13 Dec 2015

Botswana has been urged to join the 164 other countries in the world that have ratified the Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights.

The European Union Ambassador to Botswana and SADC, Mr Alexander Baum made the plea during the launch of Ngami Rights project and the commemoration of Human Rights Day and the 50^th Anniversary of the International Bill of Human Rights on the Global United Nations (UN) under the theme ,Our rights, Our Freedoms, Always.

He said without Botswana being amongst those countries, the Bill of Human Rights is incomplete. He said 50 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted two international treaties that would forever shape international human rights.

The two treaties are; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Mr Baum explained that 18 years in the making, the two covenants along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights created the International Bill of Human Rights and set out the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights that are the birth of all human beings.

He said the commemoration of Human Rights Day raises awareness on the Bill of Human Rights which calls for freedom in everything.

The EU Ambassador also hailed Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (NCONGO) for starting up the Ngami Rights project together with four of its member organisations namely Bana ba Letsatsi, Trust for Okavango Cultural and Development Initiatives TOCaDI, BOFWA, Thuso Rehabilitation Centre.

Mr Baum revealed that despite a strong competition with some 40 other organisations in the country, NCONGO successfully managed to secure funding from the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights.

This is an instrument under which civil society organisations in over a 100 countries around the globe receive support to do work on a broad spectrum of human rights issues that have been identified as a priority in that particular country.

“This makes Maun part of a world-wide human rights community and I wish to congratulate NCONGO and its partners on that,” he added. For his part, Maun West MP, Mr Tawana Moremi welcomed the project, noting that the livelihoods of the community would be transformed remarkably.

Mr Moremi said Ngamiland community are hardly hit by poverty and yet they have natural sources which they have looked after and cared for in ages. Ends