Botswana
Botswana
The CIVICUS Monitor upgrades Botswana’s civic space to "Narrowed" after violations decrease
DECEMBER 4, 2024
The CIVICUS Monitor announced in a new report Wednesday that it has upgraded Botswana's civic space to "Narrowed" in its annual ratings after the CIVICUS Monitor documented fewer civic space violations, particularly in the areas of press freedom and peaceful assembly.
Botswana’s upgraded rating, detailed in the People Power Under Attack 2024 report, reflects the fact that violations have notably decreased.
“Botswana has planted seeds of change," said Sylvia Mbataru, a researcher at the CIVICUS Monitor. "Now it's up to the leadership to ensure those seeds blossom into institutional reforms. Youth-led Movements have paved the way for a nationwide shift and that shift can reap more engaged civic participation in 2025."
The CIVICUS Monitor, which is a research consortium led by global civil society alliance CIVICUS, tracked civic space conditions in 198 countries throughout the year, which it compiled and analysed in People Power Under Attack 2024, released Wednesday. The Monitor determines each country’s rating based on data on civic space incidents collected by dozens of research teams around the world. Incidents may include protests, censorship, arrests of human rights defenders, harassment, and more. Each country then receives a rating between 0-100 based on its incidents, with higher scores indicating more open civic space.
This year, Botswana's score increased 9 points from 60 to 69, moving it from X tier “obstructed” to the X tier “narrowed.” A “narrowed” rating means x. There are xx total “narrowed” countries around the world.
Civil society pushed back against a proposed Executive-led constitutional review process due to its lack of meaningful public participation. The Constitution amendment Bill was also rejected by Botswana’s Parliament.
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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: media@civicus.org