Burundi
Practice Relating to Rule 37. Open Towns and Non-Defended Localities
Burundi’s Regulations on International Humanitarian Law (2007) states that “attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended” constitutes a “grave breach” of IHL.
The Regulations also states that “an attack against non-defended localities” constitutes a violation of the law of war.
Burundi’s Law on Genocide, Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes (2003) states:
[The following are] considered as war crimes:
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B. Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflicts, within the established framework of international law, namely, any of the following acts:
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e) attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives.
Burundi’s Penal Code (2009) states:
“War crimes” means crimes which are committed as part of a plan or policy or as part of a large-scale commission of such crimes, in particular:
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2. … [S]erious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict, within the established framework of international law, namely, any of the following acts:
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5°. Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives.