AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL Law, religion and human rights in Botswana Emmanuel Kwabena Quansah* Professor of Law, Department of Law, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana Summary Religion is universally recognised as a fundamental and inalienable right. It comprises a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, codified as prayer, ritual, religious law as well as cultural and ancestral traditions and myths. In Botswana, religion plays a significant part in the lives of the majority of people. The constitutional framework within which religion is practised allows freedom of religion and a number of legal provisions exist to protect this freedom. This article appraises the current state of religious freedom in Botswana in the context of constitutionally guaran- teed human rights. It concludes that the basic framework established by the Constitution creates a separation of religion and state and provides the enabling environment for the exercise of freedom of religion. Consequently, it has ensured the requisite social harmony not only for continuous develop- ment, but also for continuous enjoyment of freedom of religion. 1 Introduction Religion is universally recognised as a fundamental and inalienable right of man.1 It has been defined in a wide variety of ways,2 but for * LLB (Hons), LLM (London), LLD (UNISA);
[email protected] 1 See eg sec 26 of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion and Belief (UN General Assembly Resolution 36/56 of 25 November 1981; sec 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN General Assembly Resolution 217A of 10 December 1948); sec 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (UN General Assembly Resolution 2200 of 16 December 1966); and art 8 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 1981/1986.