UN Commission on Human Rights 57th Session, 27th March 2001, Item 6: Racism and Racial Discrimination

27 March 2001

Over the last decade the attention of this Commission has frequently been drawn to the appalling human cost of xenophobia and racial discrimination in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. However the situation of the Batwa has generally been ignored. The Batwa represent some of the poorest and most vulnerable minority groups in the Great Lakes Region, found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

All of the above-mentioned States are parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), and as such are obliged to protect the rights of minorities and combat and eliminate racism and racial discrimination.

However, a recent report published by Minority Rights Group International find that the Batwa, “original inhabitants” of the equatorial forests of the Great Lakes region, suffer from systematic discrimination, through negative stereotyping, segregation and the denial of basic human rights.

As hunter-gatherers and former hunter-gatherers, the Batwa are commonly associated with the wild, uncivilised bush by their neighbours and stereotyped accordingly. Even in Rwanda, where referring to ethnic distinctions is against government policy, discrimination is justified by negative stereotyping. In addition to discrimination from their neighbours, the Batwa have also been stereotyped as poachers by many European and North American animal conservationists, which results in appalling discrimination against those Batwa living near national parks. In so doing they ignore the fact that wildlife flourished when the Batwa were sole inhabitants of the area.

Despite different ideological emphases, the forms of segregation practiced by the Batwa’s neighbours in the Great Lakes Region are similar and equally extreme. Often they will not eat, drink or cook with, live with or even sit beside their Batwa neighbours.

The third form discrimination against the Batwa takes is the denial of fundamental human rights. In all four states in the region, refusing to recognise the Batwa as real people permits the denial of their rights from first occupation, including their rights to use of land for hunting and gathering. Batwa rarely possess certificates, identity and health cards, resulting in marginalistion from birth and denial of the rights to health and equality with others. The severe poverty and marginalisation of the Batwa often means they are unable to gain basic schooling, even in areas where other ethnic groups are well educated.

Finally, local, national and international development relief agencies have often ignored the Batwa, who have been neither consulted about nor compensated for the impact of development or conservation projects in the areas they inhabit. Traditional activities such as hunting, gathering, sharing and nomadism are often perceived by governmental and non-governmental development agencies as representing a lower stage of social evolution, which has led on occasion to severe famine as well as day-to-day deprivation.

In conclusion, Minority Rights Group International recommends that the governments of Burundi, the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda:

1. recognise the Batwa as “original inhabitants” of their countries and demonstrate their commitment to respecting Batwa rights by upholding their obligations as contained within the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;

2. ratify and implement ILO Convention 169, relating to indigenous peoples’ rights, promote and protect the rights contained within the Declaration on the Rights of Minorities, and support the adoption of the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Furthermore Minority Rights Group International recommends that the governments of the region, development agencies and governmental donors:

3. recognise the right of the Batwa to participate fully in all decision-making processes regarding development projects affecting them.