Localizing the Global/Globalizing the Local: Reconciling Botho and Human Rights in Botswana

Abstract

“Human rights” is an increasingly popular language of civil society advocacy internationally, but does it mean the same thing language may indicate an emerging international consensus, it is also possible that this “common language” is being used to reflect distinct concepts drawing on local perspectives and traditions. While a body of literature exists on regional interpretations of human rights in other parts of the world (see Wiessala 2006; Cesarini and Hertel 2005), little research has been conducted on human rights discourse in Africa, where the study of human rights remains rooted in law (Viljoen 2012) and largely divorced from the social practice of human rights as performed by civil society groups. Do indigenous concepts play a role in assimilating and shaping human rights in this context? What is the relationship between botho,¹ an African concept of reciprocal humanity, and human rights, a common international language of advocacy and accountability? This chapter explores these questions with reference to Botswana, a country where rights are often depicted as foreign and where botho has deep social and cultural resonance. Unlike domestic government and media, human rights activists in Botswana increasingly view botho as a local translation of human rights. In doing so, they are tentatively building a culturally specific understanding of human rights including international components such as universality, but also highlighting culturally important traits such as reciprocity.