Govt tightens noose on refugees, migrants

The government has of late been at loggerheads with asylum seekers and their representative agency, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which often complained of ill-treatment of asylum seekers in Botswana. There are approximately 3,000 refugees and hundreds of economic migrants from the neighbouring Zimbabwe living in Botswana.

Under NDP 11, the government says “the management of refugees will be strengthened by enhancing the operational efficiency of the Refugee Advisory Committee in the screening and interventions of asylum seekers to ensure that only genuine refugees are granted asylum in the country.”