Burkina Faso Africa

Burkina Faso puts great emphasis on art and culture.Ouagadougou’s biennial crafts and film festivals attract artists from all of Africa.Burkinabe masks, metal sculpture, woodcarving, textiles, pottery, music, dancing, andtheater are all well-known in West Africa. Modern interpretations of traditional designs,works in nontraditional media, traveling exhibits, and works of individual African andWestern artists can be seen at Centre Culturel Georges Melies, the French Cultural Center.The Moro Naba ceremony, which is theater and tradition centered on the current Emperor ofthe Mossi, is enacted every Friday in Ouagadougou. Traditional music and danceperformances are frequent and will be featured in any village ceremony or public event.The international arts and crafts festival, SIAO is held in Ouagadougou in October ofeven-numbered years. Francophone Africa’s major film festival, FESPACO, held inFebruary of odd-numbered years, represents film works fr ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso
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Africa

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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]

Burkina Faso

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American Embassy Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso -- Home Page

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Burkina Faso (03/05)

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country located in the middle of West Africa's "hump." It is geographically in the Sahel--the agricultural region between the Sahara Desert and the coastal rain forests. Most of central Burkina Faso lies on a savanna plateau, 200 meters-300 meters (650 ft.-1,000 ft.) above sea level, with fields, brush, and scattered trees. The largest river is the Mouhoun (Black Volta), which is partially navigable by small craft. Burkina Faso has West Africa's largest elephant population. Game preserves also are home to lions, hippos, monkeys, warthogs, and antelope. Infrastructure and tourism are, however, not well developed. Annual average rainfall varies from about 100 centimeters (40 in.) in the south to less than 25 centimeters (10 in.) in the north and northeast, where hot desert winds accentuate the dryness of the region. The cooler season, November to February, is pleasantly warm and dry (but dusty), with cool evenings. March-June can be very hot. In July-Septembe ... [Read More]

Burkina Faso
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Burkina Faso

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION:  Burkina Faso, previously known as Upper Volta, is a developing country in western Africa that borders the Sahara Desert.  The capital is Ouagadougou and the official language is French.  It is one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa:  basic infrastructure is unreliable, technical competence is hard to find, the climate is severe, and the majority of the population is involved in subsistence agriculture.  Tourists most often come to Burkina Faso from December to February, after the rainy season and before the heat becomes oppressive, but tourist infrastructure is limited.  Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso have international class hotels, but accommodation in other areas is much more basic.  Read the Department of State Background Notes on Burkina Faso at http://www.s ... [Read More]