Wheels in motion to establish human rights unit
Mpho Mokwape | Friday November 16, 2018 13:36
The unit comes at a time when despite its supposedly seen clean image, the country still has a barrage of human rights issues that need to be looked at. Twice in 2008 and 2013, the country was thrown into the spotlight as Botswana was served with recommendations to account to universal expectations.
However according to General Counsel from OP, Dittah Molodi the unit has been designed to ensure that at national level there was coordination in implementation of policies and programmes aimed at enhancing the enjoyment of human rights.
Speaking during a Ditshwanelo workshop on Wednesday, on the Comprehensive Human Rights Strategy and National Plan, Molodi said in 2014 a decision was taken by Cabinet to transfer the human rights mandate from the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security to OP.
He explained that the conferment was to ensure commitment and implementation at the highest political level.
“The mandate of promotion and protection of human rights now sits with the Ministry for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration to ensure compliance,” he said.
Molodi said in that regard, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was committed to providing technical support for the establishment of the unit by assisting in the development of its work-plan.
Also, he said that UNDP was assisting the government to come up with a national human rights action plan, which would be complimented by the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) working group. On cooperation with human rights treaty bodies and special procedures, Molodi said the country continues to engage and cooperate with such bodies by at times extending visitation to the country in line with their mandate.
“By accepting a recommendation to extend a standing invitation to mandate holders, government is demonstrating her openness to engage with these mechanisms and also her readiness to introspect and get feedback from other parties to address her human rights agenda.”
He indicated that it was through dialogue that the government could share best practices with others and identify challenges through which the development partners and the office of the high commissioner on human rights could offer technical assistance and capacity building to enhance efforts in promotion and protection of human rights.
With regard to the UPR, Molodi said their participation at the third cycle periodic review in January 2018 yielded results.
He said they received a number of recommendations aimed at improving the rights of the people of which the number of recommendations were on the ratification of the human rights instruments to which the country is not a party, promotion of the rights of women and children. In particular he was addressing gender-based violence and corporal punishment, the issue of death penalty and the creation of a national human rights institution.