Permanent Mission of India, Geneva
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group
24th Session (18 - 29 January 2016)
2nd UPR of Namibia – Interactive Dialogue
Monday, 18 January 2016, 09:00 am - 12:30 pm
Statement by India
Mr. President,
India extends a warm welcome to the delegation of Namibia led by H.E. Mr. Albert Kawana, Minister of Justice; and thanks them for the informative presentation on the action taken to implement the recommendations received during its first UPR.
Mr. President,
2. We commend the fact that, despite several constraints, Namibia has been able to achieve socio-economic development and advance the enjoyment of human rights by its people within a stable democratic framework. We welcome the formulation of the National Human Rights Action Plan (2015-19) launched in December 2014 as well as the establishment of a Human Rights Department within the Namibian Police and the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. The land reform and resettlement programme for the historically disadvantaged is a positive development.
3. Namibia’s efforts at reducing poverty and hunger are praiseworthy, and in this regard we commend Namibia’s call for a “War on Poverty” and the introduction of phrases such as “The Namibian House”, “Harambee” and “no Namibian should feel left out” into the Namibian vocabulary thereby highlighting the shared ideological vision of her people. We would request the delegation to share more details about the challenges being faced in implementing Vision 2030 which focuses on improving the quality of life of the Namibian people to the level of their counterparts in the developed world by the year 2030. It is remarkable that Namibia spends over 8% of its GDP on education and related programmes and policies. We note the Namibian government’s decision to provide free secondary education as from 2016. In this regard, we commend the special focus on indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups. We would like to request the delegation to share more details on these efforts.
4. We encourage Namibia to continue its renewed focus on access to healthcare services and give special emphasis to contain and reverse the sharp increase in maternal mortality rates. We appreciate Namibia’s acknowledgement of the problem of gender-based violence especially violence towards children. This is the final year of the National Plan of Action on Gender-based Violence that has been put in place by Namibia since 2012. We would request the delegation to share the results of this Plan so far.
5. While taking note of Namibia’s efforts towards progressive steps to advance gender equality, we encourage Namibia for early adoption of some pending bills impacting women’s rights and to address the issue of gender-based occupational segregation in the labour market.
6. We wish the delegation of Namibia all successes in its future endeavors.
Thank you Mr. President.
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