State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2013 - Namibia

Minority and indigenous rights remain difficult issues in Namibia due to the legacy of apartheid. Despite some government efforts to improve their situation, indigenous peoples still have not benefited from independence as much as other groups. In a visit to the country in October 2012, James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, expressed concern about the lack of a coherent government policy that assigns a positive value to the distinct identities and practices of indigenous people and promotes their cultural survival.

In January 2012, 36 traditional Himba leaders, one of the country's most marginalized groups, issued a statement to the UN describing their grievances. They claimed the government has refused to recognize 33 of them as traditional leaders, despite winning their case in the high court in 2001. Himba leaders also challenged the 2002 Communal Land Reform Act, which allows others to buy land traditionally owned by Himba. The leaders called for the government to remove mining companies from Himba territories or involve the Himba in the decision-making about mining permits and mining revenue.

Himba children do not have access to education and funding has decreased for mobile schools for their children. Himbas' semi-nomadic lifestyle means their children are unable to attend mainstream schools. Both Himba and San children face discrimination at school; they are not allowed to wear traditional clothes and are not taught in their mother tongue, which affects their quality of education and knowledge about health issues. Himba leaders also demanded better health care and more hospitals in their areas. Access to health facilities remains one of the main obstacles to medical treatment for all nomadic and pastoral minorities in Namibia.

Indigenous groups are also more vulnerable to HIV infection, because of their comparatively low access to sexual and reproductive health services and information. Namibia has an adult HIV prevalence rate of 13.4 per cent,[6] but indigenous groups do not always know about the risks. A 2009 study revealed that 80 per cent of women in a San community in Tsumkwe did not know if HIV/AIDS was a problem in their community and 85 per cent responded 'do not know' when asked about their risk of infection. There are no public health campaigns in San languages.

Maternal mortality rates have doubled since the early 1990s, mainly due to HIV. This is despite an increased number of women with access to skilled birth attendants (81 per cent) and receiving antenatal care (70 per cent), according to the latest UN Development Programme (UNDP) Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report. However, indigenous communities in remote locations are less likely to benefit from antenatal care and skilled birth attendants, and while their exact maternal and infant mortality rates are not fully documented, experts believe them to be extremely high.

Notes

6. Republic of Namibia, Global Aids Response Progress Reporting 2012, Ministry of Health and Social Services, retrieved June 2013, http://www.unaids.org/en/dataanalysis/knowyourresponse/countryprogressr….