Botswana is the oldest democracy in southern Africa and has long been heralded as a bastion of peace, human rights, good governance and democracy in the region - and praised for its attempts to tackle the HIV and AIDS epidemic for its decades of sustained economic growth. Indeed, Botswana rose from being one of the ten poorest countries in the world at independence in 1966 to being one of the four upper middle income countries in sub-Saharan Africa by 2005 - largely on the back of its sizeable diamond deposits. Botswana's model of national public ownership of mineral wealth, particularly through the Debswana Corporation, has also been celebrated in many places as an approach that balances national ownership and foreign direct investment.
But recently, Botswana's image has been fraying. Despite its remarkable economic growth, Botswana remains a deeply unequal society with almost a third of the population living below the poverty line. Meanwhile, its largely laudable human rights record has been tainted by its maintenance and use of the death penalty, as well as by its marginalisation of ethnic minorities, and particularly its poor - and often illegal - treatment of the Basarwa/San. And despite its democratic reputation, there are worrying signs of tribalism, xenophobia and narrow sectarianism creeping into the Botswana political sphere.
The country's first-past-the-post electoral system means that political representation through parliament is not inclusive. Indeed the dominance of a single party, that has ruled Botswana since independence in 1966, is a matter of concern and Botswana needs to ensure that its government remains largely democratic, representative and free of corruption. This perhaps demonstrates the need for stronger - rather than simply more - opposition parties, which would guarantee a more participatory electoral system.
As for human rights, Botswana's Constitution does not incorporate social, economic, cultural, developmental and environmental rights. Drafted in 1965, the Constitution is a product of its time and only recognises civil and political rights. Furthermore, while Botswana has signed and ratified many international and regional instruments, they have not been incorporated in Botswana law or reflected in the Constitution - and are therefore not enforceable.
A number of laws, such as the Tribal Territories Act, discriminate against all ethnic groups other than the eight major Tswana groups. This has an impact on the quality of democracy and in practice, results in discrimination against ethnic minorities in issues ranging from the allocation of land to the involvement of minorities groups in issues which affect their ‘development’. Meanwhile, homosexual practice is illegal and punishable by prison terms of up to seven years.
In addition to legal inequalities, there are several groups in society whose rights are violated through discrimination and lack of understanding, including women, children, the elderly, those who are HIV positive, the disabled, immigrants and refugees, and gays and lesbians.
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