Delighted to learn that the preparatory work done on behalf of UNDP Botswana has now yielded the adoption of a Persons with Disabilities Law on the occasion of Persons with Disabilities Day. As a consultant it is a delicate task to try and understand the inner workings of a country and its administration, adding international obligations and the growing practice to support changes that will have a meaningful impact on the lived experience of persons with disabilities, it appears that in the case of Botswana a good mix of national self-representation, national legal expertise and international support brought about the necessary change towards a more inclusive and accessible society.

As ASIL notes in its International Law in Brief (ILIB), the 2006 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance entered into force late last month, December 22, 2010.  Another core human rights treaty joins the expanding collection!