Urgent appeal: forced disappearance of activists in Burkina Faso
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a collaborative effort between the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent mobilization regarding the current events in Burkina Faso.
Details of the disappearances
The Observatory has been alerted to the abduction and subsequent forced disappearance of two prominent members of the “Balai citoyen” movement: Amadou Sawadogo, a regional coordinator, and Miphal Ousmane Lankoandé, a sociologist serving as the organization’s executive secretary. Since its inception in 2013, Balai citoyen has advocated for a democratic and equitable society in Burkina Faso.
Amadou Sawadogo was summoned by state security services in Ouagadougou on March 20, 2025, due to his critical social media commentary. During his interrogation, he was pressured to reveal the locations of other activists. Following a second appointment the next day, he vanished, and authorities have since refused to disclose his whereabouts.
On March 30, 2025, Miphal Ousmane Lankoandé was seized by armed individuals identifying as gendarmes in front of his residence in the Karpala district of Ouagadougou. This abduction occurred shortly after his return from Cotonou, Bénin, where he had attended an activism workshop. Despite legal inquiries, no official information regarding his status has been released.
A pattern of systemic repression
These incidents are not isolated. Other members of Balai citoyen, such as the lawyer Guy Hervé Kam, have faced arbitrary detention. Furthermore, activists Rasmané Zinaba and Bassirou Badjo were forcibly conscripted into the military in early 2024, despite court orders to the contrary. The military government in Burkina Faso has also targeted the press, with journalists like Guezouma Sanogo, Boukary Ouoba, and Luc Pagbeguem missing since late March 2025.
The use of forced disappearances and selective military conscription has become a tool to silence dissent. Under decrees issued in 2022 and 2023, the transition government can requisition any able-bodied citizen over 18. The United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances has expressed grave concern that these practices are being weaponized against human rights defenders and political opponents in Burkina Faso.
Required actions
We urge you to contact the military authorities in Burkina Faso to demand the following:
- Ensure the physical and mental safety of Amadou Sawadogo, Miphal Ousmane Lankoandé, and all local activists.
- Immediately reveal the location of the missing defenders and grant them access to legal counsel and their families.
- Cease the practice of forced disappearances and the punitive use of military conscription against critics.
- End all forms of judicial harassment against members of civil society and the media.
- Uphold international human rights standards, specifically the freedom of expression and association as defined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.