Ditshwanelo (

Setswana Tswana, also known by its native name Setswana, is a Bantu language indigenous to Southern Africa and spoken by about 8.2 million people. It is closely related to the Northern Sotho and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalaga ...

for "Rights"), or the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, is a

human rights organisation A human rights group, or human rights organization, is a non-governmental organization which advocates for human rights through identification of their violation, collecting incident data, its analysis and publication, promotion of public awareness ...

founded in 1993 in

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

. It aims to improve human rights through education and governance. The group has campaigned against

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

and for

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

rights. For its advocacy it has received awards from the Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme and OutRight Action International.

Activities

Ditshwanelo was formed by

Alice Mogwe Alice Bahumi Mogwe (born 14 February 1961) is a Botswana, Motswana activist and lawyer. She is the founder and director of the human rights organization Ditshwanelo. In 2019, she was elected to a three-year term as president of the Internationa ...

in 1993 as the Botswana Centre for Human Rights. The group has campaigned on different human rights issues and focuses upon education and governance questions. In addition, it offers free advice for civil judicial matters, supports the

San people The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged from other humans 100,000 to 200 ...

in north Botswana and organises an annual human rights film festival in

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

. It has also campaigned against

xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

, for example organising a one-day workshop in 2001 titled "Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Other Related Intolerances in Botswana". Ditshwanelo has long called for the repeal of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, arguing that the

Constitution of Botswana The Constitution of Botswana commenced on September 30, 1966. Background Before colonial rule was established in Botswana, a traditional constitution – a body of laws known as – was used by tribal chiefs, or Kgosi, diKgosi, of the Botswana ...

should respect the human dignity of all Botswanans, including criminals, and providing a report to FIDH, the

International Federation for Human Rights The International Federation for Human Rights (; FIDH) is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international human rights organization worldwide after Anti-Slavery International ...

in 1998. The following year, it prevented a

miscarriage of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when an unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent ...

by staying the execution of two San men, Gwara Brown Motswetla and Tlhabologang Phetolo Maauwe. They had been controversially convicted of murder in 1995 and were eventually freed by the Court of Appeal in 2006, eleven years later. The group reminded the

Government of Botswana The Government of Botswana often abbreviated as GOB, is the union government created by the constitution of Botswana having the executive, parliament, and the judiciary. The Seat of the Government is located in Gaborone, Botswana. The governme ...

in 2018 that 42 African countries had stopped executions and that Botswana was now the only country in the

Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Goals The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...

to have it. Mmika Michael Mpe was executed in 2020 for his participation in the robbery and murder of Reinette Vorster in 2014. In response, Ditshwanelo commented "We once again reiterate that the loss of all life is always deeply regrettable. We further urge our Government to seriously explore other forms of punishment for capital offences". Ditshwanelo has also focused on

LGBT rights in Botswana Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Botswana face legal issues not experienced by non-LGBTQ citizens. Both female and male same-sex sexual acts have been legal in Botswana since 11 June 2019 after a unanimous ruling ...

. It campaigned for the legalisation of homosexuality in 1995 and organised a roundtable event in 1998. In 2003, it unsuccessfully opposed plans to criminalise

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

sexual practices. LEGABIBO (Lesbians, Gays & Bisexuals of Botswana) formed as a network supported by Ditshwanelo and uses the Ditshwanelo offices. Ditshwanelo's patron is emeritus

Archbishop of Central Africa This is a list of the archbishops of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa, which encompasses the present-day Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. List of Archbishops of Central Africa References {{reflist External linksLambeth ...

Walter Khotso Makhulu Walter Paul Khotso Makhulu (born 1935 in Johannesburg) is a South African-born Anglican bishop. He was archbishop of Central Africa from 1980 to 2001. Makhulu was educated at St Peter's Theological College, Rosettenville and Selly Oak College ...

. When critics questioned why the church was supporting a group promoting LGBT rights, Makhulu stated "Yes the Bible does say it is opposed o homosexuality But it was written in its own day and in its own time".

Awards

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now OutRight Action International) presented its Felipa de Souza Award to Ditshwanelo in 2000, recognising its advocacy for same sex desire. The Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme awarded Ditshwanelo and then president Alice Mogwe a Human Rights Prize in 2012, celebrating its work in advocating for a people-centred development of the

Central Kalahari Game Reserve Central Kalahari Game Reserve is an extensive list of national parks of Botswana, national park in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. Established in 1961 it covers an area of (larger than the Netherlands, and almost 10% of Botswana's total land are ...

References

{{Authority control 1993 establishments in Botswana Human rights organisations based in Botswana LGBTQ political advocacy groups in Botswana Felipa de Souza Award Capital punishment in Botswana