Ditshwanelo

DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights is extremely concerned about the deportation of eight (8) Namibians from the Caprivi Region. They were forcibly returned to Namibia by the Government of Botswana on 12 December 2003. On 16 December 2003, DITSHWANELO contacted the Office of the President and the Attorney General’s Chambers, to seek clarification on the matter.

A press release dated 16 December 2003, from the Government of Botswana states that: “this Office is aware of (is) the deportation of eight Namibians back to Namibia this past Friday. The eight were deported for violating both the conditions of their stay in Botswana as well as the United Nations Convention governing the status of refugees.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a press release on this matter dated 17 December 2003, through its representative in Botswana, Mr Benny Otim. The release states that “…at no time prior to the above-mentioned incident has the Government of Botswana informed or consulted UNHCR regarding the proposed return of any Namibian asylum seekers or refugees, as would normally be the case. It is for this reason that UNHCR has sought urgent clarification from the Government as to the circumstances surrounding the return of the eight Namibians. As a matter of principle, UNHCR views, with the utmost concern, any allegation regarding the ‘refoulement’ or ‘forced return’ of asylum seekers or refugees to frontiers of any territory where their lives or freedom would be endangered.”

The eight (8) Caprivians fled Namibia for political reasons and face a well-founded fear of persecution
At some time, the Government of Botswana had granted them asylum which it revoked. The government’s reason was their “violation of both the conditions of their stay in Botswana as well as the United Nations Convention governing the status of refugees.”

Despite such reported violation we maintain that it remains the responsibility of the Government of Botswana and UNHCR to ensure the protection of the rights of refugees. A refugee is a person who flees his or her country due to a well-founded fear of persecution or “who owing to… events seriously disturbing public order in… his [or her] country of origin, is compelled to… seek refuge in another place outside his [or her] county of origin…”. This is in accordance with international law and practice. If protection was no longer possible in Botswana, DITSHWANELO believes asylum should have been sought in a country other than Botswana. To return them to the Country from which they had fled, is to deny them the right to seek asylum and protection from political persecution. This position is clearly stated in Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which obliges state parties to refrain from returning refugees to a place where they may be subject to torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

The Government of Namibia has already sought the extradition (return to Namibia) of 16 other Namibians from the Caprivi Region. During the case in 2002, the Judge denied the extradition request on two grounds:

That the offences for which their extradition is sought are offences of a political nature and therefore they cannot be extradited under Botswana's Extradition Act which specifically forbids this.
They would not be able to have a fair trial if they were returned to Namibia as they would not be immune from extra-judicial sanctions. These would include arbitrary arrest, rape, torture, the obtaining of forced confessions, harassment, disappearances and extra-judicial killings.

A press release from the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) dated 16 December 2003, states that on 16 December 2003 “Four of the eight alleged Caprivi secessionists were herded to the Katima Mulilo State Hospital for undisclosed sickness…”. The release further states that two other Caprivians, James Chilunda and Mohamed Sawana, formerly refugees in Botswana, “were during 1999 also “voluntarily” repatriated under UNHCR auspices amid assurances that their security was guaranteed. However, it was not long after their arrival in Namibia that members of the Namibian security forces summarily executed them.” Chilunda and Sawana were “summarily executed” on 18 July 1999 and 1 January 2003, respectively.

DITSHWANELO remains concerned that the eight (8) who have recently been deported may face extra-judicial sanctions. In this regard, we call on the Government of Botswana not to forcibly return Namibians who have fled their country because of well-founded fear of political persecution. Botswana needs to take responsibility for not honouring its obligations under the OAU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Convention Against Torture, Cruel and Inhuman Punishment, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.