Burundi
Practice Relating to Rule 61. Improper Use of Other Internationally Recognized Emblems
Burundi’s Regulations on International Humanitarian Law (2007) states that “[i]t is prohibited to improperly use … other internationally recognized distinctive signs or signals”.
Burundi’s Military Penal Code (1980) states:
Any person who, in the area of operations of a force or unit [and] in violation of the laws and customs of war, improperly uses the distinctive signs and emblems defined by the international conventions to ensure the respect for persons, objects and places protected by these conventions, is punished with two to five years’ imprisonment.
In 2010, within the context of a Training Workshop on Military Criminal Law for Military Judges, the Ministry of National Defence and Former Combatants stated:
The CPM [Military Penal Code (1980)], in article 60, punishes … any person who, in the area of operations of a unit [and] in violation of the laws and customs of war, improperly uses the distinctive signs and emblems defined by international conventions to ensure the respect for persons, objects and places protected by these conventions.
The distinctive signs concerned are:
…
- The sign of civil defence;
- The sign for the protection of cultural property;
- The signs for dams, dykes and stations for the generation of nuclear energy.