Trafficking in children in Burundi : a banalized scourge despite repeated alerts

SOS Médias Burundi,

Bujumbura, November 24, 2025- Nearly 300 children were victims of human trafficking in Burundi in 2024. While human rights defense organizations sound the alarm, the administration authorities are accused of neglecting, or even trivializing, the extent of this phenomenon. The National Observatory of the Fight against Transnational Crime (ONLCT – “Où Est Ton Frère?”) calls for an urgent and coordinated response.

A disturbing and under-estimated phenomenon

According to Prime Mbarubukeye, president of the ONLCT, nearly 300 children were victims of human trafficking in 2024. This information was made public on November 21, on the occasion of the World Day of the Rights of the Child.

The most frequent forms of trafficking identified in the country include :

Economic exploitation,

Forced labor (agriculture and informal commerce),

The irregular movements of children across borders,

Sexual exploitation for commercial purposes,

Illegal recruitment by criminal networks.

The 2024 ONLCT report indicates that 281 children fell into the nets of traffickers during the year.

Particularly affected areas

Among these victims, 130 children would have been recruited in the districts of Makamba and Rutana, in the province of Burunga, in the south of Burundi. 151 others would have been targeted in the districts of Ruyigi, Cankuzo and Muyinga, in the province of Buhumuza in the east of the country.

According to the ONLCT, these areas constitute privileged corridors for child trafficking, particularly towards neighboring countries such as Tanzania, the main destination of these networks.

An urgent appeal to national mobilization

Faced with this situation, the ONLCT urges the Burundian government to intensify community awareness and recommends the implementation of local multisectoral synergies to fight effectively against this scourge.

For the organization, it is essential that grassroots communities play an active role :

“They must have a watchful eye on the cases of alleged perpetrators of child trafficking in the villages and neighborhoods.”

A fight that requires regional cooperation

The ONLCT also calls for a strengthening of collaboration between the countries of the sub-region in order to dismantle cross-border networks. Porosity of borders and structural poverty make many children vulnerable to traffickers.

A plague that persists

Despite various prevention campaigns, child trafficking continues to thrive in Burundi, fueled by impunity, the lack of institutional resources and a still insufficient awareness.

For Prime Mbarubukeye, only community, institutional and regional mobilization will allow to curb and then eradicate this phenomenon that deprives hundreds of children of their fundamental rights every year.