A/HRC/40/64/Add.2 and political dynamics (A/HRC/15/37/Add.2, para. 6), causing some minorities to feel excluded, ignored or disadvantaged. 13. The Basarwa, also known as the San people, include several groups and are conservatively estimated to number 60,000 people. They are usually considered to be the indigenous peoples of Southern Africa. Botswana voted in favour of adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but considers that all African ethnic groups in Botswana are indigenous. V. Legal and institutional framework A. International framework 14. Botswana is a party to a number of human rights treaties that are of particular relevance to the protection of minorities, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Special Rapporteur also notes that during its 2018 universal periodic review Botswana extended a standing invitation to the special procedure mandate holders (see A/HRC/38/8/Add.1) and that Botswana has received visits from several mandate holders in recent years. B. Constitutional and legislative framework 15. A large number of fundamental rights and freedoms, such as the right to freedoms of conscience, expression, assembly and association, are enshrined in chapter II of the Constitution. While none of the fundamental rights and freedoms spelled out in that chapter refer specifically to minorities, section 11 (2) deals with, inter alia, the rights of religious communities to establish, and maintain at their own expense, places of education and to manage such places. Section 15 (3) restricts the prohibition of discrimination to a limited number of grounds, such as race, tribe, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed or sex. While this is an important anti-discrimination clause, it omits well-established prohibited grounds of discrimination, including those particularly important for minorities, such as religion and language. 16. At the time of the Special Rapporteur’s visit, efforts were being made to include a human rights mandate in the Office of the Ombudsman, and the possibility of creating a national human rights institute was being studied. He notes, however, that similar discussions have been ongoing for a number of years and that the current discussions may not necessarily result in any immediate action. He also notes the importance that any institution eventually created should comply with the internationally agreed principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), which should frame and guide the work of national human rights institutions. VI. Positive steps and developments 17. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges the efforts and commitment of the Government of Botswana to provide all citizens with access to development programmes. In particular, he notes efforts taken to address the disadvantages faced by populations in remote areas and marginalized groups, who are often persons who belong to minorities, such as the Basarwa, including a five-year informal affirmative action plan to recruit persons belonging to minorities in the army, the police and the prison system. 18. One important policy initiative to alleviate poverty and promote development with a direct impact on many minorities concentrated in the peripheral districts of the country is the Remote Area Development Programme. The programme has been revised to adopt a community-led development approach, which aims to promote participatory processes and 5