Session sur la protection des mineurs et la sauvegarde des personnes en situation de vulnérabilité pour la Province de l’Afrique Centrale (Bujumbura, Burundi, 15- 26 février 2025)
Mardi 18 février 2025
In developing safeguarding policy, we need to be familiar with the laws of the countries where we carry out our ministry. For this reason, the second day of our session was marked by the intervention of a legal expert in the field of the protection of minors in the Burundian context. In his speech, Maître NDAYISHIMIYE Jean Berchmans shared with us exhaustive information about the protection of children in the Burundian context. He also presented the legal and constitutional framework for child protection. We discovered that Burundi is concerned about the welfare of children at all levels, starting with the family structure. All kinds of abuse, violence and exploitation of minors are punishable by law.
Despite this arsenal of laws, child abuse persists. Hence the need for a contextual policy for the province: protection mechanisms, denunciation, and guidelines for everyone.
These elements are important for tackling the next stage of our session, which is to draw up a policy for the PAC province (Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo).
The day was enriched by the celebration of the Eucharist presided over by Father Lowrent Kamwaza. ‘Despite our littleness, we are called to be the Noahs of today, ready to be bridges through which the people of God find a safe environment in his Church’.
La protection est notre engagement.
Par: Alex Manda, M.Afr., Jean de Dieu Meda, M.Afr., Anthony Nahabwe, M.Afr., Edmond Ouedraogo, M.Afr., Lowrent Kamwaza, M.Afr.