The Effects of the Rehabilitation Centers on the Children in Conflict with The Law in Burundi: Case Study of the Rumonge Rehabilitation Center

Abstract

SHABANI, Ramadhan. The Effects Of The Rehabilitation Centers On Children In Conflict With The Law In Burundi: Case Study Of The Rumonge Rehabilitation Center, Master’s Thesis, Ankara, 2019. The phenomenon of children in conflict with the law is a problem that has affected the justice systems of different countries in the world for centuries. This confusing phenomenon has not spared African countries in general and the Republic of Burundi in particular. Indeed, the management of children in conflict with the law has become a complex problem in Burundi for several decades because Burundi has not included the juvenile justice system in its justice system, children accused of crimes punishable by the law were housed in adult prisons. It was not until April 2015 that Burundi opened its first-ever rehabilitation center for children in contact with the justice system as part of a community reintegration mission for children who infringe the law. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the social policy of rehabilitation centers for children in conflict with the law in Burundi in the perspective of child rights.

A qualitative research design was adopted which included the usage of semi - structured interview guide form with a total of 18 participants, 15 children in conflict with the law and 3 staff members of the Rumonge rehabilitation center for child offenders. The analysis of these participants findings was carried out with Maxqda 2018 software using thematic coding and data analysis.

This study supplies hopeful results to this topic as the policy of rehabilitating children in conflict with the law in Burundi is still a recent experience. The results from the analysis are satisfactory from the point of view of respect for the rights of the child, since the implementation of community reintegration of child offenders through reeducation centers, Burundi children in contact with the justice benefit from moral education, vocational training, and psycho-social treatment.