asked Her Majesty's Government:

How they are assisting the Government of Botswana to implement the recent High Court decision in favour of the indigenous people of the Kalahari reserve; when they will ratify International Labour Organisation Convention 169, concerning indigenous and tribal peoples in independent countries; and what assessment they have made of the role of British companies in Botswana in relation to this convention. [HL4271]

We are encouraging the Government of Botswana to take an inclusive approach to finding a sustainable solution to the future use of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve through dialogue and negotiation with the San (Bushmen). My right honourable friend the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Ian McCartney) raised the issue at the highest level during his visit to Botswana in early June.

The UK position with regard to the 1989 International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention on indigenous and tribal peoples (ILO 169) was set out in a 1989 White Paper (Command Paper 1078, Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries). As the White Paper noted, ILO 169 was essentially an update of the 1957 ILO Convention 107. The White Paper explained that Convention 107 could not be applied in the UK as there were no indigenous, tribal or semi-tribal people there, and so had not been ratified by the UK. Copies of the 1989 White Paper are available in the Library of the House. We have therefore made no assessment of the role of British companies in Botswana in relation to Convention 169.