Prisoners' militias see to children in Burundi prisons, says Terre des hommes

The Burundi prison authorities have set up a system of prisoners’ militia responsible for ensuring the safety of children. A prisoner is nominated by the child prisoners and then chosen by the prison authorities as ‘General for the Minors’ in Mpimba prison. Made up of other prisoner-guardians, this militia must ensure the security of children when they are together with adult detainees during the day, and when they go back to the dormitories reserved for minors in the evening. According to the Gernal Department of Prison Affairs, there were 404 minors in conflict with the law and 83 small children aged between 0 and 3 in Burundi prisons at the end of April 2012.