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	Torture, sexual violence on rise in Burundi - UN experts by Cecile Mantovani Thomson Reuters Foundation, agencies   August 2016   Torture is on the rise against government critics detained in Burundi and security forces are using sexual violence against women during protests and searches, United Nations human rights experts said on Friday.   The U.N. Committee against Torture voiced concern at the use of "genocidal rhetoric" by senior officials and at the ethnic nature of the year-long conflict in the central African country.   "We have reports and information that indicates that the violence, the torture, is politically-motivated. And whether it also has an ethnic component, there are also indications for that," Jens Modvic, panel chairman, told a news briefing.   "You could consider that systematic torture directed toward certain political and ethnic groups would be an early warning sign of a process that could deteriorate into genocide."   More than 450 people have been killed since President Pierre Nkurunziza won a third term. Opponents said his move violated the constitution and a deal that ended a civil war in 2005.   About a quarter of a million people have fled the violence, which has alarmed neighbouring countries in a region where memories of Rwanda''s 1994 genocide remain raw. Like Rwanda, Burundi has an ethnic Hutu majority and a Tutsi minority.   The panel, composed of 10 independent experts, called on Burundi to exert rigorous control of its police and security forces and to halt crimes including extrajudicial executions, torture and disappearances. Investigations should be carried out and perpetrators prosecuted.   Most torture occurs in the national intelligence services near the Bujumbura cathedral, but also in secret detention centres, the experts said after examining Burundi''s record.   Justice Minister Aimée Laurentine Kanyana told the panel at the start of the two-day review torture was prohibited in Burundi and perpetrators were tried and punished. The government delegation boycotted the session on the second day, the U.N. said.   The panel, in a statement on Monday, said four Burundian lawyers who provided information to them about alleged torture face disbarment as retribution for their testimony.   * The International Federation for Human Rights has issued a disturbing new report on the situation in Burundi: http://bit.ly/2fWPEOy Visit the related web page
	45.8 million people in slavery, according to global estimates by Walk Free Foundation, Unicef, agencies   Nearly 46 million people around the world are reported to be experiencing some form of modern slavery, according to the latest global estimates produced by the Global Slavery Index.   The Global Slavery Index 2016, compiled by the Walk Free Foundation, provides an estimate of the number of people in modern slavery as well as steps taken by governments to tackle the issue in 167 countries. Data shows 58 per cent of those living in modern slavery are in five countries: India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan.   Speaking at an Unicef Office for Research - Innocenti Seminar, Jacqueline Joudo Larsen of the Walk Free Foundation said providing accurate and rigorous data on the reality of modern slavery was crucial in effecting policy.   “I think numbers play an important role in bringing attention to the issue and it does bring with it an urgency to policy response,” she said. “Our challenge is to get that number as correct as we can based on research. That’s where we’ll have the best impact.”   The Index also measures government action against modern slavery and comes with key policy recommendations for businesses and governments. Research shows that in some countries with high GDP rates, including Qatar and Singapore, policy responses are poor. The governments taking the least action overall include North Korea, Iran and Eritrea while the countries with the strongest responses include The Netherlands, the U.S. and the U.K.   Strong political will, a strong civil society and adequate allocation of resources were defined as key components for effective national programmes to combat modern forms of slavery.   Katharine Bryant, research manager at Walk Free Foundation told Innocenti staff gathered at the Seminar it was important for more countries to gather data directly from those who had experienced some form of modern slavery in order to better inform the research.   “Very few countries take active steps to learn from survivor’s experiences, with regards to victim support or as participants in the criminal justice system. It’s really important that survivors of slavery are given the opportunity to feed in what the responses should be so that the research becomes more meaningful.”   The Walk Free Foundation and UNICEF Innocenti researchers met this week in order to discuss opportunities for incorporating a child rights approach into the Global Slavery Index research.   “Innocenti and the Walk Free Foundation would like to explore possible collaboration around modern slavery including methodological refinement and incorporating a better child lens to the instrument, as well as exploring areas of common interest such as child marriage, child labour, migration, wellbeing, trafficking and violence prevention more broadly,” said Kerry Albright, chief of research facilitation and knowledge management at UNICEF Innocenti.   To produce the Global Slavery Index, random sample surveys were conducted in 25 countries. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with over 28,000 respondents in 52 languages using standardised instruments. Data was compiled from research instruments that represented 44 per cent of the global population in collaboration with Gallup.   * 2016 Global Slavery Index: http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/ Visit the related web page
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