The following information is based on the Amnesty International Report 2021/22. This report documented the human rights situation in 149 countries in 2021, as well as providing global and regional analysis. It presents Amnesty International’s concerns and calls for action to governments and others.
Police repeatedly used excessive force. The use of prolonged and indefinite pre-trial detention was exacerbated under Covid-19 restrictions. Gender-based violence remained widespread and LGBTI people faced discrimination. There was a shortage of Covid-19 vaccine supplies. Oil and gas exploration threatened the environment and Indigenous peoples’ livelihoods. A commission recommended that the government enact legislation to protect ancestral land rights. The president was implicated in corruption allegations.
In April, a man with disabilities was assaulted by police officers before he and his sister-in-law were arrested for violating Covid-19 curfew regulations in Khorixas town. In June, a police officer shot and injured three pre-trial detainees at Rundu police station. In August, a police officer shot and killed two people, including a police officer, in Lüderitz town.
The use of prolonged and indefinite pre-trial detention was exacerbated as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. Several detainees had their hearings postponed as correctional authorities imposed a lockdown in prisons; conditions in detention centres and police holding cells remained poor.
The tier four Covid-19 lockdown made life especially difficult for those women and girls who were forced to self-isolate with their abusers. In February, the Chief Justice announced that domestic violence court cases had increased sharply in 2020. Child marriage persisted and in January it was reported that a four-year-old’s parents had married her to a 25-year-old man when she was only two.
LGBTI people remained subject to widespread discrimination. In April, a transgender woman was accused by police of faking her identity to avoid prosecution and was subjected to transphobic harassment while in custody.
In July, Namibia experienced a third wave of Covid-19 infections, exacerbated by insufficient vaccine supplies and slow vaccine uptake. During the pandemic, access to sexual and reproductive health services was further disrupted.
In January, the Commission of Inquiry into Claims of Ancestral Land Rights and Restitution published a report supporting the restitution of ancestral land rights. The commission concluded that land claims demanded by groups and individuals as restitution fell under the broader concept of reparations under international and human rights law. In light of this, it recommended that parliament enact an ancestral land rights claim and restitution law within the next two years, on condition that the process and its outcome be consistent with constitutional, international and human rights law.
In August, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee registered its concern about oil exploration licences being granted in environmentally sensitive areas in the Kavango river basin, in north-eastern Namibia, to Canadian-based mining company ReconAfrica. This followed the government’s confirmation that drilling operations had been successfully concluded on the 6-1 well. Environmental activists and local people organized several petitions and other protests against drilling during the year, but drilling continued. The operations threatened the fragile environment and the livelihoods of local Indigenous peoples.
In April, the president was implicated in allegations of corruption involving the country’s lucrative fishing industry. Officials were accused of engaging in corrupt practices for which they enjoyed impunity.
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
This has been a devastating year for those seeking to stand up for human rights and for those caught up in the suffering of war zones. Governments pay lip service to the importance of protecting civilians. And yet the world's politicians have miserably failed to protect those in greatest need. Amnesty International believes that this can and must finally change.
Republic of Namibia Head of state and government Hifikepunye Pohamba The long-running treason trial of Caprivi detainees continued, with most of the men having spent more than 12 years in …
Head of state and government: Hifikepunye Pohamba Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes Population: 2.2 million Life expectancy: 62.1 years Under-5 mortality (m/f): 58/45 per 1,000 Adult literacy: 88.2 per …
Head of state and government Hifikepunye Pohamba Death penalty abolitionist for all crimes Population 2.2 million Life expectancy 60.4 years Under-5 mortality (m/f) 58/45 per 1,000 Adult literacy 88 per …
Head of state and government Hifikepunye Pohamba Death penalty abolitionist for all crimes Population 2.1 million Life expectancy 51.6 years Under-5 mortality (m/f) 70/58 per 1,000 Adult literacy 85 per …
On the launch of its 2015 State of the World report, Amnesty International USA urged President Obama to use his last year in office to bring U.S. laws and policies in line with international human rights standards.
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.