Namibia’s rights record unchanged: Amnesty

MUCH remained unchanged on Namibia’s human rights landscape over the past year, says global human rights watchdog Amnesty International.

Releasing its 2006 report last Tuesday, the organisation noted that while there had been fewer instances of Government hate speech, violence against women and children remained pervasive. Although no official figures had been released by the end of last year, the report said it was evident from Police bulletins that there was a high level of violence against women and children.On a global scale, Amnesty International said, the lives of millions of people worldwide had been devastated by the denial of fundamental rights during 2005, with human security threatened by war and attacks by armed groups, as well as by hunger, disease and natural disasters.On Namibia’s part, the report singled out the discovery late last year of a series of mass graves in the North as significant in that it sparked a call by opposition and civil society groups for a truth and reconciliation commission in efforts to obtain information about the graves.Since Independence, Government has rejected calls for such a commission, maintaining that those with related information should just come forward and that the policy of national reconciliation would protect them from recrimination.The report also noted that there had been less “official hate speech” since President Hifikepunye Pohamba took office.”Regular verbal attacks on minorities had been a hallmark of former President Nujoma’s rule,” noted the report.It singled out verbal attacks on gays and lesbians by former President Sam Nujoma and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration Teopolina Mushelenga during the year in review as violations of human rights.The protracted detention period of the accused in the Caprivi treason trial has once again blotted Namibia’s human rights record, as well as the fact that Police officers accused of torturing the suspects have yet to face any formal charges or disciplinary action.In Africa, grave human rights violations were recorded, including the killings, rape and other forms of sexual violence characterised by continuing conflicts in Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.Many other places faced political instability and a serious risk of further conflict and violence, the report said.In the southern African region, Zimbabwe is highlighted as a major human rights violator for denying people their rights to shelter, food, health and education after the forceful removal of thousands of people in informal settlements during Operation Restore Order.The country is also berated for not implementing recommendations released from a fact-finding mission by the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights in February 2005.The annual Amnesty International Report documents human rights abuses in 150 countries and highlights the needs for governments, the international community, armed groups and others in positions of power or influence to take responsibility.Although no official figures had been released by the end of last year, the report said it was evident from Police bulletins that there was a high level of violence against women and children.On a global scale, Amnesty International said, the lives of millions of people worldwide had been devastated by the denial of fundamental rights during 2005, with human security threatened by war and attacks by armed groups, as well as by hunger, disease and natural disasters.On Namibia’s part, the report singled out the discovery late last year of a series of mass graves in the North as significant in that it sparked a call by opposition and civil society groups for a truth and reconciliation commission in efforts to obtain information about the graves.Since Independence, Government has rejected calls for such a commission, maintaining that those with related information should just come forward and that the policy of national reconciliation would protect them from recrimination.The report also noted that there had been less “official hate speech” since President Hifikepunye Pohamba took office.”Regular verbal attacks on minorities had been a hallmark of former President Nujoma’s rule,” noted the report.It singled out verbal attacks on gays and lesbians by former President Sam Nujoma and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration Teopolina Mushelenga during the year in review as violations of human rights.The protracted detention period of the accused in the Caprivi treason trial has once again blotted Namibia’s human rights record, as well as the fact that Police officers accused of torturing the suspects have yet to face any formal charges or disciplinary action.In Africa, grave human rights violations were recorded, including the killings, rape and other forms of sexual violence characterised by continuing conflicts in Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.Many other places faced political instability and a serious risk of further conflict and violence, the report said.In the southern African region, Zimbabwe is highlighted as a major human rights violator for denying people their rights to shelter, food, health and education after the forceful removal of thousands of people in informal settlements during Operation Restore Order.The country is also berated for not implementing recommendations released from a fact-finding mission by the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights in February 2005.The annual Amnesty International Report documents human rights abuses in 150 countries and highlights the needs for governments, the international community, armed groups and others in positions of power or influence to take responsibility.