Burundi
Practice Relating to Rule 14. Proportionality in Attack
Burundi’s Regulations on International Humanitarian Law (2007) states: “The utilization of methods and means of combat may not be excessive in relation to the direct and concrete military advantage anticipated.”
The Regulations also states:
It is prohibited to cause suffering and destruction which are excessive in relation to the aim of the mission. The means utilized must be proportionate to the objective sought. Thus, bombarding a village because a single sniper is located there violates the principle of proportionality.
The Regulations further states: “The rule of proportionality must be respected. … The rule of proportionality does not justify unlimited destruction or attacks against civilians or civilian objects as such.”
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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d) launching a deliberate attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects … which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.
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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4°. Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians [or] damage to civilian objects … which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.