|
Resolution on the situation of
the Gana and Gwi 'Bushmen' and Bakgalagadi of the Kalahari Game Reserve in
Botswana
International Alliance of
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests
Nairobi, 2002
The Fourth Conference of the International Alliance of the Indigenous and
Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests in which participated representatives
of the indigenous organizations of Africa, Continental Asia, Maritime Asia and
Pacific, Bahasa Region, Central America, and South America, gathered in the
city of Nairobi, Kenya, in the face of the terrible situation of the Gana and
Gwi 'Bushmen' and Bakgalagadi of the central Kalahari Game Resreve in
Botswana;
Considering:
That the Government of Botswana
has forcibly evicted the majority of Gana and Gwi Bushmen and Bakgalagadi from
their ancestral lands in the Central Kalahari Game reserve, has cut off their
water supply in the reserve, and is preventing them from returning to their
land;
That the forced evictions are a result of years of harassment, intimidation
and torture of Bushmen and Bakgalagadi by government officials;
That the multinational mining company De Beers has started that it is opposed
to recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples as it considers this similar
to apartheid, and it likewise opposes 'in principle the granting of any group
special previledges or status on the basis of ethnic identity;
That De Beers has a retention licence to mine in the future on Bushman land in
the central Kalahari Game Reserve and refuse to have a policy on indigenous
peoples.
That both the government of Botswana and De Beers refuse to recognize the Gana,
Gwi and Bakgalagadi's collective rights to their land as defined in
international law under ILO Convention 169 on indigenous and tribal peoples;
That it is necessary to alert the international community that the government
of Botswana's actions and policies will lead to the genocide of the Gana and
Gwi Bushmen tribes unless reversed.;
That the United Nations and other bodies have international instruments to
prevent and condemn these kind of crime against peoples;
That the nations and governments of the world must do all in their power to
prevent the destruction of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen tribes
Resolves:
To give the Gana and Gwi Bushmen
and Bakgalagadi tribes the full support of all the indigenous and tribal
peoples of the world's tropical forests
To exhort the government of Botswana to reconsider its policy of forcibly
removing Bushman peoples from their lands in order to assimilate and integrate
them into the majority society and to mine on their lands.
To exhort the government of Botswana to allow the Gana and Gwi Bushmen and
Bakgalagadi to return freely to their land in the central Kalahari Game
Reserve and to exercise their right to choose how they wish to live.
To make known to De Beer mining company, which is active in many countries
which are home to indigenous and tribal peoples, that it is unethical and
unacceptable to deny indigenous peoples' collective rights, which are
recognized in international law and by many nations.
To exhort De Beer mining company to adopt a policy in line with the highest
international standards on indigenous and tribal peoples.
To exhort the United Nations and European Union to take all possible measure
to persuade the government of Botswana and De Beers to reconsider their
policies and actions which have forced the Gana and Gwi Bushman and
Bakgalagadi tribes to live in bleak resettlement camps where they are totally
dependent on government handouts and where their independence, unique culture
and identity are fast being destroyed.
http://www.international-alliance.org/international_conf_4.htm
|