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

Abstract

The children's right to quality food is a key to the other children's rights especially the right to survival, development and protection and is a means to analyze by practical items the child's right to non-discrimination. Through the article 20 §2, a) African countries among which Burundi are obliged to assist parents in the implementation of certain children's rights in which the right to nutrition. While article 30 of the same regional instruments obliges countries to behave in childish favorite way when the mother is jailed, other instruments go far. Mandela's rules and Bangkok rules admit that a child may stay with her mother but this is done in accordance with the child best interest. The aim of this article is to analyze the way Burundi implements the children's right to her/his best interest in the context of being with their mothers during the time a mother is in prison in Burundi. Methodologically, we paid a visit to pregnant and breastfeeding women at Mpimba prison in Burundi. We conducted a survey with them targeting to inquire the context of children feeding practices at Mpimba central prison. Findings show that they are fed with only cassava/maize bread and beans without cooking oil. No porridge, milk, sugar, legumes or meat is said to be in children's diet from the penitentiary administration budget. While they should at list benefit or enjoy their rights equally to their peers outside the jail, the former are in dangerous situation and their quality food is counted on the volunteers and good-doers contribution.

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

“…This means these women are not only imprisoned but also living a hard life in prison when they have to provide for their everyday life needs even though they do not exercise any wedged job in jail. This is a mark of the "prison theater" (Stathopoulos, 2019) that in prison, a big part of life is not leisure but suffering (Nyabenda & Sindayigaya, 2023;Sindayigaya, 2020;Sindayigaya et al, 2016;Sindayigaya & Nyabenda, 2022). women imprisoned with their infants experience what might be termed wartime suffering (Diop, 2018), and yet the suffering caused by this imprisonment has not altered their deep-rooted faith in the nobility of kinship towards their infants.…”

“…Children's rights are a priority all over the world (Sindayigaya, 2020(Sindayigaya, , 2023b while children are a category of human beings whose best interest is key to the future of humanity (Kilkelly, 2001;Sindayigaya, 2022;Sindayigaya et al, 2016;Van Hout & Mhlanga-Gunda, 2019). In this opinion, children's rights in every category as birth registration (Ebbers, 2020;Sindayigaya, 2023a), education (Mperejimana & Sindayigaya, 2023;Nduwimana & Sindayigaya, 2023a, 2023b, street children phenomena (Daba & Belete, 2020;Sindayigaya, 2022), children residing in prison with their mothers (Nyabenda & Sindayigaya, 2023;Sindayigaya, 2020;Sindayigaya & Nyabenda, 2022), children in refugee camps (Mpabansi, 2023;Ndericimpaye & Sindayigaya, 2023) or children' sociability (Toyi & Sindayigaya, 2023) must be of premier consideration highlighting their best interest.…”

“…Children in prison with their mothers shall never be treated as prisoners. Things must be taken or understood in this way anytime thinking about children's and mothers' welfare during the custodial life in Burundi (Nyabenda & Sindayigaya, 2023;Sindayigaya, 2020Sindayigaya, , 2023bSindayigaya & Nyabenda, 2022) and elsewhere in the world (Steinbach, 2019) letting them be aware of their infants' life (Hamasha et al, 2019) even during pandemic like COVID-19 as it has been in UK (Crawley et al, 2020). Children's ideologies anyway in the world is strongly attached to their well-being and best interest what cannot be thought of in any other way (Freeman & Veerman, 2021).…”

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

“…However, between these two periods (in 1926), a decree established a complete judicial organization, the "indigenous jurisdictions", charged exclusively with judging people of customary status, as this author also points out (Jacques, 1965: p. 4). The establishment of statutes was a strategy to gain control over the population, as the colonizer had already noticed that without the collaboration of the native authorities, the occupying power would be absolutely powerless (Nyabenda & Sindayigaya, 2023;Sindayigaya, 2023a;Sindayigaya & Nyabenda, 2022). This is how the white man created a social pyramid, with himself at the top the peasantry at the bottom, and the "evolved" class, auxiliaries to the colonial administration, in the middle (Nsabimana, Bigirumwami, & Rineze, 1994).…”

“…Under the provisions of article 216 of the above-mentioned 1987 law, the court is not bound by the settlement proposed by the Council of Notables of the Hill, except to verify the value of the parties' statements and witnesses' testimony Nyabenda & Sindayigaya, 2023;Sindayigaya & Nyabenda, 2022). The arrangement of the Council of Notables of the Hill is not res judicata and cannot be enforced by compulsory execution (article 217).…”