25 Aug 2024

Government is looking into introducing a legislation that will recognise, manage and protect refugees in Botswana.

Presenting the Refugees Recognition and Management Bill of 2024 before Parliament recently, Minister of Justice, Honourable Machana Shamukuni said its object was to repeal the Refugees Recognition and Control Act of 1968 and re-enact with amendments, a new legislation in Refugees Recognition and Management Act.  

Minister Shamukuni said the Bill also sought to give effect to provisions to the United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees of 1951, the Protocol relating to the status of refugees of 1967 and the Organisation of African Unity Convention governing the specific aspects of refugees problems in Africa of 1969, which Botswana was a signatory, as well as all other related matters.

He requested that the Bill be treated as urgent, given that it would mature at the end of this month and therefore the National Assembly may not have time to adequately consider it.

He said the Bill proposed the necessary administrative details for the effective management of refugees.

“This includes the shift in the process of refugees status determination from the two levels of assessment to the proposed four levels of assessment. Currently, the Refugee Advisory Committee interviews and assesses the application for asylum and there after makes a recommendation to the minister,” he said.

The Minister added that the Bill provided that an asylum application should be dealt with by an authorised officer, then forwarded to the Botswana Refugees Committee, commissioner for refugees and the appeals board.

He said the four levels assessment process and removal of the minister from the refugee status determination process were in line with the international best practices where political influence was removed from asylum application proceedings.

He further said the Bill provided for non-refoulement which was in line with international laws that forbid refugees host countries to return asylum seekers and refugees to their countries of origin where they were likely to face persecution.

Over and above, Minister Shamukuni said Dukwi Refugee Camp was currently facing an influx of asylum seekers mainly from the Great Lakes region and East Africa, especially from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia.

“The influx has financial implications as it increases requirements related to shelter, food, health care, education and other essential services such as clean water and sanitation.

Therefore, if the Bill is to pass, Botswana will be able to expedite processing of refugee cases including all step such as the rigorous security clearance procedures and face to face interview of applicants as well as referral to other partners,” he said.

He added that those rejected would then be referred to the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs for expedited deportation. ENDS