State of the World's Minorities 2007 - Botswana

In December 2006, the Basarwa – also known as the Khoesan or San – in Botswana won a historic legal victory when the country's High Court ruled that the Basarwa had been illegally forced out of their ancestral home in the Central Kalahari game reserve. The panel of three judges ruled 2–1 in favour of the Basarwa. Judge Mpaphi Phumaphi said the treatment of the remaining Basarwa in the game reserve amounted to 'death by starvation', as they were prohibited from hunting, or receiving food rations. Judge Unity Dow ruled that the government had 'failed to take account of the knowledge and culture' of the Basarwa when it expelled them. However, the verdict also said the government was not obliged to provide basic services to anyone wishing to return to the reserve, nor had it acted illegally by terminating essential services in the game reserve.

The Basarwa are believed to have lived in area covered by the Central Kalahari game reserve for 20,000 years, but their hunter-gatherer lifestyle and unique traditions have come under intense pressure in modern Botswana. The government claims that the Basarwa have voluntarily moved from the Kalahari into resettlement camps, where the authorities are better able to provide education and health services. But campaigners maintain they have been forcibly resettled. Before the court case, hunting in the game reserve was prohibited and Basarwa caught breaking the law were arrested. But the High Court ruled that it was illegal to refuse to issue the Basarwa with special game licences. It also found that the refusal to allow the Basarwa into the Central Kalahari game reserve was unlawful and unconstitutional. There are persistent allegations of harassment and ill-treatment of the Basarwa at the hands of the police and wildlife officers. Critics also say the resettlement camps have exposed the Basarwa to HIV/Aids – Botswana has one of the highest rates of infection in the world.

Concerns about the Basarwa's treatment were also highlighted by the UN Committee tasked with monitoring the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which Botswana ratified in 1974. In its 2006 response to a country report submitted by Botswana, the Committee recommended that the government resume negotiations with the residents of the reserve with a view to finding a 'solution acceptable to all'. The Committee also noted the difficulties experienced by poor people – many of whom belonged to the Basarwa – accessing law courts, because of high court fees, and the problems facing children who did not belong to the majority Tswana tribe, because education was not sufficiently tailored to minority linguistic and cultural needs.