PRESS STATEMENT ON THE COMMEMORATION OF THE DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD - 16 JUNE 2005

AFRICAN ORPHANS: OUR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights joins the international community in commemorating the Day of the African Child on 16 June 2005. This date marks the anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, which took place on 16 June 1976 in South Africa. On that day, thousands of students took to the streets to demonstrate against the inferior quality of education, the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction and the right to be taught in their own language. The Apartheid government responded with lethal force resulting in the death of several black students in Soweto, including Hector Peterson, who became a symbol of the Uprising.

The theme of this year's Day of the African Child is 'African Orphans: Our Collective Responsibility.' DITSHWANELO welcomes a day devoted to recognizing that this vulnerable segment of Botswana's population has rights and that all people-whether relatives, neighbours, or government officials-have a duty to protect them. The HIV/AIDS crisis in Botswana has created large numbers of orphans who are overwhelming traditional attempts to care for them. Orphans are typically cared for by their extended family. As the number of orphans grows and the number of family members capable of caring for them dwindles, orphans who are left with little care or supervision are at a greater risk of being exploited, either economically or through sexual or physical abuse.

DITSHWANELO is concerned by the ever-growing problem of property-grabbing relatives who take land and other property which children should rightfully inherit. As part of its 'Know Your Law' series, DITSHWANELO has developed a booklet, produced in cooperation with the Women's NGO Coalition, which focuses on inheritance rights and which includes specific sections relevant to children and orphans. Its aim is to give children and their caretakers the tools they need to ensure that children inherit what is rightfully theirs. Booklets, in Setswana and English, are available from DITSHWANELO upon request.

DITSHWANELO urges the Government of Botswana to fulfil its international obligations to create domestic laws which protect the rights of all children. To date, children in Botswana, including orphans, are without significant legislation designed specifically to protect their interests. Botswana acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of The Child (CRC) in March 1995. Since July 2001, Botswana has also been a party to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), to which it committed itself in July 2001. These two instruments outline children's rights to survival, development, protection and participation in matters and actions which affect them. However, neither of these international instruments has yet been made part of Botswana's domestic legislation.

In traditional Botswana society children are perceived as the 'property' of their parents. Consequently, children are largely subject to the arbitrary exercise of power in unequal adult-child relationships, increasing their vulnerability and heightening the need to develop a rights-based culture and legislation. Creating child-centred laws which are in line with Botswana's international obligations will enable children, in the spirit of Botho, to actively participate and contribute to the fulfillment of the goals and aspirations of Vision 2016.

16 June 2005
Gaborone