As the 45th session of the Human Rights Council nears its conclusion, the World Organisation Against Torture and its SOS-Torture Network partners urge the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and all Council members to focus urgently on the Fulani populations in Burkina Faso, who are caught in the escalating conflict against terrorism across the Sahel region.

Since 2016, the Fulani people of Burkina Faso have endured severe human rights violations, some of which bear the hallmarks of international crimes. The widespread nature of massacres in specific areas suggests a potential for ethnic cleansing, given their systematic, generalized, and extensive scale.

These violations frequently involve extrajudicial executions of thousands of civilians, carried out either by state security forces, often assisted by state-backed self-defense groups, or by non-state armed groups. Between January 2019 and May 2020 alone, hundreds of civilians were brutally killed in locations such as Yirgou, Kain Ouro, Banh, Barga, Djibo, and Tawalbougou. Furthermore, thousands of other civilians, including children, languish in inhumane conditions within prisons like those in Kaya and Loumbila. They face arbitrary arrests and secret detentions, often without access to legal counsel or judicial review. This situation has fostered a climate of discrimination and stigmatization against these communities, exacerbating their struggle with food insecurity.

Despite numerous reports and formal complaints filed with the courts, Burkinabe authorities have consistently failed to identify or hold accountable those responsible for these egregious violations. We therefore call upon the Human Rights Council to recommend that the authorities of Burkina Faso implement all necessary security and judicial measures to establish a protective environment for this highly vulnerable population group.