OUAGADOUGOU — Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister, Dr. Apollinaire Joachimson Kyélèm de Tambèla, emphasized the need for a culturally-rooted approach to human rights during a meeting with the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) led by its president, Gonta Alida Henriette Da.
According to Burkina Information Agency, Dr. Kyélèm de Tambèla addressed the newly appointed office of the CNDH, stressing the importance of decolonizing the Burkinabè mentality regarding human rights. He suggested that the current understanding of human rights has been influenced by external ideas that do not always align with local realities. “We must learn to decolonize mentalities,” he stated, underlining the need to ground human rights in Burkinabe culture and context.
The Prime Minister highlighted that human rights should reflect the evolution and context of each society. He listed key rights that are particularly significant to the Burkinabè people, including security amid terrorism threats, the right to sufficient food, access to education, healthcare, and freedom of movement. Dr. Kyélèm de Tambèla also pointed out that the primary freedom in the current context is the freedom to live, questioning the applicability of imported criteria in evaluating freedom of expression.
Furthermore, Dr. Kyélèm de Tambèla raised concerns about the relevance of the existing legal framework, noting that many Burkinabè do not fully understand the Constitution as it is not tailored to their context. He criticized the application of laws based on neocolonial and Western principles, arguing that they often do not reflect the realities of the local population.
Gonta Alida Henriette Da, president of the CNDH, remarked that the meeting’s objective was to introduce the new commission to the Prime Minister and to discuss the advisory role of the CNDH in guiding the executive branch on human rights issues. This dialogue marks a significant step in Burkina Faso’s efforts to integrate human rights more deeply and appropriately within its own cultural and societal framework.