Burkina Faso

The Follow-up Committee on the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), established in 2012

The Follow-up Committee on the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) (Comité de suivi de la mise en oeuvre des recommandations de l'EPU) was established by Interministerial decree 1743/2012. A new legal framework is under way.

Composition The national mechanism is led by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, which is responsible for relations with focal points. The Committee is composed by 23 members including :

• Secretary-Generals of Human Rights
• Representatives from Foreign Affairs
• Representative from Ministry of Finance
• Representatives from Ministry of Justice
• Ministry of Social Affairs
• Ministry of Territorial Administration and Security,
• Ministry of National and Higher Education
• Ministry of Labour and Social Security
• Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Youth
• Ministry of Defense
• National Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Organizations.

Focal points established under Article 33, paragraph 1, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Committee does not expressly include focal points under CRPD however elated concerns are addressed by the representative of the Ministry in charge of Social Affairs.

The Committee also includes focal points from Gender Equality mechanisms.

All focal points are appointed by their respective ministries or organizations on a permanent basis and replaced if reassigned or departed.

Secretariat The Directorate for Monitoring International Agreements acts as the national mechanism's secretariat.

Methods of work There are no standing terms of reference, but specific terms of reference are developed for each report. Communication among Committee members is also facilitated through a WhatsApp group.

Institutional memory and training New members receive training on MESURE-DH (Monitoring Mechanism for Implementation of Recommendations and Voluntary Commitments) and report drafting techniques for Treaty Bodies.

MANDATE

Originally mandated to report and follow-up on UPR recommendations, the national mechanism's mandate extended in 2016, to include follow-up on Treaty Body recommendations and Special Procedures inputs. A revision of the decree is underway to legally extend the mandate.

The national mechanism follows a structured process for monitoring recommendations and drafting reports:

Process for the preparation of state reports Recommendations are shared at the central, thematic, and decentralized levels. Data on their implementation is collected from relevant institutions.

Roadmaps and national action plans are developed to guide the implementation of recommendations.

Implementation of roadmaps and action plans is tracked using MESURE-DH, an online tool (Google Sheets) that centralizes data from the UPR and Treaty Body reports.

Additional data collection forms are sent to ministries and institutions as needed, with support from focal points.

Reports are drafted by synthesizing the collected data.

Validation: Draft reports are reviewed and validated in national workshops with representatives from all sectors.

The Interministerial Committee on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CIMDH), chaired by the Minister in charge of Human Rights and Vice-Chair the Minister of Defense, composed of Secretaries-General of ministries, reviews and validates reports. Reports must pass this stage before submission to the Council of Ministers.

The reports are then reviewed and formally adopted.

Finally, the reports are transmitted to the relevant international body via the Ministry in charge of Foreign Affairs.

Members of national delegations presenting reports are generally drawn from the multisectoral Committee.

While no formal SOPs exist, this process is consistently followed in practice.

The Committee normally meets four times a year in ordinary sessions, and in extraordinary sessions as needed. All Committee members participate in the ordinary sessions. For extraordinary sessions, members are convened based on the specific purpose of the session.

Linkages with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals:

The Committee itself does not prepare SDG Voluntary National Reviews, but the Ministry in charge of Human Rights participates.

During Burkina Faso’s fourth UPR cycle, the Committee correlated the implementation rate of accepted recommendations with SDG targets.

Channel of communication with the National Statistics Office Pending the ongoing revision of the Committee’s composition, the National Institute of Statistics and Demography (INSD) participates in the drafting of reports, in the follow-up of the implementation of recommendations, and in the presentation of reports before the Treaty Bodies.

Channel of communication with the Parliament

The national mechanism engages Parliament through national validation workshops. Parliament representatives were part of the fourth UPR cycle national delegation. The draft revised text provides for a parliamentary representative.

Channel of communication with the Judiciary The NMIRF also engages the Judiciary through the Ministry of Justice and validation workshops, with the draft revised text providing for a representative from the Superior Council of the Judiciary.

CONSULTATION The NMIRF engages civil society, marginalized groups, NHRIs, NPMs, and other stakeholders through workshops and questionnaires to gather information for reports.

Organizations of persons with disabilities participate in the drafting of reports and in the follow-up on the implementation of recommendations.

Training and capacity-building support has been provided by UNDP and OHCHR on report drafting, UPR presentation techniques, and strengthening the Monitoring Committee’s capacities

Since 2020, monitoring of recommendations is conducted via MESURE-DH, an online Google Sheets tool that centralizes UPR and Treaty Body implementation data. SOPs exist to guide the use of MESURE-DH, covering setup, maintenance, functioning, and user responsibilities. Members are regularly trained on the tool.

The government has developed an action plan to implement recommendations from the 3rd UPR cycle and Treaty Bodies which has been adopted in 2025 (attached).

The NMIRF has identified ongoing needs and challenges:

• Capacity-building for developing human rights indicators and understanding special procedures and complaint mechanisms.
• Technical and financial support for drafting responses to special procedures and complaints.
• Support for revising the interministerial decree to expand the Committee’s mandate and membership to include additional institutions (Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, Ombudsman, Higher Councils, Bar Association, National Statistics Office, etc.).
• Financial support for the regular holding of Committee sessions.
• Continued advocacy to mobilize partners and resources to strengthen human rights implementation in Burkina Faso.

Ministry of Justice and Human Rights