Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Botswana (Ratification: 1997)

Previous comment

Article 2 of the Convention. Equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women. The Committee recalls that the country operates under a dual legal system that applies customary law in parallel with the formal legal system, the latter being applied when it is considered that the application of the customary law is detrimental to women’s equality of opportunities. The Government previously recognized the challenges of the dual legal system and indicated that it has developed strategies to address these challenges. The Government also referred to the National Policy on Gender and Development which had been approved in 2015 and its national operational plan in 2018, and to the Women Economic Empowerment Programme. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any new information on gender equality. It notes however the concern expressed, in its concluding observations, by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) about: (1) the persistence of harmful practices, including child marriage, and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of men and women in the family and the community; (2) the lack of mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the national policy on gender and development, with a view to changing such stereotypes and harmful practices; (3) the high unemployment rate among women and the unequal division of family responsibilities between women and men; (4) the lack of accessible and affordable childcare facilities; (5) the concentration of women in the informal sector and that women in that sector continue to be excluded from labour and social security protections; and (6) the lack of general knowledge among rural women of social security, education, health-care services, local development programmes and laws and policies relating to women’s rights. (CEDAW/C/BWA/CO/4, 14 March 2019, paragraphs 24, 35, 41). In light of the above, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on specific measures taken to promote and ensure equality of opportunity of men and women in employment and occupation, including on the measures taken: (i) under the National Policy on Gender and Development or otherwise, to promote equal access to education at all levels, in particular in rural areas, and increase training and employment opportunities for women, and the results achieved; (ii) to eliminate gender stereotypes and customary practices that are detrimental to women, including among the traditional chiefs and other community leaders; (iii) to reconcile work and family responsibilities and promote a more equitable distribution of family responsibilities between men and women; and (iv) to ensure adequate access of men and women to procedures addressing discrimination and remedies, including through the Legal Aid Programme. The Committee also asks the Government to provide statistical information, disaggregated by sex and by occupational category, if possible, on the workforce in both private and public sectors.

Indigenous peoples. The Committee recalls that, in 2014, the Government had developed an Affirmative Action Framework for Remote Area Communities with a ten-year Implementation Plan which would run from 2015 to 2025, dealing with issues such as youth employment, water, land, education, and economics. The Committee asks therefore the Government to provide information on: (i) any measures taken under this scheme to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment of disadvantaged segments of the population, including minority indigenous groups, in employment and occupation; (ii) their right to engage without discrimination in their traditional occupations on their lands and livelihoods; and (iii) their effective access to education. It also asks the Government to provide specific information on the implementation of the Affirmative Action Framework as well as other remote area development programmes with respect to education, training and employment opportunities of indigenous peoples, and the results thereof.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the information on the judicial decisions provided by the Government in relation to discrimination but observes that they do not concern employment and occupation. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any specific activities undertaken to raise awareness of the relevant legislation prohibiting discrimination in employment and occupation, and to enhance the capacity of the responsible authorities, including judges, labour inspectors and other public officials, to identify and address such cases.It also asks the Government to continue to provide information on any cases of discrimination in employment and occupation dealt with by the labour inspectors or the courts.