Burkina Faso added to human rights watchlist over crackdown on civil society
"We have witnessed an escalating pattern of repression. But what pushed us to include the country this year is the sharp scale and intensity of state action against civil society," said Civicus's Nelson Baiye Mbu.
The NGOs cites increasingly restrictive laws, notably a law on freedom of association enacted in July 2025, for the addition of Burkina Faso to its 2026 watchlist.
This legislation introduced strict compliance requirements and regulations, which "the military authorities have instrumentalised to suspend civil society organisations and associations," said Baiye Mbu.
The military authorities dissolved 118 civil society organisations on 15 April, citing non-compliance with the new freedom of association law. A further 564 were suspended between April and May.
"These organisations were given a one-year grace period to comply, yet the suspensions came before that period ended and again one month later, on 11 June, another 245 civil society organisations were suspended," said Baiye Mbu.
"We are looking at about 1,174 civil society organisations either suspended or dissolved, and [this] comes amidst trends of silencing critical voices in the country."
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Civicus noted that the military authorities, in power since 2022, have systematically used criticism and dissent as grounds for repression, across multiple sectors.
"For example, the General Student Union of Burkina Faso published statements criticising the military authorities' security record, and the authorities responded by suspending the union," Baiye Mbu continued.
"We also have the case of the prominent Sunni Imam, Muhammad Ishaq, who was arrested in May 2026 after he publicly criticised a religious freedom bill."
The authorities also dissolved the country's 100 registered political parties in January, transferring their assets to the state – "a formality" according to Baiye Mbu, "as activities of political parties were already banned since September 2022".
Predictable deterioration
Burkina Faso's inclusion on the watchlist was anticipated, Baiye Mbu said. "If you look at the trajectory, it has been very visible since 2023."
Media outlets including French news magazine Jeune Afrique, in 2023, and broadcasters Voice of America and BBC Africa, in 2024, have had their activities suspended in the country.
Francophone TV channel TV5 Monde was suspended indefinitely on 5 May of this year.
Journalists and activists have been forcibly conscripted, with the authorities accused of using military conscription to silence their critics.
They are also increasingly limiting international scrutiny, recently suspending the United Nations Human Rights Office in Burkina Faso.
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Similar trajectories have been seen in neighbouring Niger and Mali – both of which also underwent military coups and have since formed the Alliance of Sahel States with Burkina Faso, with all three leaving regional body the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
"What's striking is that all three countries... have made a deliberate choice to align themselves together rather than remain within traditional regional structures, presenting themselves as distinct from the wider West African community," said Baiye Mbu.
"But what is peculiar about Burkina Faso in this equation is the intensity and the pace of civil space contraction," he added.
"So, while Mali and Niger may be competing in this area, Burkina Faso's 2026 civil space record represents a particularly aggressive consolidation of military authority, with very little space left for dissent or independent organising."