Burkina Faso’s Council of Ministers adopted a draft law on April 24 to create a 100,000-strong military reserve by the end of 2026. Defense Minister Célestin Simporé framed the move as a way to rapidly mobilize citizens to respond to security threats and “embed Patriotic Defense within a logic of citizen participation.”

On face value, adding tens of thousands of soldiers would appear to bolster national security, but in Burkina Faso it also risks accelerating an already serious human rights crisis.

Burkina Faso’s military already relies on tens of thousands of civilian auxiliaries known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie, VDPs).…