OHCHR in Burkina Faso

Profile

OHCHR is present in Burkina Faso since December 2019, with the deployment of a Senior Human Rights Advisor (SHRA) in the Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator. On 6 October 2021, a Host-Country agreement was signed in Geneva between the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso, establishing the legal basis for the establishment of a fully mandated new country office. The mandate includes monitoring, reporting as well as technical and advisory support.

Thematic priorities

With the progressive establishment of this new country office, and consistent with the global mandate and expertise of OHCHR, the overall OHCHR Sahel Strategy and the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS), OHCHR Burkina Faso focus on the six following priorities:

1. Early warning, prevention and protection of human rights in the context of conflict and insecurity;
2. Compliance of national counterterrorism operations with human rights/international humanitarian law (HR/IHL) standards;
3. Promotion and protection of human rights in the context of return to constitutional order and sustainable peace (rule of law, including accountability and access to justice mechanisms, transitional justice, and elections);
4. Promotion and protection of economic and social rights, gender equality and non-discrimination for a sustainable development;
5. Protection and enhancement of the civic and democratic space, including through the protection of human rights defenders, freedom of assembly, association and expression, and prevention from stigmatization and hate speech;
6. Promotion and implementation of the international human rights mechanisms’ outcomes (UN Treaty bodies; Universal Periodic Review and special procedures).

Partners and Donors

Partners: UN agencies, International and regional organizations, the Government of Burkina Faso, Civil Society Organizations, the African Union, the United Nations Office in West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and international human rights NGOs.

Donors: France, Germany, European Union.

UN Human Rights Focus Areas

Thematic pillars

• Peace and Security: Early warning, prevention & protection of human rights in situations of conflict & insecurity
• Accountability: Strengthening rule of law and accountability for human rights violations
• Development: Integrating human rights in sustainable development
• Non-discrimination: Enhancing equality and countering discrimination
• Participation: Enhancing and protecting civic space and people's participation
• Mechanisms: Increasing implementation of the international human rights mechanisms outcomes

Shifts

• Prevention
• Civic space

Spotlight populations

• Women
• Young people
• Persons with disabilities

Last reviewed: June 2022