Burundi War
Burundi (06/05)
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings also are available on the Consular Affairs Int ... [Read More]
Burundi
December 07, 2004 This Travel Warning is being issued to update information on crime and to alert American citizens to ongoing safety and security concerns in Bujumbura, Burundi. This supersedes the Travel Warning of May 11, 2004. The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Burundi. The Department urges private American citizens in Burundi to exercise caution and maintain security awareness at all times. [Read More]
Burundi
December 07, 2004 This Travel Warning is being issued to update information on crime and to alert American citizens to ongoing safety and security concerns in Bujumbura, Burundi. This supersedes the Travel Warning of May 11, 2004. The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Burundi. The Department urges private American citizens in Burundi to exercise caution and maintain security awareness at all times. [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]
Burundi
The law requires arrest warrants, and presiding magistrates were authorized to issue them. Police and gendarmes could make arrests without a warrant but were required to submit a written report to a magistrate within 48 hours. Few aspects of these provisions were respected in practice, and the requirement that that detainees be charged and appear in court within 7 days of their arrest was violated routinely. A magistrate could order the release of suspects or confirm charges and continue detention, initially for 15 days, then subsequently for periods of 30 days, as necessary to prepare the case for trial. The police were required to follow the same procedures as magistrates; however, the police have regularly detained suspects for extended periods without announcing charges, certifying the cases, or forwarding them to the Ministry of Justice as required. Multiple credible sources reported that incommunicado detention existed, although the law prohibits it. Bail was permitted in some ca ... [Read More]
Burundi
According to the Ministry of Justice, women were detained separately from men. There were 153 children in prisons during the year: 106 serving sentences and 47 accompanying their convicted mothers. Juvenile prisoners were held with and often treated as adults. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that children in prisons were subjected to torture or sexual exploitation. Political prisoners often were held with convicted prisoners. Pretrial detainees were held in communal lockups, but some were also incarcerated with convicted prisoners. During the year, the Government permitted visits by international and local human rights monitors, and there were no reports that groups were denied access during the year. NGOs continued their efforts to monitor and improve sanitation, hygiene, medical care, food, and water. The ICRC was allowed access to prisoners and detained persons, including persons detained for ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Private homes tend to be the focal point for social life in Bujumbura, and the Embassy GSO has some items to lend for entertaining, such as glassware, card tables, chairs, and hurricane lamps. However, large supplies of china, glassware, and flatware are useful. Bring a wide range of cooking equipment, serving trays, napkins (cloth and paper, including cocktail napkins), and a generous supply of candles. Charcoal grills are in wide use, and charcoal is readily available. ... [Read More]
USIS -- Issues of Democracy, May 1996 -- Kritzon War Crimes
In several cases ranging from Nuremberg to Ethiopia, given thelarge number of potential defendants, an effort has been made todistinguish three categories of culpability and design differentapproaches for each. Roughly, these classifications break downinto (a) the leaders, those who gave the orders to commit warcrimes, and those, who actually carried out the worst offenses(inevitably the smallest category numerically); (b) those whoperpetrated abuses not rising to the first category; and (c)those whose offenses were minimal. The severity of treatment follows accordingly. The Dayton Accords concluding the war inthe former Yugoslavia more or less adopt this approach. In thefirst category, the warring parties commit themselves to providefull cooperation and assistance to the international tribunal asit prosecutes those who perpetrated the most heinous offenses. In the second tier of culpability, the accords characterize as aconfidence-building measure the obligation of the parties toi ... [Read More]
Rwanda (01/05)
The RPF battalion stationed in Kigali under the Arusha accords came under attack immediately after the shooting down of the president's plane. The battalion fought its way out of Kigali and joined up with RPF units in the north. The RPF then resumed its invasion, and civil war raged concurrently with the genocide for 2 months. French forces landed in Goma, Zaire, in June 1994 on a humanitarian mission. They deployed throughout southwest Rwanda in an area they called "Zone Turquoise," quelling the genocide and stopping the fighting there. The Rwandan Army was quickly defeated by the RPF and fled across the border to Zaire followed by some 2 million refugees who fled to Zaire, Tanzania, and Burundi. The RPF took Kigali on July 4, 1994, and the war ended on July 16, 1994. The RPF took control of a country ravaged by war and genocide. Up to 800,000 had been murdered, another 2 million or so had fled, and another million or so were displaced internally. ... [Read More]
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