Burkina Faso: urgent call to address enforced disappearances of activists Miphal Ousmane Lankoandé and Amadou Sawadogo

The Observatoire pour la protection des défenseurs des droits humains, a joint initiative of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), urgently appeals for intervention regarding the enforced disappearances of two prominent human rights defenders in Burkina Faso.

©Balai citoyen

What happened to human rights defenders Miphal Ousmane Lankoandé and Amadou Sawadogo?

Amadou Sawadogo, a regional coordinator for the civic movement Balai citoyen, was summoned to the State Security Regional Service in Ouagadougou on March 20, 2025, due to critical social media posts on Facebook. During interrogation, he was forced to disclose the whereabouts of two fellow activists who subsequently went into hiding. The next day, after attending a second summons, he vanished without a trace, with authorities providing no explanation or location details.

Miphal Ousmane Lankoandé, a sociologist and executive secretary of Balai citoyen, was abducted on March 30, 2025, around 11:45 AM outside his home in the Karpala neighborhood of Ouagadougou. The incident occurred shortly after his return from Cotonou, Benin, where he participated in the inaugural activism school organized by the Innovation Foundation for Democracy from March 24 to 28, 2025. Armed men claiming to be gendarmes seized him in front of his wife. Despite repeated inquiries by legal representatives to public institutions, no information about his whereabouts has been disclosed.

As of this urgent appeal, both individuals remain missing, leaving their families and colleagues in distressing uncertainty.

Escalating repression against civic voices in Burkina Faso

This incident is not isolated. Balai citoyen has faced systematic repression, including:

• Guy Hervé Kam, a lawyer and co-founder of Balai citoyen, was arrested at Ouagadougou International Airport on January 24, 2024, upon returning from a professional trip. Though initially released, he was subsequently re-arrested twice and is currently detained on charges of “conspiracy and criminal association.”
• Rasmané Zinaba and Bassirou Badjo were forcibly conscripted into the military on February 20 and 21, 2024, respectively, despite a December 6, 2023 court ruling suspending their conscription orders. They remain on the front lines as of this report.

The broader context reveals a disturbing pattern of targeted abductions and enforced disappearances affecting human rights defenders and journalists in Burkina Faso. Recent cases include:

• Guezouma Sanogo, Boukary Ouoba, and Luc Pagbeguem — all journalists with the Burkina Faso Journalists Association — were abducted on March 24, 2025.
• Kalifara Sere, Serges Oulon, and Bayala Adama — independent journalists — were seized on June 19 and 24, 2024, and June 28, 2024, respectively. All remain missing.

Systematic silencing through enforced disappearances and forced conscription

The United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances has expressed concern about the alleged practice of enforced disappearances targeting human rights defenders, journalists, and political opponents in Burkina Faso. The committee highlighted that certain practices under military decrees — particularly those allowing arbitrary conscription of civilians — may constitute enforced disappearances.

In November 2022 and April 2023, the transitional authorities in Burkina Faso issued decrees enabling the conscription of any physically fit individual over 18 years old. These laws have been weaponized to silence dissent, leading to the targeted abduction and forced conscription of activists and journalists. Over a dozen defenders have received conscription orders, placing them at grave risk.

Urgent international appeal

The Observatoire strongly condemns the abductions of Miphal Ousmane Lankoandé and Amadou Sawadogo, viewing them as punitive measures for their legitimate human rights work. It demands:

• Immediate protection of both individuals and all human rights defenders in Burkina Faso.
• Full disclosure of their whereabouts, access to family visits, and their unconditional release.
• An end to the systematic practice of enforced disappearances and forced conscription.
• Cessation of judicial harassment against activists and journalists.
• Guarantees for the rights to freedom of expression and association, in line with international human rights standards, including Articles 19 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Articles 9 and 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights — treaties Burkina Faso has ratified.

We urge the international community to take immediate diplomatic action by contacting the following authorities in Burkina Faso:

Key contacts:

• Captain Ibrahim Traoré, President of the Transition, Twitter: @CapitaineIb22
• Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo, Prime Minister, Twitter: @J_E_Ouedraogo
• Me Edasso Rodrigue Bayala, Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Email: [email protected]
• Jean Marie Karamoko Traore, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Email: [email protected], Twitter: @JeanMarieTraore
• National Human Rights Commission of Burkina Faso, Email: [email protected], Twitter: @BurkinaCndhX
• Sabine Bakyono Kanzie, Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to the UN in Geneva, Email: [email protected]
• Oumarou Ganou, Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to the UN in New York, Email: [email protected]
• Burkina Faso Mission to the African Union, Email: [email protected]

We also encourage writing to Burkina Faso’s diplomatic missions in your respective countries.

Act now: Contact the Observatoire to report any actions taken, referencing code BFA 002 / 0525 / OBS 022.

Email: [email protected]
Phone (FIDH): +33 1 43 55 25 18
Phone (OMCT): +41 22 809 49 39

About the Observatoire:

The Observatoire pour la protection des défenseurs des droits humains, a partnership between FIDH and OMCT, is dedicated to protecting human rights defenders facing violations and providing them with concrete support. Both organizations are members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.