Africa-Press – Botswana. The Human Rights Council is expected to release a report on Botswana today following the country’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Switzerland on Wednesday.
According to Minister of Justice Mr Machana Shamukuni, the report would contain new recommendations which would be studied and worked on before the next review in 2028.
Commneting on the latest review, he said Botswana was congratulated on progress made since the last assessment in 2018.
Botswana, Mr Shamukuni said, had made strides in aligning to UPR requirements as evidenced by the establishment of the justice ministry, human rights institute and ratification of the convention on the rights of people with disabilities.
Having ratified the convention, the country was now working on domesticating it, he said.
Minister Shamukuni said another achievement was expansion of of the Ombudsman’s mandate to cater for human rights issues.
On the issue of gender based violence, he said an inter-ministerial committee had been constituted in order to deal with the escalating incidents of GBV.
The minister pointed out that Botswana Police Services had established child-friendly service centres at some stations to offer convenient service to children and women reporting incidents of GBV.
Mr Shamukuni said despite the positive assessment, the council voiced concerns about the death penalty, recommending its abolition.
The minister said he pointed out that as a democratic country, Batswana would have the final say on the issue.
Mr Shamukuni led a Botswana delegation to the 43rd session of the UPR working group, where the country was reviewed on progress made in addressing human rights issues.
Through the UPR, a state-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, UN member states are provided with an opportunity to declare action taken to improve and fulfil human rights obligations.
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