Botswana has said it supports an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, despite the African Union summit's refusal to execute it.
"Botswana wishes to reiterate her position in support of the warrant of arrest. This decision was not reached lightly," said a foreign ministry statement.
"State-sponsored violence and blatant human rights violations by the Kadhafi regime on its own people, which started in February this year, continues unabated to this day," it said.
"This is despite international efforts calling on the regime to end its violent campaign against the Libyan people."
The AU summit in Equatorial Guinea said the ICC warrant hampered efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict between Kadhafi's forces and Libyan rebels, and that AU members "shall not cooperate in the execution of the arrest warrant".
Diamond-rich Botswana condemned Kadhafi when violence broke out in Libya and immediately cut its diplomatic ties.
Botswana has also made clear that it will arrest Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, also the target of an ICC war crimes warrant, if he sets foot in Botswana.
In the run-up to the signing of Zimbabwe's political agreement, Botswana's President Ian Khama was the only regional leader who openly condemned President Robert Mugabe's violent cling to power after failed elections in 2008.
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