COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF BOTSWANA

CERD
61st session
20 August 2002
Morning


Considers Draft General Recommendation
on Descent-Based Discrimination



The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning concluded its consideration of the sixth to fourteenth periodic reports of Botswana, with an Expert stressing, in a concluding statement, that the educational system of the State party should take into consideration the multicultural and multi-ethnic nature of Botswana's society.
In his concluding statement, Committee Expert Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, who acted as country rapporteur for the reports of Botswana, said the way education was promoted in the country also should reflect this multi-cultural situation.
In response to questions raised earlier by Committee Experts, a Government delegation of Botswana said the Government took a very dim view of racial discrimination -- any reported cases were prosecuted in accordance with the law. In some extreme cases, perpetrators, if they were foreigners, were deported from the country.
Also taking part in the discussion were Committee Experts Nourredine Amir, Linos Alexander Sicilianos, Regis de Gouttes, Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Patrick Thornberry, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr and Ion Diaconu.
The Committee will issue its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Botswana at the end of its three-week session on 23 August.
Botswana, as one of the 162 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, must present periodic reports to the Committee on efforts to implement the treaty. A five-member Government delegation was on hand to present the report and answer questions raised by Committee Experts
Also this morning, the Committee discussed draft general recommendation on descent-based discrimination, a draft formulated following a thematic discussion of the topic on 8 and 9 August. It is expected to adopt the text as a whole when it completes its cluster-by-cluster adoption. In one agreed paragraph, the Committee firmly condemned discrimination based on descent, such as discrimination based on caste or analogous inherited status, as a violation of the International Convention.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. it will take up the seventh to the fourteenth periodic reports of Mali (document CERD/C/407/Add.2).

Response of Botswana
In response to a series of questions put by Committee Experts, members of the Government delegation of Botswana noted that in some cases it would not be possible to provide adequate answers to some of the concerns raised because they required consultations with others Botswana. Some issues and concerns had been noted for further elaboration in the next periodic report, they added. The next report is due in two years.
The High Court, in its judgement of 23 November 2001, directed that section 2 of the Chieftainship Act be amended as it was discriminatory in so far as it failed to afford some people equal treatment and equal protection, the delegation said. The President had appointed a 21-member commission to recommend wording that would render some of the sections of the Constitution tribally neutral. Following the recommendations of the commission, the country's Parliament had adopted this summer a Government policy on how to amended sections 77 to 79 of the Constitution.
With regard to the Tribal Territories Act, the delegation said the High Court had ruled that the Act "is saved from being inconsistent with the anti-discrimination provisions".
Concerning cases of racial discrimination, the delegation said the Government took a very dim view of racial discrimination; any reported cases were prosecuted in accordance with the law; and sentences that had been meted out were in accordance with the punishments specified for those offences. However, at times it was difficult to secure convictions due to lack of evidence. In some extreme cases, perpetrators who were foreigners had been deported from the country.
There had not been any cases in which victims had sought compensation since where there had been convictions they had been happy with the outcome, the delegation said. However, as indicated, at times it was difficult to obtain convictions.
Asked if an Ombudsman's office existed in the country, the delegation said an office had been established to provide an opportunity for aggrieved people to seek redress and also as part of an effort to enhance transparency and accountability in the country's public administration.
Botswana had since independence put in place development programmes aimed at benefiting all sections of society, including minority groups, without discrimination, the delegation said. The formulation of the National Development Programmes was based on a bottom-up approach involving consultations with communities.
The relocation of the Basarwa minority had been the culmination of a lengthy consultation process which started in 1985, the delegation said. That process had been extended to involve non-governmental organizations (NGOs) because the Government recognized NGOs and civil society as important partners in the national development process. There was a continuous dialogue between Government and NGOs on a wide spectrum of public issues.
On the question of homogeneity, the delegation contended that Botswana's population was relatively homogeneous because an overwhelming majority spoke Setswana, the national language. Another fact to be considered was that there were inter-marriages. However, there were different ethnic groups which spoke other languages, the delegation said.
With regard to the repatriation of Namibian refugees, the delegation said the Governments of Botswana and Namibia, together with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), had signed a tripartite agreement in April 2002 regarding the voluntary repatriation of Nambian refugees. About 800 refugees had registered for voluntary repatriation, and 550 had already returned to their homes.

Experts' Follow-up Comments and Questions
Committee Experts noted, among other things, incompatibility of the Tribal Territories Act with the provisions of the Convention. They asked about the situation of minorities, such as the Basarwa; about the position of the Government on making possible declarations under article 14 of the Convention recognizing the competence of the Committee to receive and consider individual communications; about the process of development; about the incorporation of respect for human rights into the process of development; about the percentage of inhabitants whose mother tongue was Setswana; and about the will of the Government to amend laws contradicting the provisions of the Convention, such as the Chieftainship Act.

Country Responses
The delegation said the Government had undertaken measures to amend the problematical provisions of the Chieftainship Act, and the principle behind doing so had been accepted by Parliament. Currently, consultations were going on over implementing the High Court decision declaring that section 2 of the Chieftainship Act should be amended, as it was discriminatory.
In the preparation of the report before the Committee, the delegation said, NGOs and members of the civil society had been involved. In the future the Government would undertake measures to improve the quality of the report. The technical assistance of the Committee to this end was most welcome.
Approximately 47 per cent of the population of Botswana lived below the poverty line, the delegation said. Relief schemes had been undertaken to assist those falling below this threshold, particularly vulnerable groups such as women and children.
The percentage of the population which had Setswana as a mother tongue was at least 85 per cent, the delegation said, while some 96 per cent of the population could speak Setswana.

Concluding Statement
RAGHAVAN VASUDEVAN PILLAI, Committee Expert serving as rapporteur on the report of Botswana, said the information provided suggested that the country was multicultural and multi-ethnic. The educational system should reflect this characteristic, and the way education was promoted should also should take into consideration the multi-cultural nature of society.
Mr. Pillai said it was interesting to know that the Government was looking into the decisions of the High Court with regard to the amendment of section 2 of the Chieftainship Act. The decision of the Court had been put aside by the Constitutional amendments. The Government should observe how the Act could adversely affect minority groups.
The rapporteur said it was important to take measures to sensitize public functionaries, particularly the police force, on standards for proper treatment of minorities.
Mr. Pillai also drew the Government's attention to implementation of the principle of a rights-based approach in the national development process, and said there should be more stress laid on provisions of equal protection. He recommended that the Government ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.



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