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The Faculty of Law at the University of Botswana launched the Disability Rights Teaching Project on 23 March 2016. Mr. Tshepiso Ndzinge Makhamisa, coordinator of the Disability Rights Teaching Project at the University of Botswana and an alumni of the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa speaking at the launch informed delegates that the overall goal of the project is to develop a pool of lawyers with specialised knowledge and skills in disability rights and at the same time promote disability rights awareness, education and raise academic interest (scholarship) on disability rights in Botswana. The University of Botswana commenced the teaching of Disability Rights in 2015 and will continue teaching it as part of the Human Rights Law Module. Plans are underway to establish a Disability Rights Clinic to engage in strategic litigation on the rights of persons with disabilities.

The University of Botswana is part of a consortium of nine universities that are implementing the Disability Rights Law Schools Project in Africa whose objective is to advance disability rights through higher education. The project which is coordinated by the Disability Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights brings together law faculties from the University of Zambia, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe; Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique; Chancellor College, Malawi; University of Dodoma, Tanzania; University of Namibia; University of Nairobi, Kenya and Makerere University, Uganda with the aim to:

  1. Promote knowledge production on and deepen understanding of disability rights through action oriented and locally relevant research, and through strengthening a network of law faculties on the continent engaged in disability rights curriculum development and clinical legal education;
  2. Promote the education of future disability rights advocates in a manner that equips them with practical skills and inspires them to work on disability rights issues;
  3. Promote policy changes and advocate for the ratification and implementation of legal instruments protecting the rights of persons with disabilities through supporting disability rights advocacy efforts and promoting the inclusion of persons with disabilities within the partner universities;
  4. Establish a close link between the partner universities, their communities and the disability movement through community outreach activities, joint workshops and other partnerships.

The launch was attended by the Director, Library Services, members of the Special Education department and the Law department, members of Disabled People’s Organizations including the BotswanaFederation of the Disabled and Botswana Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted and University of Botswana students. Mr. Emmanuel Moswela the assistant Coordinator of the Disability Rights Teaching Project underscored the importance of collaboration between the academia and civil society in advancing disability rights and strengthening the disability rights movement. He called upon government, civil society organisations, the staff and students at the University of Botswana and other critical stakeholders to rally behind the project.

Mr. Esau Mandipa who lectures at the Faculty of Law at Midlands State University in Zimbabwe which was one of the first universities to join the Disability Rights and Law Schools Project in the keynote address said that the launch of the Disability Rights Law Schools project was a historical event that would forever change the disability landscape in Botswana. Botswana has to date not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities nor does it have a specific disability rights legislation.

One of the key deliverables of the project during the 2016 implementation phase is to mainstream disability issues into academia. This will be achieved through a capacity building workshop that will introduce academic staff to disability rights as well as the disability emancipatory research methodologies. Currently there is a critical dearth of disability research validated findings that could be used for strategic lobby to push for disability specific legislation and ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The workshop will strengthen research collaboration between University of Botswana academics and Disabled People’s Organizations to generate findings that could change material conditions of persons with disabilities in the context of Botswana. The workshop is tentatively been set for the 3rd week of May 2016.

In terms of community outreach and awareness-raising, a Disability and the Media Workshop is currently being planned. The purpose of this workshop is to ensure that the project becomes visible within the broader community and most importantly, the workshop aims to sensitize the media on the impact of the reporting (or non-reporting) of disability issues. This is in respect of the terminology used, the types of issues covered and the approach used by the media. The workshop also seeks to educate the media on disability rights and the current discourse and efforts that are being made by the disability movement in Botswana, and to find ways of collaborating in the future.

For more information on the Disability Rights and Law Schools Project at the University of Botswana please contact:

Mr Tshepiso Ndzinge-Makhamisa
Coordinator of the Disability Rights Teaching Project
tshepiso.ndzinge@mopipi.ub.bw.

For more information on the Disability Rights and Law Schools Project contact:

Innocentia Mgijima-Konopi
Project Coordinator: Disability Rights and Law Schools Programme
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 4531
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
Email: Innocentia.Mgijima@up.ac.za