Swapo govt reprimanded

Swapo govt reprimandedLiberation war, cultural and religious beliefs no excuse An international committee against torture has reprimanded the Namibian government on what it describes as a lackadaisical attitude towards human rights. JANA-MARI SMITH



An international committee against torture has recommended that Namibia urgently take steps not only to improve the health and general care of HIV-infected prisoners and the protection of minority citizens and refugees, but also to protect women and children against violence and to investigate allegations of torture and inhumane treatment during the liberation struggle and the Caprivi uprising.

These, and many other human rights issues that require urgent attention, form part of a list of recommendations in the concluding report compiled by the Committee Against Torture (CAT) following its second periodic review of Namibia’s implementation of the provisions of the International Convention Against Torture.

Although Namibia submitted its second report with a 16-year delay, the committee in November welcomed the country’s efforts to submit it, and praised Namibia’s commitment to ratifying a host of international instruments including the convention’s anti-torture requirements.

Nevertheless, following a two-day dialogue in November based on reports submitted by government and human rights organisations, several gaps were identified in Namibia’s obligations under the convention.

A major point of concern is the lack of legislation that defines torture and protects citizens and others from such acts, the committee found.

Moreover, it expressed concern over the lack of information provided by the government on numerous issues it was tasked to address in its original report to the committee.

Weak prosecution

The issue of violence against women and children was addressed in the report, including the high prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence and domestic violence.

“The committee is also concerned at the low rate of prosecutions, the lack of an available protection mechanism for immediate protection orders and at information that cases of rape are being decided by customary courts that do not impose criminal liability and may not provide full compensation to victims,” the report states.

Included in the recommendations to address the issue of violence against women and children, the report advises that training of officials dealing with such incidents should be improved, in addition to putting in place effective measures to protect child victims.

The report strongly advises the state to discourage sexual violence cases from being settled outside of the formal justice system.

The committee’s report contains additional recommendations on measures to improve protection of members of the LGBTI community, and urges the Namibian government to decriminalise gay sex between consenting adults.

Child marriages and sexual initiation rites, among other harmful traditional practices, are highlighted as a concern.

Allegations that law enforcement officials and health workers torture and degrade sex workers should be investigated and punished, the report recommends.

War crimes

The Committee “is concerned that serious allegations of torture committed during the liberation struggle have not been investigated, which could lead to impunity for those crimes.”

During the discussions in Geneva in November, attended by a Namibian delegation headed by justice minister Albert Kawana, a Namibian delegation member told the CAT committee that “it was very dangerous to open the old wounds as the struggle had pitted brother against brother and sister against sister.”

The delegate, unnamed in a statement on the discussions issued by CAT, said the focus must be on the future and that “notwithstanding the amnesty, the leaders of the South West Africa People’s Organisation, the ruling party in the country today, had apologised for what had happened. It was the nature of war.”

Despite this appeal to the committee, the report concludes that although the state of emergency provided for statutes of limitations for “serious crimes such as torture”, government should “ensure that all allegations of acts of torture and ill-treatment are investigated, prosecuted and punished, including those committed during the liberation struggle and the state of emergency of August 1999.”

The report also notes a concern “of the excessively slow functioning of the judiciary and that pre-trial detention remains unacceptably lengthy, which is harmful for the detainees.”

The fact that juvenile offenders are often held together with adults is another point of concern, and the committee recommends that government should speed up efforts to modernise and reform the justice system and reduce pre-trial detention.

The report further notes that the CAT is “deeply concerned at reports of the high rate of HIV among prisoners, at the reluctance to take measures to prevent it and at the lack of official data on the total number of infected prisoners and their access to ARVs.”

During the November review, another member of the Namibian delegation told the committee that “the distribution of condoms in prisons was a culturally and religiously sensitive issue which would require extensive consultations with all stakeholders before a final decision was taken.”

In response, Sapana Pradhan-Malla, a committee expert and co-rapporteur for Namibia, said that while the sensitivity of the issue was understood, it was important to note that the lives of people were at stake.

The committee recommended that measures to effectively prevent and control the further spread of HIV/ Aids should be put in place, while also respecting the human rights of the affected detainees. Prison staff should be increases and the quality and quantity of food and water as well as health care should be improved.

A number of other recommendations, including the strengthening of the mandate and independence of the Office of the Ombudsman, are contained in the report.

Namibia was requested to provide follow-up information on the recommendations by December 2017, especially on the adoption of a prevention and combating of torture act, and on conditions of detention and the country’s stance to protect refugees from being sent back to countries where they risk torture.