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| Bushman woman, CKGR, Botswana 2004
© Stephen Corry/Survival |
The European Parliament has this month adopted strong new resolutions
supporting indigenous peoples' rights in Africa. The parliament announced it
'strongly' supports the demands of the Pygmies, 'Bushmen' ('Basarwa') and others
to be recognised as indigenous peoples.
Indigenous and tribal peoples' right to communal ownership of their land is
guaranteed under international law, but many African countries fail to recognise
this. In Botswana, the Gana and Gwi Bushmen (locally known as 'Basarwa' )have
been evicted from their land and forced into resettlement camps, while in
Tanzania more than 200 Maasai families face eviction from the Ngorongoro
Crater.
The parliament also resolves that its agreements must contain 'specific
clauses and mechanisms to assess respect for and the protection of the
fundamental rights of indigenous peoples, who are all too often the victims of
extremely serious and systematic violations'.
Meanwhile, a member of the European Parliament, Richard Howitt, has asked
that 'European Union funding of the 'Wildlife Conservation and
Management Programme' in Botswana should be made dependent on the proper
recognition of Bushman land rights in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and on
Bushmen being allowed to return freely to their land within the Central Kalahari
Game Reserve.
