cases show that children rights are not respected”, he says before adding that another parent burned his kid accusing him of having taken a handful of beans from a cooking pot to eat them in Mabayi commune of Cibitoke western province.
He says the mistreatment of children must be stopped given that it has taken on a new phenomenon since the past few days. “We were not accustomed to seeing parents ill-treating their own children”, he says.
According to the CNIDH chairman, the poverty is the main cause of such mistreatment. However, he says, guilty people must be punished accordingly.
Jean Baptiste Baribonekeza urges parents, families and communities to remain committed to preserving positive traditional values such as solidarity as well as the shared responsibilities towards raising children. “The government and the community should adopt more protective measures for families and children in extreme poverty”, he says.
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