The two top leaders of the labor movement in Burundi won release from jail in September 2004 following protests from human rights organizations and international labor groups, including Labor Rights Now.

    Pierre Claver Hajayandi, president of the Confederation of Burundi's Labour Unions, and Celestin Nsavyimana, the treasurer, were released after being detained for criticizing the Burundi government's draft constitution and the national referendum on it. The labor federation opposed the draft because of fears it could result in giving legitimacy to a non-elected government for an undefined, potentially indefinite period.

    "Burundi's tragic recent history has led people of good will to support strongly all efforts to bring stability and an end to ethnic conflict," Labor Rights Now President Don Stillman said in a letter to Burundi President Domitien Ndayizeye. "The exact nature of how that should be done must be determined by the various parties involved. But the process should not involve the jailing of labor leaders with views that conflict with those in power."