PRESS STATEMENT ON THE COMMEMORATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 2002

LAUNCH OF THE BOTSWANA HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS CHARTER 2002

DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights joins the international community in commemorating International Human Rights Day on 10 December 2002. DITSHWANELO and the Botswana Red Cross Society will launch the Botswana HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Charter 2002 in recognition of International Human Rights Day 2002.

The Botswana HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Charter was first published in 1995 by a joint project between DITSHWANELO and The Botswana Red Cross Society. It was revised in 2002. This Charter “calls on all Botswana peoples; the government, the business sector, non-governmental organisations, religious organisations, traditional healers and trade unions to join hands and share the responsibility of challenging HIV/AIDS in our society.”

This year marks the 54th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on 10 December 1948 where the United Nations reaffirmed amongst other things, “their faith in fundamental human rights” and “in the dignity and worth of the human person”. They adopted a document which would foster respect for fundamental rights and freedoms as well as recongise the importance of the universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of human rights.

10 December 2002, also marks the conclusion of the annual Campaign of 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women (November 25 to December 10). The Campaign of 16 days of Activism is a strategy by individuals and groups from around the world to advocate for the elimination of all forms of violence against women. The Campaign links violence against women and human rights, emphasising that all forms of violence, whether perpetrated in the public or private sphere, are a violation of human rights. The dates which participants chose for the Campaign symbolically make this link: November 25 marks the International Day Against Violence Against Women and December 10 is International Human Rights Day. The 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including December 1, which is World AIDS Day.

It has been noted that one of the forces, which drive the HIV epidemic is gender inequality. This, because in many (probably most) societies, men exercise greater social, economic, political, and legal control than women, creating imbalances of power. Such power imbalances are prone to being abused. At the same time, campaigns in the HIV/AIDS epidemic acknowledge that women and children are vulnerable groups and that they need to be protected from violence, which often takes the form of rape and sexual abuse and thus fuels the epidemic.

DITSHWANELO maintains that a rights based approach is the most effective tool for dealing with the HIV epidemic. This entails locating people at the centre of processes which recognize civil, political, economic, social and cultural aspects of their lives. Vision 2016 incorporates the one of the African tenets of “Botho” which is a principle recongising human dignity and inculcates “the concept of a well-rounded character, who...realises his or her full potential both as an individual and as part of the community to which he or she belongs”.

DITSHWANELO is concerned that People Living with HIV/AIDS lead lives devoid of dignity. DITSHWANELO urges Batswana to use this Charter to promote the respect for and protection of human rights, thereby promoting dignity and self-esteem for all persons.

10 December 2002
Gaborone