The Botswana government does not recognize any specific ethnic groups as indigenous to the country, maintaining instead that all citizens of the country are indigenous. However, 3.3% of the population identifies as belonging to indigenous groups, including the San (known in Botswana as the Basarwa) who, in July 2015, numbered some 62,500. In the south of the country are the Balala, who number some 1,700 and the Nama, a Khoekhoe-speaking people who number 2,100.1 The majority of the San, Nama and Balala reside in the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana. The San in Botswana were traditionally hunter-gatherers but today the vast majority consists of small-scale agro-pastoralists, cattle post workers, or people with mixed economies who reside both in rural and urban areas. They are sub-divided into a large number of named groups, most of whom speak their own mother tongue in addition to other languages. These groups include the Ju/’hoansi, Bugakhwe, Khwe-ǁAni, Ts’ixa, ‡X’ao-ǁ’aen, !Xóõ, ǂHoan, ‡Khomani, Naro, G/ui, G//ana, Tsasi, Deti, Shua, Tshwa, Danisi and /Xaise. The San, Balala, and Nama are among the most underprivileged people in Botswana, with a high percentage liv- ing below the poverty line. Botswana is a signatory to the Conventions on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). It is also a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples but it has not signed the only international human rights convention that deals with indigenous peoples, the Indige- nous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169 of 1989 of the International Labour Organization (ILO). There are no specific laws on indigenous peoples’ rights in the coun- try nor is the concept of indigenous peoples included in the Botswana Constitution.

Botswana / R. Hitchcock, M. Sapignoli, Babchuk - In: The Indigenous World 2016 / [a cura di] D. Vinding, C. Mikkelsen. - [s.l] : Distribution in North America: Transaction Publishers, 2017. - ISBN 9788792786692. - pp. 439-447

Botswana

M. Sapignoli
;
2017

Abstract

The Botswana government does not recognize any specific ethnic groups as indigenous to the country, maintaining instead that all citizens of the country are indigenous. However, 3.3% of the population identifies as belonging to indigenous groups, including the San (known in Botswana as the Basarwa) who, in July 2015, numbered some 62,500. In the south of the country are the Balala, who number some 1,700 and the Nama, a Khoekhoe-speaking people who number 2,100.1 The majority of the San, Nama and Balala reside in the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana. The San in Botswana were traditionally hunter-gatherers but today the vast majority consists of small-scale agro-pastoralists, cattle post workers, or people with mixed economies who reside both in rural and urban areas. They are sub-divided into a large number of named groups, most of whom speak their own mother tongue in addition to other languages. These groups include the Ju/’hoansi, Bugakhwe, Khwe-ǁAni, Ts’ixa, ‡X’ao-ǁ’aen, !Xóõ, ǂHoan, ‡Khomani, Naro, G/ui, G//ana, Tsasi, Deti, Shua, Tshwa, Danisi and /Xaise. The San, Balala, and Nama are among the most underprivileged people in Botswana, with a high percentage liv- ing below the poverty line. Botswana is a signatory to the Conventions on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). It is also a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples but it has not signed the only international human rights convention that deals with indigenous peoples, the Indige- nous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169 of 1989 of the International Labour Organization (ILO). There are no specific laws on indigenous peoples’ rights in the coun- try nor is the concept of indigenous peoples included in the Botswana Constitution.
Settore M-DEA/01 - Discipline Demoetnoantropologiche
2017
https://www.iwgia.org/images/publications/0740_THE_INDIGENOUS_ORLD_2016_final_eb.pdf
Book Part (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Pages from 0740_THE_INDIGENOUS_.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione 119.3 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
119.3 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/963545
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact