Burundian women exploited abroad : the State urged to act against practices akin to slavery

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, December 31, 2025 – The ALUCHOTO association, committed to fighting unemployment and human rights abuses, is raising the alarm about the appalling conditions under which Burundian women are recruited to work abroad.

During a public conference held in Muramvya, in central Burundi, by the Head of State on December 26, the organization’s chairperson, Vianney Ndayisaba, denounced serious abuses attributed to certain recruitment agencies, going so far as to describe practices akin to modern-day slavery.

According to ALUCHOTO, some agencies are demanding that candidates pay half of their salary before departure. Even worse, those who refuse to comply with these demands are reportedly held in secret locations. The association considers these methods a flagrant violation of the human rights and dignity of migrant workers.

Faced with this alarming situation, President Évariste Ndayishimiye called on the relevant authorities, particularly the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to fully assume their responsibilities. “If you find that any of these associations are accused of serious misconduct, they should be suspended immediately,” he ordered.

Similarly, on December 22nd, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Édouard Bizimana, sent an official memo to all heads of migrant worker recruitment agencies. In it, he reiterated that labor migration must take place within a legal and protective framework, placing human dignity and state responsibility at the heart of all actions.

To strengthen this system, the minister announced the implementation of an identification form for job seekers abroad, an administrative tool designed to improve the traceability of Burundian workers, prevent abuses related to recruitment and premature returns, and affirm the State’s role as guarantor of the protection of its citizens. Presentation of this form will be mandatory before boarding at the airport.

Furthermore, recruitment agencies must now provide a notarized partnership agreement, signed with a reliable agency legally recognized by the destination country.

As reports of abuse multiply, these measures are expected as a first step towards cleaning up the sector. ALUCHOTO and other human rights organizations remain vigilant, however, and call for the strict application of these decisions to put an end to the exploitation of Burundian women abroad.

Although no official figures are available, several hundred Burundian women and girls have left the country to work in Gulf countries in recent years, sometimes through government-approved agencies or those run by members of the security forces. The first official deployment of female workers to Saudi Arabia took place on May 19, 2023, and by July of that year, more than 800 women had been sent under an agreement signed between Burundi and Saudi Arabia, according to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.