Full Coverage: Botswana

12.11.2009 "You couldn’t have clearer evidence of the racism towards Bushmen in Botswana than this incident."

11.12.2008 Botswana government approval of a diamond mine on the land of the Kalahari Bushmen on condition that Gem Diamonds does not provide the Bushmen with water is slammed as "scandalous".

13.11.2008 Kalahari Bushmen evicted from their land by the government of former Botswana president Festus Mogae today condemned African billionaire Mo Ibrahim and his foundation for giving Mogae their "Achievement In Africa Leadership Award", to be presented at a ceremony in Egypt on Saturday.

30.10.2008 Diamond giant De Beers has given into pressure and says it has stopped operations on the land of the Kalahari Bushmen in Botswana because those it consulted, including Bushmen living inside the reserve, did not agree with its plan to explore for diamonds near a Bushman community.

26.10.2008 A campaign against De Beers has been revived following the discovery that the company has returned to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana.

20.10.2008 The award of "the world's largest prize" for African leadership to former Botswana president Festus Mogae comes under fire for his alleged role in overseeing the eviction of the Kalahari Bushmen from their land.
+ Roger Samba wins the $200,000 J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership.

16.07.2008 Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe have been given the go-ahead to make a single sale of a total of 108 tons of government-owned ivory.
+ China gets green light to buy ivory
+ How ivory from 11,000 elephants has disappeared into China's black market

22.04.2008 Tourist lodges requiring large amounts of water are to be built on the land of the Kalahari Bushmen in Botswana – but the Bushmen are not allowed to pump water from their single borehole, says an organisation supporting tribal peoples worldwide.

16.01.2008 a prominent businessman and ruling Botswana Democratic Party councillor, Robert Muzila, is alleged to have verbally harassed "Mmegi" newspaper journalist Oarabile Mosikare.

31.08.2007 A coalition of Botswana Civil society organisations that include the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Botswana , the Ditshwanelo-Centre for Human Rights and the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) have expressed disappointment following the refusal of the ruling party members of parliament to grant the opposition members a postponement of the discussion and voting on amendments to the Intelligence and Security Services Bill.

22.08.2007 A report comparing the Botswana government's arguments justifying the eviction of the Kalahari Bushmen from their traditional homelands with arguments used to defend the transatlantic slave trade is published today, UN Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

03.07.2007 Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria and Namibia are leading a campaign by African governments to weaken a key UN Declaration that would protect the rights of indigenous peoples, according to campaigners.

05.06.2007 A new study is the first to link widespread discrimination against women to sexual risk-taking, and thus HIV/AIDS. In sub-Saharan Africa, three quarters of those now infected are female.
From: Physicians for Human Rights

22.05.2007 Bushman leader Roy Sesana will meet British MPs at the House of Commons on Wednesday to seek support for his peopleÂ’s 10-year struggle to return to their land in the Kalahari desert in Botswana.
* Tribal peoples group launched in UK parliament

14.05.2007 The Botswana government has announced that access to the country for the top UN human rights spokesman for indigenous peoples, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, will be restricted.

30.04.2007 A Bushman spokesperson has appealed to the Indian government to respect an order of the Indian Supreme Court that has asked for closure of the Andaman Trunk Road that will harm the Jarawa tribes.

19.03.2007 Only months after a High Court ruling enabled Botswana Bushmen to return to land from which they had been evicted, the government has turned down their request for permission to install a pump at an existing borehole. A leader of the community is travelling to London this week to protest against the ban.

13.02.2007 Six Bushmen have been arrested, starved and held for six days after police and wildlife guards accused them of hunting in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana - only two months after a landmark court victory ruled that the Bushmen have a constitutional right to remain on their ancestral land.

17.01.2007 SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 17 (OneWorld) - Tribal Bushmen began returning to their ancestral lands inside Botswana's largest game reserve this weekend, despite what their supporters describe as a heavy police presence and attempts to persuade them to stay in relocation camps.

16.01.2007 A group of 40 Bushmen have managed to return to their homes in Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve, despite a heavy police presence and attempts to persuade them to stay in the relocation camps.