This page summarizes cases raised with Botswana by the Special Rapporteur between May 1, 2011, (when the Special Rapporteur took up his functions) and February 28, 2017 (the date of the last public release of communications). Communications are released to the public once per year. This page also contains observations on these communications and on responses received from Botswana. Communications and observations are divided into sections based upon which observation report they originally appeared. Each communication is referenced as urgent appeal (UA), allegation letter (AL), joint urgent appeal (JUA) and joint allegation letter (JAL) – the hyperlinks lead to these documents. This is followed by the date the communication was issued, as well as the case number and the State reply (also hyperlinked if available). Summaries and communications are published only in the language of submission (in the case of Botswana, English). First Report (May 1, 2011 to March 15, 2012) None Second Report (March 16, 2012 to February 28, 2013) None Third Report (March 1, 2013 to February 28, 2014) Joint allegation letter, 08/07/2013. Case no. BWA 2/2013. State reply: 10/07/2013. Alleged arbitrary denial to register a human rights association working against discrimination and for the rights of lesbian,... Continue reading →
Issue No. 9 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • Special Rapporteur: Surmounting civil society restrictions “the great challenge of our time" • A step forward for LGBT rights in Botswana, with a step backward looming in Kyrgyzstan • Your rights on one page: UNSR releases fact sheets on assembly and association rights • Experts: "Legitimate concerns" over outcome of Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases • Sound off for the UNSR’s next report: Tell us your views on FOAA rights in the context of natural resource exploitation • Video: Strategic litigation for assembly & association rights • Freedom of association and assembly: By the numbers • Special rapporteur news in brief: November-December 2014 • World briefing: Freedom of assembly and association in the news For a link to the newsletter, click on the image at right or click here (1.3MB file) or here (6.8MB full resolution file). To subscribe to our newsletter, please drop us a line at info@freeassembly.net with the subject line “subscribe to newsletter.” For other recent newsletters, see the links below: The Assembly and Association Briefing, Vol. 1, Issue 6 (July-August... Continue reading →
GENEVA / BANJUL – United Nations and African independent human rights experts, including UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai, today hailed a key judgment by the High Court of Botswana asserting that the organisation ‘Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana’ (LEGABIBO) should be legally registered as a society by the authorities. The Court rejected last Friday the arguments put forward by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs of Botswana to refuse legal registration to LEGABIBO, by decreeing that ‘it is not a crime for one to be attracted to people of one’s own sex’ and that ‘advocacy for legislative reforms to decriminalize homosexuality is lawful.’ “This seminal judgment by the High Court of Botswana reaffirms that everyone is entitled to the fundamental right to peacefully assemble and associate,” the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, said. “Other countries should follow and allow the registration of organisations advocating for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people,” the human rights expert stressed. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst, reiterated that “both the United Nations and the African Commission on Human and... Continue reading →
