TITLE II. OF THE CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES, OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND OF THE CITIZEN
Article 19
The rights and duties proclaimed and guaranteed by the international texts concerning human rights regularly ratified constitute an integral part of the Constitution.
Article 20
All citizens have rights and duties.
1. OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND OF THE CITIZEN
Article 21
Human dignity is respected and protected. Any infringement upon human dignity is reprimanded by the Penal Code.
Article 22
All citizens are equal before the law, which assures them equal protection.
No one may be the target of discrimination based on, notably: origin, race, ethnicity, sex, color, language, social situation, religious, philosophical, or political belief, physical or mental handicap, HIV/AIDS status or having any other incurable illness.
Article 23
No one may be treated in an arbitrary manner by the State or its organs.
The State is obligated indemnify all victims of arbitrary actions of the State or of its organs.
Article 24
All human beings have the right to life.
Article 25
All human beings have the right to freedom of their own person, notably in their physical and psychic integrity and freedom of movement. No one may be subjected to torture, nor to punishments or sentences which are cruel, inhuman, or degrading.
Article 26
No one may be slaved or held in servitude. Slavery and the traffic of slaves is forbidden in all forms.
Article 27
The State, to the extent to which it is possible, ensures all citizens that they will have the means at their disposal to lead a life in accordance with human dignity.
Article 28
Every human being has the right to respect of their personal and family life, in addition to their home and their personal communications.
Article 29
Freedom of marriage is guaranteed, as is the right to choose one’s partner. Marriage cannot take place without the free and full consent of the future spouses.
Marriage between two people of the same sex is forbidden.
Article 30
The family is the natural base cell of society. Marriage is its legitimate support. Family and marriage are placed under the special protection of the State.
Parents have the natural right and the duty to educate and to raise their children. They are supported in this task by the State and by public collectivities.
Every child has the right, from their family, society, and State, to special protective measures necessitated by their status as minors.
Article 31
Freedom of expression is guaranteed. The State respects freedom of religion, thought, conscience, and opinion.
Article 32
Freedom of assembly and of association is guaranteed, as is the right to form associations or organizations in accordance with the law.
Article 33
All the citizens of Burundi have the right to circulate and to settle anywhere in the national territory, as well as to leave and return to the national territory.
Article 34
No one may arbitrarily deprived of their nationality, nor of the right to change it.
Article 35
The State assures the good administration and rational exploitation of the country’s natural resources, all in preserving the environment and the conservation of these resources for future generations.
Article 36
Every person has the right to property.
No one may be deprived of their property except for public utility, according to the case and manner established by law and by means of a just and prerequisite indemnity or in the execution of a judiciary decision taken in force of the thing judged.
Article 37
The right to form trade unions and to affiliate with them, as well as the right to strike, are recognized. The law regulates the exercise of these rights and forbids certain groups of people from striking.
In all cases, these rights are not extended to members of the defense and security corps.
Article 38
Each person has the right, in judicial or administrative proceedings, to have their case heard fairly and to be judged without unreasonable delay.
Article 39
No one may be deprived of their freedom if it does not conform to the provisions of law.
No one may be charged, arrested, detained, or judged except in cases determined by a law decreed prior to the acts for which they are accused.
The right to a defense is guaranteed before all jurisdictions.
No one may be deprived, against their will, of the judge that the law assigns to them.
Article 40
Every person accused of a criminal act is presumed innocent until their guilt has been legally established in court in a public trial during which the necessary guarantees for a free defense have been assured.
Article 41
No one will be condemned for acts or omissions, which in the moment they were committed were not considered an infraction.
In the same manner, penalties greater than those applicable at the time the infraction was committed cannot be implemented.
Article 42
No one can be subjected to security measures other than the cases and the forms specified by law, notably for reasons of public order or of State security.
Article 43
No one can be subjected to arbitrary interference in their private life, their family, their home, or their correspondence, nor infringements upon their honor or reputation,
Police searches or police inspections of homes cannot be ordered without following the forms and conditions specified by law.
The confidentiality of correspondence and communication is guaranteed in respect to the forms and conditions specified by law.
Article 44
Every child has the right to particular measures to assure or improve the necessary cares for their well-being, health, physical security, and for being protected from poor treatment, extortions, or exploitation.
Article 45
No child may be used directly in an armed conflict. The protection of children is assured in a period of armed conflict.
Article 46
No child may be detained unless as final recourse, in which case the detention of the child will be the shortest possible.
Every child has the right to be separated from prisoners older than 16 years and to be subjected to treatment and detention conditions adapted to their age.
Article 47
All restrictions of fundamental rights must be founded on a legal base; restrictions must be justified by the general interest or by the protection of the fundamental rights of others; they must be proportional to the expected goal.
Article 48
The fundamental rights must be respected in totality in the judicial, administrative, and institutional orders. The Constitution is the supreme law. The legislative, executive, and judiciary bodies must respect it. Any law which does not conform to the Constitution is struck down and nullified.
Article 49
No person may be exiled.
Article 50
The right to asylum is recognized in the conditions provided by law.
No Burundian may be extradited.
Article 51
Every Burundian has the right to participate, whether directly or indirectly through representatives, in the direction and management of the State, following the reservations of legal terms, notably of age and of competence.
Every Burundian has an equal right to access the public functions of their country.
Article 52
Every person is authorized to obtain the satisfaction of economic, social, and cultural rights indispensable to the dignity and free development of one’s person, thanks to the national effort and considering the national resources.
Article 53
Every citizen has the right to equal access to instruction, education, and culture.
The State has the duty to organize public schooling and to promote access to it.
Nevertheless, the right to establish private schools is guaranteed according to the conditions set by law.
Article 54
The State recognizes the right for all citizens to work and strives to create the conditions which makes effective the enjoyment of this right. It recognizes the right of all persons to benefit from fair and satisfactory work conditions, and guarantees the worker fair pay for their services or output.
Article 55
Every person has the right to access health care.
Article 56
The State is obligated to favor the country’s development, in particular rural development.
Article 57
With equal competence, every person has the right, without any discrimination, to an equal salary for equal work.
Article 58
Every person has the right to the protection of their moral and material interests coming from all scientific, literary, or artistic production of which they are the creator.
Article 59
All foreigners who find themselves in the Republic’s territory benefit from the protection accorded to people and goods in the limits stipulated by a law.
Article 60
The judicial power, which is the the guardian of public rights and freedoms, assures the respect of these rights and freedoms following the conditions outlined by the law.
Article 61
No one can abuse the rights recognized by the Constitution or by the law to compromise national unity, peace, democracy, or the independence of Burundi; or to damage the secularism of the State, or to violate in any other manner the present Constitution.
2. OF THE FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND OF THE CITIZEN
Article 62
Every person has the duty to respect their fellow countrymen and to demonstrate to each other their consideration, devoid of any discrimination.
Article 63
Each citizen has duties to family and to society, to the State and to other collective public entities.
Article 64
Each Burundian has the duty to maintain and to reinforce national unity, conforming to the Charter of National Unity.
Article 65
Each person is obligated to respect the laws and the institutions of the Republic.
Article 66
Every Burundian has the duty to preserve the harmonious development of the family and to work in favor of the cohesion and the respect of this family, to respect their parents at every moment, and to nourish and assist them in necessary cases.
Article 67
Each individual has the duty to respect and to consider their kind without any discrimination, and to maintain relations which allow for the promotion, protection, and reinforcement of respect and tolerance.
Article 68
Each Burundian must ensure, in relations with society, the preservation and reinforcement of Burundian cultural values; and must contribute to the establishment of a morally sound society.
Article 69
Public goods are sacred and inviolable. Everyone is obligated to respect them conscientiously and to protect them. Each Burundian is tasked with the defense of the nation’s patrimony.
All acts of sabotage, vandalism, corruption, embezzlement, profligacy, or all other acts which damage the public good is punished according to the conditions determined by law.
Article 70
All citizens are required to fulfill their civic obligations and to defend their country.
Everyone has the right to work toward the common good and to fulfill their professional obligations.
All citizens are equal in regards to public assignments. Only through the law can exemptions be established.
The State can proclaim the solidarity of all in regards to obligations which result from natural and national disasters.
Article 71
All Burundians in the civil service or elected to a civil service position have the duty to accomplish their work with conscientiousness, integrity, dedication, and loyalty to the general interest.
Article 72
Each Burundian has the duty to defend national independence and territorial integrity.
All citizens have the sacred duty to ensure and to participate in defense of the homeland.
All Burundians, all foreigners who find themselves in the territory of the Republic of Burundi, must not compromise State security.
Article 73
All individuals must work toward safeguarding peace, democracy, and social justice.
Article 74
All Burundians must, by means of their work, contribute to the construction and prosperity of the country.
