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| HUMAN RIGHTS & DOCUMENTATION CENTRE (HRDC) |
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CURRENT NEWS, EVENTS AND PROJECTS NEW articles & PUBLICATIONS the justice sector and the rule of law in Namibia: 4. what role can public libraries play in providing information to women caregivers of ovc in Namibia? 5. information seeking behavior of orphaned and vulnerable children's caregivers in Namibia
ESC Rights Conference FROM THE 18-19 July 2011 VENUE: SAFARI HOTEL, WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA The Human Rights and Documentation Centre (HRDC) of the University of Namibia recently resolved to establish an ESC Right – Project. The Project recognizes and supports the principle of the indivisibility, interdependency and interrelatedness of all human rights. However, it will particularly focus on economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights in the Namibian context given the gross economic and social inequality that became an enduring reality in the country. The Project will engage in a range of activities, including applied research, publications, advocacy and monitoring, hosting workshops, seminars and conferences. Pursuant to the above mentioned objectives the project is planning to host its inaugural national conference on ESC rights in Windhoek on July 18 -19, 2011 under the banner ‘ Clarifying Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Namibia’. The conference will examine the place of this category of rights in the Namibian legal system focusing in particular on various methods of implementation and enforcement of ESC rights. The status of ESC rights in Namibia is rather blurry given their framing as directive principles of State policy in terms of the Namibian Constitution. As such, “this category of rights appears to be subject to either misunderstanding or outright hostility, particularly when the discussion moves to looking at effective models of enforcement. The purpose of this conference is thus to debunk some of these myths and to stimulate informed debate on how Namibia can improve the protection and promotion of ESC rights and meet its international obligations created under the international human rights treaties to which it is a party. Whereas the legal status of ESC rights in Namibia may be unclear, the prevailing socio economic conditions in the country depict conspicuous high levels of deprivation for the majority of people in the country. A study on poverty and inequality in Namibian conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) of the National Planning Commission (NPC) in 2010, indeed, revealed that the levels of inequality Namibia are the highest in the world. The study further revealed that the incidence of poor and severely poor households, based on the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) approach, is 27.6 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively. Similarly, the Namibia Labour Force Survey 2008 showed that Namibia is having a staggering unemployment rate of 51.2 percent. According to this survey rural unemployed stands at 64.9 percent, female rural unemployment 72.1 percent and youth unemployment at 59.9 percent. It is not far-fetched to opine that Namibia is sitting of a social time bomb. It is respectfully submitted that Namibia is at a developmental stage where ESC rights can no longer be regarded as mere aspiration, or goals to be achieved progressively over time. Continuing to do so would be at our own peril! Against this background, the underlying theme of the conference seeks to encapsulates and reinforces the notion that: “a decent standard of living, adequate nutrition, health care and other social and economic achievements are not just development goals. They are human rights inherent in human freedom and dignity. But these rights do not mean an entitlement to handout. They are claim to a set of social arrangements—norms, institutions, laws, an enabling economic environment—that can best secure the enjoyment of these rights. It is thus the obligation of governments and others to implement policies to put these arrangements in place”. Discussion in Namibia on the enforceability of ESC rights has tended to focus on justiciability. However, there are many ways in which these rights can be implemented and enforced. In this regard the conference is meant to provide an opportunity and enquiry into different and innovative ways in which constitutions, legislation, courts and administrative structures are being used to protect this category of rights. The conference will focus on three specific ESC rights namely, the right to adequate housing, the right to social security and the right to water. The occasion would be used to officially launch the HRDC’s ESC Rights Project. The conference will be addressed by leading national and international academics and advocates who will survey international models of enforcement at the legal and sub-legal levels borrowing from international comparative experience of how human rights obligations in this area can be met effectively at the national level. The distinguished panel of speakers include Adv. Bience Gawanas, Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Union; Felix C. Morka, Esq, Executive Director of the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC), Nigeria; Dr. Lilian Chenwi, Coordinator & Senior Researcher, Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape; and Adv. John Walters, Ombudsman, Namibia. Dr. Maurice Manning, President of the IHRC, http://www.ihrc.ie/newsevents/press/2005/12/08/conference-to-discuss-effective-enforcement-of-eco/ Central Bureau of Statistics, A Review of Poverty and Inequality in Namibia, Executive Summary, National Planning Commission p.2, Windhoek. Released in 2010 after the Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Namibia Labour Force Survey 2008 (NLFS 2008), Directorate of Labour Market Services, par. 4.5.1, Windhoek. UNDP, Human Development Report 2000, p.73, retrievable at http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2000_EN.pdf For more details , please contact Mr John Nakuta email address: jnakuta@unam.na Tel: (264-61) 206 3230 or 2063664
African Human Rights Moot Court Competition 2010(New Release)
Children’s Book in Namibia was launched on the 20th November 2009 On 20. November 2009, on the twentieth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the 435-page publication Children’s Rights in Namibia was officially launched during the preceedings bordering the AGM of the Law Society of Namibia, Windhoek Country Club Resort. The foto taken at the booklaunch reflects from left to right Dr Oliver C Ruppel (Editor of the publication, Director Human Rights and Documentation Centre/HRDC/Faculty of Law/UNAM), Mr Bernd Busemann (Minister of Justice, Lower Saxony, Germany), keynote speaker Adv. John Walters (Ombudsman of Namibia), and funding partner Dr Anton Boesl (Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Namibia). Children’s Rights in Namibia brings together various articles that shed light from different angles on the protection and promotion of children’s rights. Inter alia, the book aims at determining the extent to which Namibia complies with its obligations under national and international law, the extent to which the various institutions and statutory enactments aimed at affording the necessary respect and protection to children’s rights in Namibia exist, and the extent to which such rights are implemented successfully. The articles not only cover methodological aspects of implementing children’s rights but more practically refer to issues such as adoption, citizenship, access to information, majority, the best interest of the child, child labour, teenage pregnancy, and custody and guardianship. Specific aspects of Namibian customary law in this context have also been addressed, considering that Namibia is a country with a pluralistic legal system. Further issues addressed in this publication relate to certain law reform activities, restorative justice, child suggestibility in the Namibian justice system, understanding the perpetrators of violent crimes against children, children’s accessibility of social assistance benefits, access to information for orphans and other vulnerable children, and the model of an Ombudsman with a specific mandate for children. The article on the High Court of Namibia’s Vulnerable Witnesses’ Project has immediate relevance to children’s rights, as is the one outlining the possible impacts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with its focus on child trafficking and child prostitution. Dr Ruppel says that this publication is somewhat special: a good number of the contributor’s consisted of under- and postgraduate students. Ms Lena Kangandjela (who is at the same time employed at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare), Mr Willard Mugadza and Ms Ruusa Ntinda are third-year B Juris students. Ms Lotta Ambunda and Mr Pombili Shipila are – like Mr Mugadza and Ms Ntinda – student assistants at the Human Rights and Documentation Centre (HRDC) and fourth-year LL B students. Ms Moudy Hangula is a final-year LL B student. Both Ms Prisca Anyolo and Mr Clever Mapaure are currently in the process of finalising their LL M studies, while Mr Joab Mudzanapabwe (Ministry of Labour) is a Ph D candidate in Forensic Psychology. All of them are currently enrolled with the University of Namibia. Dr Ruppel is particularly proud of their contributions, as he considers “their achievement as an exemplary reflection of how capacity-building measures and young professional empowerment can be achieved successfully”. The students’ contributions amalgamated in this publication with articles by internationally renowned legal academics such as Prof. Manfred Hinz (who holds the UNESCO Chair, Human Rights and Democracy, University of Namibia), Prof. Julie Stewart (Southern and Eastern African Regional Centre for Women’s Law, University of Zimbabwe) and Dr Stefan Schulz (Department of Legal Studies, Polytechnic of Namibia). Their contributions, next to those of more junior colleagues like Ms Yvonne Dausab (Faculty of Law, UNAM) and Ms Gugulethu Nkosi (Faculty of Law, University of South Africa), also blended in with the excellent papers by members from within the legal fraternity at large (eg. Ms Dianne Hubbard / LAC and Ms Felicity !Owoses-/Goagoses / Ministry of Justice and others), and with interdisciplinary contributions by Mr Michael Conteh (MRC/UNAM) and Ms Chiku Mchombu (HRDC). Dr Ruppel was particularly grateful for the contributions by Public Prosecutor Ms Faith Chipepera (a 2009 UNAM LL B graduate) and by His Lordship the Honourable Mr Justice Annel Silungwe, High Court of Namibia. The publication is published by Macmillan Education Namibia and can be downloaded freely from the HRDC website. |
