The UN in Botswana celebrates Court of Appeal judgement to decriminalize consensual sex between same sex partners

This is indeed a clear message that justice and state laws should protect everyone, regardless of who they are and whom they love. We congratulate the Court of Appeal for ruling against discriminatory legal provisions that infringe upon the rights of LGBTQI+ persons to privacy, personal freedom, dignity, and to be treated equally and without discrimination of their human rights. This represents another great step for LGBTQI+ human rights in Botswana and is yet another example of the transformative power of civil society organizations and movements, and of the results that strong multi-stakeholders’ partnerships can bring.

While celebrating the achievement, let us also bear in mind the need to keep up the good work and to increase efforts to raise awareness about human rights and to promote continued support for a more favourable legal, political, institutional, and social context for LGBTQI+ communities and for everyone to participate and prosper in dignity and equality, in line with human rights treaty bodies recommendations to Botswana, such as the UPR, the ICCPR, the CEDAW and others.

The UN believes in a world where everyone’s human rights are respected and where every human being deserves to love and to be loved, without fear of discrimination.

We are proud partners with Botswana’s active and vibrant civil society organizations. The UN in Botswana stands ready to continue to provide support to ensure no one is left behind.