Botswana: Law for Exiles Needs Fixing

allAfrica.com: Botswana: Law for Exiles Needs Fixing

17 June 2009

editorial

Botswana's Refugees Act is obsolete and it needs revamping, some sections of the community urge.

It is gratifying that already there are initiatives to review the act. Last week, at the University of Botswana, the law department held a workshop on the review of the refugees act.

During the deliberations, some panelists raised issues about the prevailing practice in the country where asylum seekers are detained while their applications for asylum are processed.

Some of these applicants are kept in holding cells with illegal immigrants who are awaiting deportation to their countries of origin. Put differently, criminals are put together with asylum seekers. Some of these asylum seekers are children.

This practice has come under condemnation for flouting international best practices as it exposes children and other asylum seekers to security risks. The practice also has the potential to cause far reaching psychological problems for children when they mix with outlaws, some of whom are violent.

While Botswana has over the years tried very hard to be hospitable to asylum seekers, it is important that we maintain international best practices to ensure that we make refugees safe. They should feel at home even though they have fled their countries.

The Refugees Act should be reviewed and all the relics of the past that still exist in the act should be modernized. We believe this review exercise will eventually lead to such a process.

Youth must embrace 'day of African Child'

June has been set aside as the African continent's youth month. More specifically, June 16 has been adopted by the African Union as the 'Day of the African Child'. That gives the African youth an opportunity on that date to see how far they have progressed since the students of South Africa rose up in 1976 against education in the language of the settler community that spoke Afrikaans.

It does appear though, that since that historical milestone, must the African continent and its youth should now urgently consider availing economic resources to young people.

The youth too, have a great challenge, and they should be encouraged to take their destiny into their own hands.