Burkina Faso Government

Upper Volta was refounded as a French West Africanterritory in 1947. Steps toward self-government began with passage of the Loi Cadre in1956. Upper Volta achieved independence on August 5, 1960. Soon after coming to power,Upper Volta’s first president, Maurice Yameogo, banned all political parties otherthan his own. His government lasted until 1966, when mass demonstrations and strikes bystudents, labor unions, and civil servants caused military intervention and dissolution ofthe government. The Army took control and remained in power for 4 years under Lt. Col.Aboubakar Sangoule Lamizana. Although the Army gave way to constitutional rule, Lamizanaremained President of a mixed civil-military government through the 1970’s. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

This replaces the Consular Information Sheet dated October 4, 2004, to update sections on Country Description, Safety and Security, Crime, and Traffic Safety and Road Conditions. Other Government Websites First Gov Service Locator ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

A system of government inspections under the Ministry of Employment, Labor, and Youth and the labor tribunals was responsible for overseeing occupational health and safety standards in the small industrial and commercial sectors, but these standards did not apply in the subsistence agricultural sector. The Government paid social security benefits on a sliding scale according to an employee's length of service and pay, up to a ceiling established by presidential decree in January 2003 of $1,051 per month (599,070 CFA francs). The Government's Labor Inspector Corps did not have sufficient resources to fulfill its duties adequately. Every company was required to have a work safety committee. If the Government's Labor Inspection Office declared a workplace unsafe for any reason, workers had the right to remove themselves from the dangerous work without jeopardy to continued employment. There were indications that this right was respected in practice; however, such declarations by the Labor ... [Read More]

Links Page

FirstGov - Yourfirst click to the U.S. Government ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

The National Committee oversees all actions against FGM/FGC at a countrywide level. It mobilizes resources and different sectors, promotes research, collects and publishes relevant data about this practice and monitors and evaluates activities. It has lobbied and succeeded in getting the government to identify it as a public health priority, include a "symbolic" budget line in some of the provincial administrative budgets for its eradication, facilitate fund raising by holding round-table gatherings with potential donors and adopt the National Committee’s reports and documents as official government texts. ... [Read More]

Country Commercial Guide

The government is seeking direct foreign investment andprivate sector development. It is privatizing most of the former parastatal companies andreceives proposals from various foreign and national buyers, which are examined withoutdiscrimination. The government does not have specific laws/rules (with the exception ofthe Investment Code and French business law principles applicable to Burkina) affectingforeign investment through acquisitions, mergers, takeovers, and greenfield investments.The government does not practice investment screening except for the fact that, in orderto be eligible for code incentives, the investment must be linked to the nationalinterest. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso (03/05)

The French administered the area indirectly through Mossi authorities until independence was achieved on August 5, 1960. The first President, Maurice Yameogo, amended the constitution soon after taking office to ban opposition political parties. His government lasted until 1966, when the first of several military coups placed Lt. Col. Sangoule Lamizana at the head of a government of senior army officers. Lamizana remained in power throughout the 1970s, as President of military and then elected governments. ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. The Government at all levels strives to protect this right in full, and does not tolerate its abuse, either by governmental or private actors. Islam, Christianity, and traditional indigenous religions are practiced freely without government interference. There is no official state religion, and the Government neither subsidizes nor favors any particular religion. The practice of a particular faith is not known to entail any advantage or disadvantage in the political arena, the civil service, the military, or the private sector. ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso

The Constitution provides for the right to expeditious arraignment and access to legal counsel after a detainee has been charged before a judge; however, authorities did not ensure due process. The law limits detention for investigative purposes without charge to a maximum of 72 hours, renewable for a single 48-hour period; however, police rarely observed these provisions in practice. The average time of detention without charge was 1 week, and the law allows judges to impose an unlimited number of 6-month preventive detention periods. It was not unusual for defendants without access to legal counsel to be detained for weeks or months before appearing before a magistrate. In some cases, prisoners were held without charge or trial for a longer period than the maximum sentence that they would have received if convicted of the alleged offense. There was a pretrial release system; however, it was unknown how often it was used. In early October, security forces arrested ... [Read More]