The Child’s Rights to Clothes for Children Residing with Their Mothers in Prison: Case of Mpimba Prison, Burundi

Abstract

The children's right to clothes is one of the social children's rights that countries must assist parents in their implementation according to Article 20 §2. A. of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and Article 27 §3 and 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The only condition required to have this obligation is the poverty situation of the parents causing them incapable of fulfilling it. Among this category mothers in jail are the most recognized. This is balanced with the provisions of Mandela's Rules the same as Bangkok Rules defining that an infant is accepted to reside with her/his incarcerated mother in the sense of achieving her/his best interest. This article aims to inquire about the way children's right to clothes is implemented when the child lives beside her/his incarcerated mother. We used a semi-structured interview with 31 mothers imprisoned at Mpimba Central Prison in Bujumbura Hall City, Burundi. Data was collected with papers on which we marked responses in multiple-choice as we had established them. Data were analyzed with Microsoft Excel, and International Business Machine Corporation-Social Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) 25, and "Zotero digital research platform" referencing throughout this research. Results show that a maximum of infants have a single kit of clothes, and do not have a kit to wear in leisure moments. Only parents must provide them with clothes or wait for their relatives to do so. No governmental assistance is spoken about in this area of children's right to clothes.

Between the Institution of the Notables and That of the Bashingantahe: Conflict or Complementarity in the Service of the Independence of Local Justice in Burundi

“…In the years that followed, numerous proposals were put forward to further strengthen the role of the Bashingantahe. As early as the 1990s, with the return to democracy 30 years later (Jonya et al, 2024;Nyabenda & Sindayigaya, 2024), Burundi's constitution promulgated in March 1992 gave pride of place to the institution of the Bashingantahe, specifying that "the election of the commune's governing bodies (communal assembly, communal council, and administrator) shall be based on the Ubushingantahe, outside political party competition" (article 178).…”

“…No one is unaware of the advantages that litigants can enjoy when judicial services are close to them, but beyond the distances involved, there is one aspect that must be taken into consideration if the population is really to enjoy a fair trial. This is when the administration of justice is good, which is impossible if the latter is not independent, a sine qua non if it is to attract the confidence of the population (Jonya et al, 2024;Nyabenda & Sindayigaya, 2024;Sindayigaya, 2024). Legal specialists are unanimous: according to Charles de Lespinay, from a judicial point of view, "justice (...) must absolutely be brought closer, geographically and morally, to the litigant, so that the latter knows both that it is easy to act and prompt to investigate, arbitrate and punish" (De Lespinay & Mworoha, 2000: p. 187).…”