A/HRC/4/5 page 11 5. Forced labour 33. There has been a continuation of cases of forced labour in the provinces of Makamba, Bururi and Bujumbura where the populations are compelled to do forced labour (delivery of firewood, water or supplies) by some local administrators and police and military authorities. Some authorities on the basis of a well-established system claim that these tasks are communal tasks. Recently, the independent expert was informed that FDN soldiers, in Mugoboka, Bujumbura Town Council (Bujumbura Ville), were forcing children to regularly perform various tasks for the soldiers and threatening them with beatings if they refused. It has also been reported that in Kayogoro Commune (province of Makamba), FDN soldiers from Nyentakara position continue to harass the local population and confiscate bicycles for their own use. The Chef de zone admitted collaborating with the soldiers for fear of reprisals. A group of four soldiers led by the position’s Chef de poste also allegedly beat up members of the public who showed solidarity with a person, whom the soldiers were trying to arrest and could not find. 34. In the commune of Kibago (province of Makamba), human rights monitors informed the independent expert that a civilian died on 18 November 2006, as a result of injuries sustained in a beating by an FDN soldier from Nyakazi position for non-compliance with his orders to cut and transport firewood. 35. Such violations were reported also in the provinces of Bururi and Cankuzo where members of the army and the police forced the population, including internally displaced persons, to fetch water and firewood for them. Those who resisted were threatened and ill-treated. Despite numerous efforts by human rights monitors, mainly in the form of awareness-raising sessions, to deter State agents from continuing this practice, reports of local residents being forced to provide or carry firewood in western provinces continued to be received. 6. Sexual violence 36. Three hundred and eighty nine cases of rape of women and minors from all provinces of Burundi were reported during the last five months of 2006. The western provinces were the most affected by this phenomenon. This figure reflects a decrease in the number of cases reported compared to the same period in 2005. This reduction can be attributed to the prospect of legal action being pursued against the perpetrators, the awareness-raising exercises and the involvement of administrative and political authorities in the struggle against this curse. However, it is still taboo to discuss sexuality within the communities, and some of the victims remain silent because they are not aware that there can be legal consequences for these crimes. Furthermore, some administrative authorities continue to recommend out-of-court settlements as a preferred option. Whilst in most cases the victims have received the necessary medical care in due time, often through the assistance of specialized NGOs, impunity for the alleged perpetrators of such crimes remains the norm. 37. So far, in the commune of Nyarusange (province of Gitega), eight women were allegedly raped by a number of police agents of the same commune between April and May 2006. They filed complaints for sexual violence against agents of the Police de sécurité interieure (PSI) of