E/CN.4/2006/78 page 19 lack of constitutional and legislative recognition and the development model adopted by virtually all the countries of the region involve assimilation of the indigenous peoples and the denial of their linguistic and cultural specificity. They are generally viewed as marginalized and isolated population groups who deserve special attention from Governments but not specific human rights. The Commission considers that until African Governments assume the responsibility of ensuring that all their citizens enjoy access to appropriate development, the indigenous peoples will continue to stagnate at the lowest levels of the population. 77. One case that has caused particular concern on the part of the African Commission and other international organizations is that of the Basarwa in Botswana. The Commission’s delegation that visited the country in 2005 reports that the Government of Botswana decided to relocate the inhabitants of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (a small group of Basarwa hunter-gatherers who have lived in the area for thousands of years). In response to that act, a coalition of Basarwa and human rights organizations was formed and set up a negotiating team to discuss the future of the reserve’s population with the Government. With the breakdown of the initial negotiations, the Basarwa took the Government to court in 2002 in order to affirm their rights to continue to live on the reserve. The case is still going on and the talks have not been resumed. Meanwhile, the population was evicted from the reserve, following which all supplies and services were cut off, and was relocated in nearby camps. The Government also filed an amendment to the Constitution of Botswana that would repeal a constitutional provision giving the Basarwa the right of access to their traditional hunting grounds. 78. The delegation sent by the African Commission summarizes its report by stressing that the Basarwa have long been victims of policies of eviction and relocation against their will. The displaced persons have no access to ownership of the land and are employed, if at all, as day-labourers in conditions of extreme vulnerability. The services promised by the Government have not been provided. The eviction was carried out without prior consultation or consent of the parties concerned. Threatened, some families decided to relocate, but others refused and remained on the reserve. Some later returned to the reserve when they did not receive the promised services. The delegation feels that the Government’s programme was poorly coordinated and rushed, and did not take into account the international minimum standards. The Basarwa, lacking any representation vis-à-vis the Government and not recognized as such by law, are unable to file their complaints and claims in the right way. 79. The same source thinks the problem of forced displacement of the Basarwa is more of a development policy problem than a juridical-legal issue and that it calls for a human rights-based political solution, which can only be achieved through consultation among all the parties concerned: the Government, the indigenous communities and civil society. The delegation recommends that the Government of Botswana should take affirmative action in favour of the Basarwa and allow them to be represented in all the policy-making bodies; that it should establish communal conservation zones in the reserve so that the Basarwa can participate in the care and management of the environment and livestock; that they should receive training and education that enables them to participate in their own development; and, finally, that the Government should desist from legally denying the Basarwa’s existence as an indigenous people and, rather, recognize them as such together with their rights, in accordance with international standards.