A/HRC/40/64 be deemed discriminatory and inconsistent with the approaches identified as good practices in a publication of the former Special Rapporteur, “Language rights of linguistic minorities: a practical guide for implementation”.2 While Botswana has made great strides to increase access to education and the quality of its education system, minorities living in remote areas still face significant difficulties in accessing education. The system of hostel accommodation put in place to bring children from these communities to live far from their families in areas closer to schools was signalled out as having in many cases negative, even tragic, consequences on the lives of many of these children. He was described in vivid terms children being thrown into an alien world, feeling abandoned by their own mothers and fathers, with many becoming despondent and running away, or doing very poorly at school. He was also told the stories of some who eventually benefited and were able to pursue secondary, and even tertiary, studies. Nevertheless, he was advised that overall minorities appeared to be disproportionally represented among those who were sent to hostels in different regions of the country. 21. The Special Rapporteur concluded that the practice amounts to institutionalization of remote-area minority children, and particularly the Basarwa, and that it should be reviewed and alternative approaches studied so as to minimize the separation of young children away from their parents, in the light of the devastating effects this can have. His report contains other recommendations. 22. The Special Rapporteur invited Botswanan educational authorities to review their policies of excluding the teaching of and in minority languages in both public and private schools, so as to be better aligned with the goal of achieving an inclusive and equal opportunity nation, as well as to enable all its communities to freely live, practice and celebrate their diverse cultures, including their languages, and with its stated agreement in 2012, during the universal periodic review, of the importance of mother tongue education. 23. Grave concerns were raised as to the continued prominence, and even pre-eminence, of Tswana chiefs over non-Tswana minorities, in the central and unique constitutional and political feature of its chieftaincy system (kgotla), and the position and authority of the House of Chiefs. The intricacies of this defining characteristic of Botswana are outlined in the report. 24. Broadly speaking, the House of Chiefs is a three-tier system with, at its top, the chiefs (kgosi) of the eight areas belonging to the Tswana tribes and the four former Crown lands, five persons appointed by the President, and a maximum of 20 other chiefs selected by regional electoral colleges for five-year terms. The recognized chiefs of the eight Tswana tribes rule over other tribes whose chiefs are not recognized, and they recommend to the Government the appointment of subchiefs, senior chiefs’ representatives and headmen. 25. Some changes, such as the Bogosi Act, adopted following litigation brought by members of the Wayeyi community and the resulting 2001 High Court judgment, which found section 2 of the Chieftainship Act to be discriminatory and unconstitutional, have led to improvements, such as the formal recognition of the Wayeyi as a tribe in 2016 and of their Chief in 2017. However, the High Court had ordered recognition of the equal protection and treatment of all tribes under the Act. Under the current three-tiered arrangement, the chiefs of the eight Tswana tribes retain a permanent and automatic quota. Many others tribes are either unrecognized, unrepresented or need to have their chiefs elected periodically – if they can – as members of the House of Chiefs. A number of minority representatives have stated that they feel excluded, disadvantaged politically and that they are not able to enjoy the same advantages and benefits as tribes who are automatically represented, including in terms of recognition and respect for their identity. This system continues to create tensions in Botswanan society, in particular the more prominent role, rights and privileges of the chiefs of the eight Tswana tribes, which could still be considered discriminatory, as were previously parts of the Chieftainship Act in 1999. Many tribes remain completely unrecognized under the current legislation, and even those who have been recognized since the adoption of the Bogosi Act are not automatically 2 6 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/SRMinorities/Pages/LanguageRights.aspx.