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participate equally in decision-making processes at the local and national levels. This
includes addressing the implementation of the Bogosi Act of 2008 in a transparent
manner and ensuring the equal recognition of communities as tribes under that Act,
without any discrimination against certain minorities.
86.
The Government is encouraged to withdraw the requirement of fluency in
English as a qualification for election as a specially elected member of the Ntlo ya
Dikgosi or a member of the National Assembly, since it has the potential to
disproportionally exclude minorities and others who may instead be fluent in
Setswana and their own language, and therefore to set up barriers to their political
participation.
E.
Access to public health care and other public services
87.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that public health and other public
awareness-raising campaigns be designed and implemented by the Government in
minority languages, including sign language, to the degree and in the areas
appropriate and in line with the principle of proportionality.
88.
In relation to access to public health care and other public services, he urges
the Government to continue its efforts to improve service delivery and the
implementation of its health and other public services and to review these in the light
of persistent claims that non-Tswana minority communities, especially in more remote
localities, are disproportionally denied access to such services or have lesser access to
them.
F.
Landownership, development and access to and use of resources
89.
Questions and grievances concerning land and resource ownership, access and
use were frequently heard during the Special Rapporteur’s visit. He invites the
Government to conduct information campaigns, including in the country’s main
minority languages outside the Gaborone region, to explain the legal framework,
policies and procedures regarding land and resource allocation, access and use, and
the corresponding rights and procedures.
90.
He further recommends that the eight tribal territories be renamed to reflect a
more inclusive or non-ethnically based identity.
91.
Botswana is to be commended for its approach to conservation and
development, which recognizes the rights of local communities to manage and benefit
from the management and use of natural resources through community-based
initiatives. The Special Rapporteur invites the Government to further develop
capacity in the tourism industry, focusing more on particularly vulnerable and
disadvantaged minority communities.
92.
While Botswana can be proud of its conservation policies, there remains the
need to continuously review these policies and consider the delicate issue of
communities located within by national parks and forest reserves such as in Chobe.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that a national review be held on the
implementation of such policies and programmes to ensure that minority communities
are not isolated because roads are closed during certain periods and that they have
equal access to State services, such as education, health care and water.
93.
The listing of the Okavango Delta as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is an
important event for which Botswana must be congratulated. However, some minority
communities appear to have been affected in terms of traditional seasonal access to
land and resources despite assurances to the contrary. The Special Rapporteur invites
the Government to initiate discussions and negotiations with affected minority
communities to address these challenges and seek agreements accommodating
traditional practices without significantly affecting the mandate of the World Heritage
Site.
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