US Concerned About Plight of BaSarwa

• Urges for mutually acceptable solutions to prevent displacement of BaSarwa
• Calls for facilitation of a better quality of life for BaSarwa
• Govt tells UN it cannot be blamed for CKGR burial standoff

BaSarwa are acknowledged to be the most indigenous or aboriginal inhabitants of Botswana. However, in a country populated mainly by Setswana-speaking peoples, they have become the most marginalised of all the country’s ethnic groups. During an ongoing review process where Botswana has been giving reports to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group on its human rights record, the US delegation asked what steps Botswana has taken to ensure equitable treatment of BaSarwa communities.

Relocated

In response, the Minister of Justice, Machana Shamukuni, reported that the government has provided services to the vulnerable group in compliance with the country’s principle of leaving no one behind.

With regard to the ongoing burial standoff between the government and the Pitseng family in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Shamukuni said the government is not to blame. “The matter reached the courts and the courts have agreed with government that the deceased was not a resident of CKGR as he was part of those who were relocated,” he said. BaSarwa face various challenges across southern Africa, including land rights disputes, limited access to basic services such as education and healthcare, and discrimination.

Ancestral lands

The Government of Botswana has been accused of forcibly relocating Basarwa communities from their ancestral lands for conservation, mining and other purposes which are not openly admitted to by authorities. This has led to long-standing battles between the government, BaSarwa and the international community.

But Botswana is a signatory to international human rights treaties and conventions, and thus has a responsibility to protect the rights of all its citizens, including BaSarwa, hence the international concerns. The concern of the US about the treatment of BaSarwa communities is seen as highlighting the need for the Botswana Government to address the underlying issues and find a mutually acceptable solution.

UN Charter

At the UPR, concerns were raised by states about Botswana’s reluctance to embrace the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which stipulates that all peoples have the right of self-determination and that by virtue of that right, people can freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

“All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law,” the covenant states.

“In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence. The states parties to the present covenant, including those having responsibility for the administration of Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories, shall promote the realisation of the right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.”