CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE _____________________________________________________________________ foundations of democracy and the rule of law in Burkina Faso. The CNE rightly notes in its last report (2007) that impunity, politicisation and corruption are important trends in the governance system in Burkina Faso. This means that today, more than ever, the major challenge facing the system of governance and democratic construction in Burkina Faso certainly lies in the ability of stakeholders to ensure a strengthened and credible democracy capable of ensuring sustainable development and calling for a more equitable sharing of the fruits of growth. 129. The above also emphasise the fact that, more than two decades after the revolution, Burkina Faso is at a crossroad. The significant progress made in its quest for rights and freedoms, stability, multiparty politics, democracy, and economic and social progress should not conceal or prevent the necessary critical reflection on the limits, constraints, challenges and stakes pertaining to the sustainable consolidation of political and democratic governance in Burkina Faso, as conceived through the analysis reflected in the nine objectives of this chapter. 3.2 Ratification and implementation of standards and codes i. Summary of the CSAR 130. The CSAR presents, in table form, a significant number of key legal instruments of which Burkina Faso is a part. Among such instruments are the seven major human rights treaties grouped under international instruments2. As regards regional instruments, there are, in addition to the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (Durban, 10 July 2002); the African Union Declaration on Democracy and Political, Economic and Corporate Governance; the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (Maputo, 11 July 2003); the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Addis Ababa, 11 July 1990); the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (Addis Ababa, 19 September 1969); the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Mozambique, 11 July 2003); the MOU of the Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA); the Declaration on a Response Framework of the OAU on the Unconditional Change of Governments (Lome, 12 July 2000); and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (Addis Ababa, 30 June 2007). 131. While noting that Burkina Faso has constitutionalised the rights and duties of citizens, the CSAR warns against any risk of masking the reality of restrictions 2 It should be noted that the mission could not confirm the ratification by Burkina Faso of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 71