OvaHerero, Nama file formal complaintThe groups argue that there can be no final settlement without their direct involvement. Want in on genocide discussions 0 The official representatives of OvaHerero and Nama organisations and individuals in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa have filed a formal complaint to various bodies of the United Nations (UN) to object to their exclusion from current negotiations between the Namibian and German governments concerning the 1904-08 genocide.The American-based law firm McCallion & Associates wrote the letter of complaint on behalf of the groups to UN bodies such as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Division for Social Policy and Development, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as to the UN Secretariat, on 23 September.
The complaint states that the German and Namibian governments have intentionally failed to include OvaHerero Paramount Chief Vekuii Rukoro and Nama Chief Dawid Frederick as representatives of the groups.
“Since the subject matter of the current negotiations between Germany and Namibia directly relates to and affects the rights of the OvaHerero and Nama peoples, and directly relates to a determination of the remedies that would provide adequate justice for the genocide and abuses of these people, it is imperative that the OvaHerero and Nama representatives be included in the negotiations and any final settlement of these issues,” Kenneth F. McCallion of the law firm wrote to the UN bodies.
The law firm requested that the UN bodies assist its clients’ efforts to get included in the negotiations, and stated: “Unless the OvaHerero and Nama people are parties and signatories to any final settlement, there can never be any comprehensive settlement; nor will there be any comprehensive justice or peace regarding these issues.”
The two groups have stated that they do not believe the Namibian government can “adequately or sufficiently” represent their interests and “deeply feel” any terms the governments may reach cannot be final or binding on the OvaHerero and Nama communities.
They say the specific extermination orders against the OvaHerero and Nama condemned them to perpetual and institutionalised poverty for generations.
McCallion & Partners said the OvaHerero and Nama remain a dispossessed and disempowered minority in Namibia today while many were forced out or fled to live in Botswana, South Africa, the USA and other countries.
Moreover, the law firm said despite the general agreement among scholars and legal experts that the 1904-08 extermination falls within the classic definition of genocide with close parallels to the Jewish Holocaust, the German and Namibian governments downplay this fact and instead choose to use euphemisms such as “unfortunate history” to minimise and explain away the human rights abuses committed.
OBJECTIONS
McCallion & Associates objected to the fact that the German government already in July, while saying it would apologise for the genocide, ruled out reparations in favour of targeted development projects.
“In other words, without the participation of the minority and indigenous groups that had been primarily targeted for the genocide, the German government had already decided on its own, or in concert with the Namibian government, that the communities most directly affected by the genocide would receive nothing,” the law firm wrote to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
It also objected to President Hage Geingob’s statement made in September when he said Namibia was seeking German investment “as a form of reparation for the Herero massacre in the early 20th century”.
“In other words,” McCallion & Associates said, “Namibia and Germany are proceeding with negotiations over the nature and scope of the reparations and compensation appropriate to settle and close this dark chapter in history, but have intentionally excluded the lawful representatives of the minority and indigenous victims of that genocide from participation in these negotiations.”
Germany’s special envoy on the genocide talks, Ruprecht Polenz, had said during his first visit to Namibia that the two groups’ representation in the negotiations depended on the Namibian government.
The Namibian government insists that the negotiations proceed on a bilateral basis between the two governments.
CATHERINE SASMAN