2 Thank you Madam Chairperson. My Name is Lydia Nyati-Saleshando. I have been working on minority issues in Botswana since 1995. In 2004, I made a presentation to the then Working Group on Minorities, and outlined the institutionalised and structural discrimination against the non-Tswana speaking ethnic groups on the basis of tribe, language and culture. These persons make the majority of the population of Botswana. The discrimination enshrined in Botswana laws has led to minority dominated areas to be poverty stricken and characterised by under achievement of children in schools, thus creating poverty circles in many families. While much of this situation has not changed, I note with appreciation, efforts and notable achievements the Government has made in the promotion of the ideals of the Declaration on Minority Issues. The Chieftainship Act was reviewed in 2008 and now provides the Minister with discretionary powers to recognise a tribe, a chief and define a tribal areai within a tribal territoryii for the recognised tribal communityiii. The UNESCO International Mother Tongue Day