A/HRC/42/49 Employees who are not members of CNDD-FDD are at risk of losing their jobs. The politicization of access to employment is increasing and has spread to foreign NGOs. 3. Right to education 59. In several schools, students who had not made the contribution for the 2020 elections, which was compulsory for every student of voting age, were not allowed to attend class. The situation was such that, on 8 February 2019, the Minister of Education had to prohibit the practice. In addition, some students have been unable to go to school or have been harassed and threatened by teachers or other students who are members of CNDDFDD – although schools are theoretically settings free of political activity – on account of their affiliation with another party. The high school girls accused of defacing a photograph of the President were also forced out of school indefinitely. The quality of instruction is suffering as qualified teachers leave and their places are taken by substitutes chosen for their political loyalties. It is common for students to drop out of school, including because of pregnancy or owing to the socioeconomic situation. The average length of schooling is only three years.27 4. Forced labour 60. Community service initially consisted of street cleaning and other minor maintenance work in the interest of the community. This mandatory service has now taken on political overtones. The people have been forced, on pain of financial penalty, to build local offices for CNDD-FDD, an obligation that constitutes forced labour, which is prohibited by the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), and the ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), both ratified by Burundi in 1963. 61. The aim of other forms of community service is to contribute to local development by building public facilities such as stadiums, roads, schools and health centres. Since 2015, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of ILO has been examining the compatibility of this work with international law, which states that compulsory service as a method of mobilizing and using labour for purposes of economic development is a form of forced labour.28 III. International crimes A. Constituent elements and types of crimes 62. The Commission still has reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity, as defined in the Rome Statute, have been committed in Burundi. These crimes include murder, imprisonment or other severe forms of deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity, and political persecution.29 63. The Commission has documented a large number of violent incidents that have taken place in several provinces. Different people with similar modus operandi and a shared objective – to eliminate any real or perceived political opposition that could undermine the grip on power of the Government and CNDD-FDD – have been responsible for these incidents. They can therefore be described as “systematic attacks” deliberately targeting civilians. The people are regularly reminded by representatives of the Government, local administrative authorities and CNDD-FDD that their objective is to remain in power. The alleged perpetrators of these international crimes are necessarily informed of this objective, which means that they must understand the backdrop against which they act. 27 28 29 12 Ibid. ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), art. 1 (b). A/HRC/36/CRP.1, paras. 682–691. GE.19-13419