Author: Communication Unit of the Network of Women Leaders for Development (RFLD)
RFLD is a sub-Saharan African organization with expertise in working with state actors, the media and civil society organizations. We intervene through advocacy, policy development and training, integrating gender and promoting civic space, women’s rights, climate justice and women’s economic rights.
Secretariat Email : admin@rflgd.org
It’s a tradition, a scourge, a torture that affects thousands of women around the world, particularly in Burkina Faso. In this country, human rights violations and other forms of discrimination have become one of the scourges that have plagued all levels of society in recent years. Armed conflicts, sexual discrimination and the deterioration of civic space are just some of the evils raging in Burkina Faso, disrupting the lives of the civilian population and consequently hampering the activities of all socio-professional strata.
In the face of these exactions, it is legitimate to ask what the future holds for young people, the emblematic figures of a new Burkina Faso?
Current context
The Burkina government’s penchant for reform since 2019 has no Rubicon. As in a military engineering barracks, the motto seems to be “sometimes build, sometimes destroy”. Since September 20 on paper and disclosed for almost a month, it is the mode of human rights violations that has entered the reform laboratory. Without further ado, a major blow has just been dealt to human rights in the public arena. The day after taking power, President Rock Marc Christian Kaboré resolutely pledged to dedicate his five-year term to the cause of the most vulnerable sections of Burkinabe society, in particular young people and women. Months later, the fruits do not seem to be living up to the promise of the flowers. For it has to be said that his promises are and remain electoral promises, which have only committed those who believed in them. And to understand this better, we need to look at the political spectrum. At national level, women are poorly represented in the State apparatus. In the political arena, they are virtually relegated to the background. In terms of both numbers and importance, they pale into insignificance in the new government, as in previous ones. Time and again, freedom of expression has been trampled underfoot by the authorities, with the result that defenseless young and female journalists have been left to fend for themselves.
In a tense climate, and rejecting anything that could be called “respect for human rights”, mid-ranking army officers, denying the Kaboré government’s response to an Islamist insurgency and the inadequacy of support for soldiers, staged a coup d’état against the latter, who had been re-elected for a second term in 2020. In this country with very fragile democratic institutions, Islamist armed groups since 2016 and pro-government forces and militias have been responsible for the deaths of several thousand people in Burkina Faso, causing almost 1.5 million people to flee their homes.
Against a backdrop of growing humanitarian crisis and brutal armed conflict, the democracy that had been making headway in the country over the last ten years or so, in terms of freedom of expression, was put at stake for a forced changeover. While the race to promote human rights is running out of time in some countries in the sub-region, it is discrimination and the concentration of state power in the hands of a few men that seem to preoccupy the top echelons of the state.
This concentration of central power gave the new patrons of the Mouvement patriotique pour la sauvegarde et la restauration (MPSR), Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the right and privilege to order the suspension of the constitution, dissolve the government and the National Assembly, and impose a nationwide curfew. It should be recalled that this coup d’état was orchestrated against the backdrop of a marked deterioration in the human rights and security situation, marked by an upsurge in attacks and atrocities committed by Islamist armed groups, and a growing humanitarian crisis.
This concentration of central power gave the new patrons of the Mouvement patriotique pour la sauvegarde et la restauration (MPSR), Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the right and privilege to order the suspension of the constitution, dissolve the government and the National Assembly, and impose a nationwide curfew. It should be recalled that this coup d’état was orchestrated against the backdrop of a marked deterioration in the human rights and security situation, marked by an upsurge in attacks and atrocities committed by Islamist armed groups, and a growing humanitarian crisis.
Young people faced with the challenges of exactions perpetrated by armed groups
Re-elected for a second term at the end of 2020, Burkina Faso’s president has opted for a policy of dialogue and reaching out to some of the armed groups operating in the north of the country. Despite this, armed conflict continued to ravage the country, to the great detriment of young people’s future. A massacre orchestrated against the civilian population, particularly young people, in the town of Solhan in June of the same year triggered large-scale demonstrations, which led to the dismissal of the Minister of Defense. Further demonstrations against the security of people and property followed an attack on a gendarmerie detachment in Inata. In addition, the violence has led to the displacement of many people and has left the population food insecure. This has considerably reduced the capacity of the active youth who should be taking over from them. With the humanitarian situation becoming precarious, one might well ask what the future holds for Burkina Faso’s youth. There is no doubt that the future will be bleak, provided that political decisions to promote and protect civic space are taken in favor of young people. Given the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the country is gradually being emptied of the people who are supposed to lift it up (from one million in January to 1,368,000 in July, according to the UNHCR). A real challenge for the development of young people.
Education of young people put to the test
These days, when most African peoples are under threat, the education system is under severe strain. Armed groups have banned what they consider to be Western education. In addition, violence and threats of all kinds continue to dissuade teachers from staying on the job. In March, for example, more than 323 pupils were forced to flee their schools following attacks by assailants in the Boucle du Mouhoun region. Between June 21 and 28, 2021, a dozen schools were attacked by armed groups. School equipment was stolen and property destroyed. The right to education and health was undermined, and cases of sexual violence were reported here and there in the context of the conflict. Impunity became the general norm for serious human rights violations. Freedom of the press was threatened by the authorities.
Jeunesse et développement d’un Burkina Faso nouveau : Quel idéal prôner ?
Face à la situation humanitaire précaire en raison du nombre de déplacées internes et de l’instabilité sociale, il est important de prôner une nouvelle conscience c’est-à-dire une jeunesse au service du développement. Pour un Burkina nouveau, il est évident que les jeunes sont une grosse colonne sur qui, il faut inévitablement s’appuyer.
Mais face à leur difficulté aujourd’hui, il faut commencer à mettre en place certaines garanties pour permettre à ceux-ci de s’investir davantage pour faire bouger les lignes.
La première garantie est celle de l’accompagnement. Cet accompagnement doit couvrir tant le champ de la formation que celui de l’assistance technique. En effet, pour permettre à la jeunesse burkinabé de se rebâtir, s’éduquer afin que ces derniers participent le mieux à la reconstruction du pays une fois pour toutes, il faut commencer à former.
Au travers de la formation, une nouvelle conscience pourrait naitre car les jeunes sont des piliers importants non seulement en raison de leur nombre, mais aussi parce qu’ils disposent de beaucoup d’énergie et de temps ainsi que de compétences essentielles telles que l’innovation et la flexibilité. En outre, les jeunes sont plus enclins au changement et à prendre des risques que la population adulte. Au-delà de ça, la formation doit aussi leur permettre de vaincre les barrières culturelles et d’oser pour corriger les travers de la société dans laquelle ils vivent.
Sans eux, l’avenir du Faso est bien loin d’être radieux.
