The Court of Appeal of Botswana means since Jan. 17 a case that focuses on recognizing the right of access to water for the Bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. These people were driven from their lands. A luxury hotel was built on their ancestral lands in reserve. The Bushmen have lost the use of a well they had used for decades, at the same time the government was digging new wells for the wildlife reserve. The Bushmen have returned home after a first victory in court, then dismissed by the High Court in 2010 by a ruling that denies them the right of access to their wells. This ruling occurred before the Resolutions at the UN in July and September 2010 which recognize as a fundamental human right of access to water and sanitation. The Bushmen have appealed the decision of the High Court. This is the first time an appeals court agrees to hear a case directly related to the recognition of the right to water, after the resolutions adopted in July and September 2010 at the UN, respectively Assembly General and the Council of Human Rights. Moreover, the recognition of the right of a private community Access to water is at stake The cause could pave the way for many civic struggles with issues of access to safe water and sanitation, far in Quebec where residents of remote regions, among which there are indigenous communities are grappling with networks of drinking water need of serious improvement.
http://www.canadians.org/
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