Evariste Ndikumana

About Evariste Ndikumana

Ndikumana Evariste is a U.S. States Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program Alumnus and a leader in Burundi’s Batwa community. The Batwa are minority that make up approximately 1 % of the country’s population, with many of its members living in poverty on the edge of a society dominated by Hutus and Tutsis.

Despite being a trained lawyer in Burundi, he had no knowledge of the rights of indigenous peoples prior to the Fellowship Program in Geneva 2009. After completing the program, He returned to Burundi to share his newly-acquired knowledge with other members of Assejeba: Association Espoir pour les Jeunes Batwa, as well as with other organizations.

Mr. Ndikumana became one of the few Batwa to earn a university degree, second to be graduated from university and went on to serve two terms in Burundi’s National Assembly as representative of Batwa Indigenous, and he is a chairman of committee of Justice and Human Rights in National Assembly.

As Director of the Association Espoir pour les Jeunes Batwa (HOPE FOR BATWA YOUTH ‘’ASSEJEBA’’), Mr. Ndikumana advocates for Batwa rights. His current priorities include ensuring that Batwa communities have the local government registration ID (needed to vote), birth certificates, ability to attend school, and to access health care.

His organization received a grant from U.S. Embassy to support the Batwa indigenous who don't have the civil documents (ID Cards, Birth certificates and marriage certificates) for 1300 peoples.

Evariste has participated in many sessions of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), organized by The United Nations in Geneva. As member of the World Council of Churches Indigenous Peoples Reference Group, he has traveled in many countries around the world to talk about indigenous issues (USA, Australia, Switzerland, France, Germany, Chine, Philippines, Colombia, Italy, Norway, South Africa, and Uganda).