TITLE X. OF THE DEFENSE AND SECURITY CORPS
Article 246
The Defense and Security Corps are established in accordance with the law. Apart from these, no other armed organization may be created or raised.
Article 247
The Defense and Security Corps must reflect the resolute will of Burundians, as individuals and as a nation, to live as equals, in peace and harmony. They must teach their members to act in conformance with the Constitution and the laws, as well as with the international conventions and agreements of which Burundi is a signatory, and to require that they respect these texts.
The Corps of Defense and of Security are at the service of the Burundian People. They must be an instrument of protection for all Burundian people and all the people must recognize themselves in them.
Article 248
The maintenance of the national security and that of the national defense are subjected to the authority of the Government and to the control of Parliament.
Article 249
The Defense and Security Corps must account for their actions and work in all transparency.
Parliamentary commissions responsible for supervising the work of the Defense and Security Corps are created in accordance with the legislative texts in force and following the regulations of Parliament.
Article 250
Neither the Corps of Defense and of Security, nor any of their members may, in the exercise of their duties:
- Infringe upon the interests of a political party which, in the terms of the Constitution, is legal;
- Display their political preferences;
- Favor, in a partisan manner, the interests of a political party;
- Be a member of a political party or of an association with political character;
- Participate in activities or protests of political character.
The law concerning the organization and operations of the Defense and Security Corps punishes the violation of it.
Article 251
The Defense and Security Corps consist of a national defense force and a national police force, all established in accordance with this Constitution.
The National Defense Force of Burundi is an armed corps conceived, organized and trained for the defense of territorial integrity, of the national independence and of national sovereignty.
The National Police of Burundi is a corps designed, organized and trained for the maintenance and the restoration of security and order in the interior of the country.
Article 252
The Defense and Security Corps are subordinated to the civil authority with respect to the Constitution, the law and the regulations.
Article 253
The Defense and Security Corps form a nondiscriminatory, non-ethnic and non-sexist internal culture.
Article 254
The organic laws determine the missions, organization, instruction, conditions of service and operations of the National Defense Force and of the National Police.
Article 255
Within the limits determined by the Constitution and the laws, only the President of the Republic may authorize the use of the Armed Forces:
- In the defense of the State;
- In the restoration of order and public security;
- In the fulfillment of the international obligations and engagements.
Article 256
When the National Defense Force is used in one of the cases cited in the paragraph above, the President officially consults the appropriate authorities thus enabled and informs the Parliament promptly and in a detailed manner concerning:
- The reason or reasons for the use of the Force of National Defense;
- All places where this force is deployed;
- The period for which this force is deployed.
Article 257
If the Parliament is not in session, the President convokes it in extraordinary session within the seven days after the use of the National Defense Force.
Article 258
The Defense and Security Corps respect the rights and dignity of their members within the framework of the normative obligations of discipline and instruction.
Article 259
The members of the Defense and Security Corps have the right to be informed of the socio-political life of the country and to receive a civic education.
Article 260
All foreign intervention beyond the international conventions is prohibited. All recourse to foreign forces is prohibited, except in the case of authorization by the President of the Republic.
Article 261
The State has the duty to implement a policy of reforms related to matters of defense and of security that reinforces the unity and the cohesion of the Burundian People, notably by assuring the requisite ethnic, regional and gender balances.
Article 262
The Defense and Security Corps are organized to guarantee internal unity, the political neutrality of the members, as well as impartiality in the accomplishment of their missions.
Article 263
The Defense and Security Corps are open without discrimination to all Burundian citizens who desire to enlist. Their organization is based on volunteering and professionalism.
During a period to be determined by the Senate, the Defense and Security Corps may not include more than 50% of the members belonging to a particular ethnic group, taking into account the need to assure ethnic equilibrium and to prevent acts of genocide and coups d’État.
Article 264
The correction of an imbalance within the Defense and Security Corps is approached progressively, in a spirit of reconciliation and of trust in order, to render all Burundians secure.
Article 265
The Defense and Security Corps are constituted of professionals and are nonpartisan.
Their members benefit from technical, moral and civic development. This training focuses notably on the culture of peace, on conduct in a pluralist democratic political system and on human rights.
Article 266
The members of the Defense and Security Corps are trained, at all levels, to respect international humanitarian law and the primacy of the Constitution.
Article 267
A civilian may not be subjected to the military code of justice nor judged by a military jurisdiction.
