Botswana is set to release and relocate more than 400 rejected asylum seekers from the Francistown Centre for Illegal Immigrants to Dukwi refugee camp in the coming weeks following concerns over human rights violations related to their prolonged detention.
Justice and Correctional Services Minister Nelson Ramaotwana announced the decision during visits to both Francistown and Dukwi refugee camp, stating that the move was driven by human-centric policies of President Duma Boko’s government.
“When we use the words ‘illegal immigrant centre’ one may think that people are kept there on transit while in actual fact it is a prison,” the minister said.
He regretted that families were separated, with children placed under the custody of unrelated adults.
“Kids are separated from their mothers and if they are males, they are under the custody of their fathers and those without fathers will be under the custody of men that they don’t relate to,” he said.
Similarly, girls are placed under the care of their mothers while those whose remaining parents are fathers “are under the care of women they don’t relate to.”
“It is against this background that I come to inform you that the government has taken the decision to release the rejected asylum seekers at the Francistown Centre for Illegal Immigrants.”
Botswana’s voluntary repatriation programme has long aimed to facilitate the return of refugees and asylum seekers to their countries of origin, but many have resisted repatriation due to security risks and unstable conditions in their homelands.
The detention policy has drawn criticism from human rights organisations and asylum advocates who argue that rejected asylum seekers should not be subjected to prison-like treatment in holding centres.
The relocation process is expected to take between two weeks and a month, with the asylum seekers being transferred to Dukwi refugee camp where they will have better access to humanitarian support and living conditions.
JN/APA