Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1988
NAMIBIA
.
Formerly German South West Africa, Namibia has been ruled
since 1915 by the Republic of South Africa. The United
Nations lifted South Africa's League of Nations mandate in
1966, and an advisory opinion of the International Court of
Justice in 1971 upheld U.N. authority over Namibia and called
for South Africa's immediate withdrawal. Nonetheless, the
South African Government's representative in Windhoek, the
Administrator General, continued to administer Namibia,
together with the "transitional government of National Unity
(TG)," which had been serving since June 1985, and which is
drawn from internal Namibian parties. The South African
Government directly controlled the territory's defense and
foreign affairs. The international community has not
recognized the TG and has held the South African Government
responsible for the actions of the Namibian authorities.
Agreements signed in New York on December 22, 1988, by South
Africa, Angola, and Cuba, with the mediation of the United
States, require South Africa to implement United Nations
Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 435 in the context of
Cuban troop withdrawal from neighboring Angola. The 1978
Resolution calls for a ceasefire, the phased withdrawal of
South African forces, and free elections under U.N.
supervision. If UNSCR 435 is implemented, the Administrator
General (AG) will reassume all powers now held by the TG,
which will be disbanded. The AG will continue to administer
the territory during the transition process, including the
election, but under the supervision of the U.N. Secretary
General's special representative on Namibia. Commencement of
implementation is scheduled for April 1, 1989.
Meanwhile, Namibia continued throughout much of 1988 to
experience low-level guerrilla conflict with insurgents of the
South West African People's Organization's (SWAPO) military
wing, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), fighting
the South African Defense Force (SADF) and the Southwest
Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) . Early in the year SADF made
incursions into Angola to strike SWAPO/PLAN bases there.
Military activity declined to negligible levels after a
cease-fire went into effect on September 1 along the border
between Angola and Namibia. SWAPO draws most of its support
from the Ovambo in the north, the largest ethnic group in
Namibia. SWAPO also operated as a legal political
organization within Namibia, although it does not participate
in the TG
.
Some 60 percent of the population of 1.3 million live by
subsistence agriculture. The modern economy consists of
mining, fishing, cattle ranching, and food processing. Mining
and agriculture provide 90 percent of exports; the
manufacturing industry is very small. Real gross domestic
product grew by 2 . 9 percent in 1987, according to government
statistics. A lack of diversification in the economy has
produced very uneven growth. Economic conditions are
particularly severe in the north. Unemployment is at least 20
percent, according to one academic estimate, but one survey of
10 urban areas found an extremely high rate of 33 percent.
As has been the case over the past 20 years, most reports of
human rights violations by government authorities or SWAPO
involved actions taken in the "operational area" in northern
Namibia (where over half of the territory's population
lives). The guerrilla war in the north, which began in 1966,
continued in 1988, and produced a number of casualties and
fundamentally disrupted the lives of those living in northern
Namibia. There were also three major bombings; at a bank in
northern Namibia, which killed 28 civilians; at a butchery
shop in Walvis Bay, which killed 1; and at a hotel in
Windhoek, which killed 2. There has been no final
determination as to who was responsible for the bombings.
Despite the TG ' s bill of fundamental rights, which includes
many internationally recognized individual rights, the South
African courts have ruled that these rights can only be tested
against legislation passed since the TG came into being in
1985. As a result, all of Namibia's harsh security laws
remain in force; and in 1988 arbitrary government detention
without access to counsel or visits by family members
continued, as did restrictions on the freedom of assembly.
South African State President Botha in March halted the
prosecution of six security force members charged with a
murder during a SWAPO rally in November 1986. An extremist
white group appeared on the scene in 1988 and admitted
responsibility for destroying the plant of the outspoken
newspaper. The Namibian.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political Killing
There were periodic reports of politically motivated attacks
and killing by both government security forces and SWAPO.
Some charges of security force abuses, particularly in the
"operational area" of northern Namibia were confirmed when
security force members were convicted on various charges,
including robbery and rape. However, many of the killings
that occurred in the operational area were difficult to
attribute to any one group. There were allegations, denied as
"absurd" by the security forces, that the security forces
committed crimes, including murder, against civilians while
masquerading as SWAPO guerrillas. Five black members of the
security forces were convicted in 1988 of killing two women.
There were reports of injuries when security forces shot at
civilians allegedly for violating the curfew, including one
incident in August, in which the security forces claimed, but
the victims denied, that warning shots had been fired.
SWAPO appeared in 1988 to step up a policy of engaging in
sabotage bombings of nonmilitary targets. SWAPO took
responsibility for the 1987 bombing of a Windhoek public
parking garage (two men were on trial in late 1988 for that
bombing), but it denied responsibility in three bombings in
1988, including one which killed 28 civilians at a bank in
Ovamboland in February. A northern Namibian man confessed to
the police that he had planted the bombs at the bank and at a
butchery shop in Walvis Bay in 1988; he is now standing
trial. A third bomb killed two persons at the Continental
Hotel in Windhoek in September. Government authorities in
Namibia blamed SWAPO for all three bombings, but SWAPO denied
these claims, alleging the bombs had been planted by the
security forces to discredit SWAPO.
b. Disappearance
Security forces are not obliged to notify anyone when a person
is detained and often hold detainees incommunicado for
extended periods of time. Legal counsel sometimes has to
petition the courts to obtain information on suspected
detainees, and recently the authorities have been somewhat
more cooperative in responding to requests for information on
detainees. However, the authorities do not have to notify
anyone of a detainee's release.
The security forces claimed that SWAPO kidnaped civilians in
1988, particularly young people, to gain recruits. The
security forces claimed SWAPO abducted 40 pupils and 5
teachers from Ombalantu in Ovamboland in May, bringing the
total of those allegedly kidnaped by SWAPO in 1988 to 83.
SWAPO has consistently denied claims of kidnaping, insisting
that its recruits come voluntarily.
There were continuing credible reports in 1988 that SWAPO
kidnaps or kills Namibians, including SWAPO members or
ex-members, who disagree with the organization's policies.
SWAPO admits that it is detaining in camps in Angola and
Zambia a group of Namibians, allegedly because they are spies
for South Africa, but denies that any of them have been
executed. SWAPO claims that the organization's security
prohibits visits by outsiders to these detainees. Because of
this policy, the fate of approximately 100 disappeared SWAPO
members that have been of interest to human rights groups for
several years remains unknown. In May the International
Society of Human Rights listed the names of an additional 37
persons who had disappeared or been murdered following their
alleged arrest by SWAPO.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Allegations of security force abuses continued in 1988.
Political leaders, clergymen, and others regularly made
detailed reports that the police and security forces engaged
in brutal treatment of civilians, primarily in northern
Namibia, in and out of detention. The Secretary of the
Legislative Assembly of Ovamboland testified in a South
African court that he had taken some 690 affidavits over the
past 6 years alleging acts of rape, murder, theft, and arson
by the SADF in Namibia. There were several reports in 1988 of
civilians being beaten by security force members. As in
previous years, the police counterinsurgency unit, formerly
known as "Koevoet," was accused of harassment and beatings of
civilians in northern Namibia. In late December, South Africa
stated that "Koevoet" was being disbanded in connection with
the planned implementation of UNSCR 435.
Six members of SWATF were found guilty of raping a girl in
Ovamboland in April 1987 and sentenced to between 3 and 6
years. They were also made to pay compensation. There have
been other cases in which security forces have been required
to pay considerable sums in court cases arising from human
rights abuses. However, the police officer involved in a
widely publicized police beating in 1987 (the Heita case) was
not prosecuted. He was later transferred. Human rights
groups claim that the publicity surrounding these cases has
not led to a significant decrease in abuses.
Amnesty International (AI) published a special report in April
1987, Namibia: Torture and I 11-Treatment of Prisoners, which
cited evidence of torture.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Government employs three pieces of legislation allowing
broad powers of detention. The first is Article 6 of the
Terrorism Act of 1967, the harshest of the three laws under
which a person can be held in indefinite detention without
review, without access to counsel, his own physician, family,
or friends. The detainee does, however, have access to
government-appointed doctors and magistrates. The other two
laws providing for detention without trial are known as AG-9
and AG-26. The former allows for access to counsel only after
30 days; the latter allows for early access and provides for a
review committee, but the TG Cabinet is not required to follow
review committee recommendations. The authorities have
increasingly used the Terrorism Act since 1986, when the
Supreme Court ruled that detainees under AG-9 had access to
legal counsel after 30 days.
One SWAPO member, Jason Angula, who was initially detained in
October 1987 under AG-9, was transferred to detention under
the Terrorism Act. He was released without charge in
December. Angula did not have access to counsel and was not
charged. There was at least one other case in 1988 of initial
detention under AG-9 being switched to the Terrorism Act (see
below) . The Windhoek Supreme Court in February upheld a
Judge's September 1987 order releasing six SWAPO and union
officials from detention under the Terrorism Act, citing
insufficient reason for their arrest. In an out-of-court
settlement of a civil suit, police paid about $6,000 to each
of the former detainees, although the police did not admit
their guilt.
Some people detained under the three laws are not fully aware
of their rights while in detention. Lawyers have on occasion
been able to get their clients released by threatening legal
action against the authorities. Past legal action appears to
have made the authorities more responsive to requests for
details of detentions.
It is not certain how many people were detained during 1988,
or how many remained in detention at the end of the year. The
police publicize numbers of detentions on occasion but usually
do not name the detainees, announce their releases, or issue
figures on the total number of detainees at any given time.
The police said that they are detaining people under AG-9 and
Article 6 of the Terrorism Act, not AG-26. The Deputy
Attorney General confirmed that 9 people had been detained in
northern Namibia between January 18 and 22, and the South
African Police reported on January 28 that 43 people had been
detained in the north.
The Namibian Communications Center in London claimed that 36
people were in detention "for political reasons" as of early
October. The police deny the existence of "political
prisoners," claiming that all of them eventually will be
charged. The editor of The Namibian newspaper was detained
under AG-9 for 5 days in June. Five students were detained
for 3 weeks in June under AG-9; they were released without
charge.
In August 37 students were detained and later charged for
their participation in a gathering at the University of
Namibia in connection with separate school boycotts (see
Section 2 .b. )
•
There were no further challenges to the constitutionality of
security legislation in 1988. Although the TG ' s own "Bill of
Fundamental Rights" stipulates that "no one shall be detained
for an indefinite period of time without a fair and proper
trial by a court," the uncertain status of the TG and
continuing rule by South Africa prevented this right from
being respected fully. All the security legislation remains
in effect, although some within the TG would prefer to rely on
normal criminal statutes rather than the more severe security
acts
.
With regard to forced or compulsory labor, see Section 6.c.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The judiciary is independent of the executive branch (the TG)
,
and the Supreme Court is respected for its integrity. Its
authority is limited, however, by TG and South African
legislation and subject to appellate review by the South
African Appeals Court in Bloemf ontein. In April South African
President Botha gave the executive branch--the Administrator
General and the TG--additional powers with respect to the
courts, enabling them automatically to refer decisions of the
Windhoek Supreme Court on constitutional matters to the
appellate division in Bloemfontein without obtaining
permission to appeal from the Namibian Court. The Court in
Bloemfontein is considered significantly more conservative
than the Windhoek bench.
Most trials are held in public, and the defendants have a
right to counsel. There is little criticism of the courts
themselves; criticism regarding the administration of justice
generally revolves around the system of detention without
trial, and whether security force personnel are brought to
trial for illegal actions. Those who are brought to trial can
expect a hearing based on the legal merits of their case, and
there is a right of appeal. Namibia operates under
Roman-Dutch law. Defendants are generally considered innocent
until proven guilty, except when charged under the Terrorism
Act. That Act places the burden of proving innocence on the
defendant so long as the prosecution has shown that the crime
occurred and the accused had some knowledge of it.
Reform of security legislation remained a dormant issue in
1988. There was no further action on the Van Dyk Commission
Report, issued in October 1986, which proposed revisions in
the security legislation.
Two of the year's most noted court cases highlighted the South
African President's power to indemnify security forces against
criminal prosecution. South African President Botha in March
halted the trial of six security force members who had been
charged in the murder of Immanuel Shifidi in Windhoek in
November 1986. This was the second time in 2 years that the
President had halted a murder prosecution against soldiers.
According to the South African Defense Act, the President may
stop judicial proceeding against security force members if the
incident occurred in the "operational area, if the forces
acted in good faith, and if the action was in the national
interest." The Administrator General, at the request of
President Botha, issued a certificate finding that these
conditions had been met. At the end of 1988, the validity of
the Shifidi certificate was being tested in the Windhoek
Supreme Court. Late in the year, the Windhoek Supreme Court
overturned a similar certificate which had halted a murder
trial against four SADF soldiers accused of murdering Frans
Uapota in northern Namibia in 1985. In that case, the TG had
issued the certificate at the request of the South African
President but had vowed never to do so again because of the
negative impact on its credibility. The Windhoek Court found
that the military report on which the certificate was based
had been "most misleading" because it had not included the
post mortem results showing evidence of injuries consistent
with prolonged beatings and strangulation with rope. The
Court also ruled that the certificate improperly took away
prosecutorial powers that rested with the Attorney General.
At the end of the year, an appeal of the ruling was pending in
the South African Appeals Court, and prosecution of the
soldiers had not resumed.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
Security legislation allows the security forces almost
unlimited powers of search and seizure. Invasion of homes is
said to be commonplace in the northern operational zone. Cars
are searched at security checkpoints. Some charge that they
are under surveillance periodically and that their houses or
cars have been searched even outside the operational zone.
Telephones and mail of those unsympathetic to the TG and the
security forces are assumed to be monitored. There continue
to be allegations that security forces have threatened
civilians to obtain information on suspected SWAPO insurgents.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The South African Government and the TG have at times
restricted the freedom of speech to criticize the Government,
especially through restrictions on assembly (see below). The
Government controls the electronic media, but newspapers
represent views covering the entire political spectrum.
Editorials can, and do, support these views, including
pro-SWAPO sentiments.
Namibian newspapers are subject to South African press laws,
including the Internal Security Act of 1950, which restricts
reporting on some security matters. Nevertheless, Namibian
newspapers publish stories critical of the security forces and
the Government. The South West African Police lodged a
complaint with the S.A. Media Council regarding the weekly
Namibian's coverage of alleged security force abuses and
alleged SWAPO incidents.
The Namibian was the victim of an arson attack in September
which destroyed much of its equipment. A group calling itself
the "White Wolves," an alleged extreme rightwing vigilante
group, claimed credit for the attack. One Namibian reporter
was briefly detained under AG-9 in March while interviewing a
rape and assault victim. In addition, the police detained
Namibian Editor Gwen Lister for 5 days in June for publishing
what was allegedly a classified internal document which
outlined proposed security legislation and which included a
call for a crackdown on the press and political parties. The
authorities never stated whether the document was actuallyclassified,
and Lister was not charged.
Publications are banned both for political reasons and for
obscenity. Publications which were banned in South Africa are
for the most part also banned in Namibia. The South African
Publications Appeal Board, which has jurisdiction in Namibia,
banned publication of SWAPO's political program in July. The
TG ' s Information and Justice Minister expressed disappointment
at the action. Other SWAPO publications have routinely been
declared "undesirable" and thus illegal to sell or distribute.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Political rallies on public property do not require approval,
only prior notice under the notification and Prohibition of
Meetings Act. Bans on meetings can be imposed under the
Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956. The Government banned all
Human Rights Day celebrations in December 1987.
A dominant freedom of assembly issue during 1988 was connected
with the presence of military bases near primary and secondary
schools in northern Namibia, and the request of students,
church, and community leaders to have them removed. The
Government claimed the bases had been established before the
schools, but opponents contended that some of the bases were
built near schools to counter political activities there.
The ultimately unsuccessful effort to have the bases removed
sparked a string of school boycotts beginning in March. The
boycotts spread to Windhoek in June, prompting absenteeism and
demonstrations, some of which were broken up by police and
security forces, with injuries on several occasions. The
police broke up one in June with tear gas and rubber bullets,
detaining 43 and causing some injuries. This gathering did
not have prior government approval, but witnesses claimed, as
they did in other incidents, that they were given no warning
before the police employed tear gas and rubber bullets.
The school boycott also spurred a union-organized, 2-day
"stayaway" in June. The TG then adopted the Protection of
Bill of Fundamental Rights Act, which outlawed promotion of
stayaways or boycotts. The law makes it illegal to "without
lawful reason, induce or persuade" people to boycott schools
or government services, or to stay away from work. It also
makes it illegal to use violence to achieve any of these
ends. The term "lawful reason" is not defined. Despite its
name, the law is being challenged in court as being in
violation of the TG ' s own Bill of Fundamental Rights, which
provides for freedom of speech and association. The law was
employed in the breaking up of an August gathering at the
University of Namibia and the arrest of 37. They were later
charged and were awaiting trial in December while the court
reviewed the constitutionality of the Protection of Bill of
Fundamental Rights Act.
For a discussion of freedom of association as it applies to
labor unions, see Section 6. a.
c. Freedom of Religion
Namibians enjoy freedom of religion. Almost all Namibians are
Christians, with the Lutheran Church--the largest group of
which belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango
Church, now known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Namibia (ELCIN)--having the most adherents. Roman Catholic,
Anglican, Methodist, and Dutch reformed churches are also
active. There is one Jewish Synagogue in Windhoek.
The majority of church leaders are openly critical of the TG
and the South African Government and are allied through the
Council of Churches of Namibia (CCN) . Church leaders in
northern Namibia condemned the 1988 bank bombing in which 28
lives were lost, as well as the use of violence generally.
Church people claim they are the victims of security force
harassment. One church official was briefly detained and
allegedly beaten by police in connection with one of the
demonstrations. As in 1987, several of these church leaders
were either denied travel documents altogether or issued
documents good only for one trip (see Section 2.d.). The
security forces and the Government have said that these church
officials are SWAPO supporters. Although the reasons for
denial of passports do not have to be given, it was assumed
the Government wished to deny them a platform to criticize the
TG and South Africa or to urge pressure on South Africa to
relinquish Namibia. At the end of 1988, it was still not
known who was responsible for the September 1987 bombing which
destroyed a Roman Catholic church in northern Namibia.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
A dusk-to-dawn curfew remained in the entire operational area
of northern Namibia. The security forces said in August that
they would lift the curfew on October 1 if there were no
incidents in September involving SWAPO insurgents. The offer
had been made in conjunction with the pullout of South African
troops from Angola and a cessation of hostilities in the
area. The SADF did not lift the curfew in October, claiming
continued SWAPO guerrilla activity in northern Namibia.
Meanwhile, a court challenge by three Namibian churchmen to
have the curfew declared illegal was still pending before the
Bloemfontein Appeals Court, which reserved judgment on the
appeal in September.
South Africa, through the Administrator General in Windhoek,
controls foreign travel by Namibians. There continued to be
cases where political opponents of the TG were either denied
passports or travel documents. In one such case, several
Namibians were denied passports or travel documents to attend
a March conference of West European Parliamentarians in which
SWAPO and African National Congress officials participated.
An African Methodist minister. Reverend Kauraera, who
previously had been denied travel documents, was eventually
granted permission to attend a conference in the United
States. The authorities granted passports or travel documents
to most of the people who attended a conference with SWAPO in
Lusaka in October, but two people. Dr. Zephania Kameeta and
union official Jerry Ekandjo, were denied documents. Those
denied passports or travel documents cannot appeal through the
courts
.
There were no known deportations under the Residence of
Certain Persons in South West Africa Regulation Act, which
allows for the deportation of non-Namibians who threaten the
public order. A German-born Windhoek businessman, Ulrich
Eins, who has lived most of his life in Namibia, challenged
the Act in court as unconstitutional. Eins won his case in
Windhoek, but the decision was effectively overturned by the
Bloemfontein Appeals Court.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Namibians did not in 1988 have the right to change their
government. South Africa maintained control over the
territory, and the Administrator General represented the South
African Government in Windhoek. While the TG in theory
controlled most government portfolios, except for defense and
foreign affairs, the South African Government still maintained
ultimate authority over the TG, which it created.
The TG and the National Assembly were appointed, not elected,
bodies. Namibia was administered by a three-tiered structure,
created in 1980 under a decree known as "AG-8," which provided
for a central legislative body (the National Assembly), 11
ethnic-based second-tier authorities, and local or municipal
authorities. Only some of the second-tier legislatures were
elected. Several parties in the TG are particularly adamant
about preserving "group rights," and they continued to press
for ethnic elections. However, no elections were held.
Although the UNSCR 435 calls for elections before the drafting
of a constitution, the South African President in 1987 created
a Constitutional Council containing members of the TG to
devise a constitution. The TG never reached a consensus on a
draft constitution, and offered two opposing drafts to the
South African Government. The constitutional issue was
overtaken in late 1988 by progress in the international
negotiations. The South African Government and the TG then
focused on a set of constitutional principles drafted by five
Western powers in 1982 and accepted at that time by all
parties to the Namibian dispute. The TG wants to have a
constitutional conference with SWAPO before the U.N.
elections; such a conference is not part of the U.N. plan.
Women play a minor role in Namibian politics. There are
female local government officials and members of the National
Assembly, but there are no female cabinet members.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The Administrator General and the TG extend minimum
cooperation to various groups investigating the human rights
situation in Namibia. Namibian authorities denied a visa to
Reverend John Evenson, Director of the Namibian Communications
Centre in London. Although the Communications Centre
publishes material on alleged human rights abuses. Reverend
Evenson was traveling to Namibia to attend a conference
organized by the Namibian Peace Plan Group to express support
for UNSCR 435. Evenson reportedly was accused by Namibian
authorities of "poisoning the minds of people overseas."
Others investigating the human rights situation were allowed
into the country, however. As far as is known, the Government
did not respond to AI ' s 1987 special report on torture and
ill-treatment of prisoners.
A Human Rights Center was established at Ongwediva in
Ovamboland in July. The Center offers legal advice and access
to lawyers through its headquarters in Windhoek. Two employees
of the Ongwediva Center were detained for 2 days in August
while investigating the case of seven people detained without
trial and three alleged killings by security forces. Neither
the two human rights workers nor the seven others were charged.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status
All Namibians fflust hold identification documents under the
Identification of Persons Act of 1979. Race and ethnic groups
are included in code on the document. Under decree AG-8,
Namibia maintains nine functioning ethnic or second-tier
authorities. The population is divided into the following
racial and ethnic groups present in the territory: Ovambo,
whites, Damara, Herero, Kavango, Nama, colored (mixed race),
Kaokovelder, Bushmen, Rehoboth Easter, Caprivian, and Tswana
.
Namibia's population in 1988 was estimated at 1.3 million, of
whom just over half are Ovambo. There are approximately
80,000 whites.
Although there is some sharing of government revenues among
all the groups, much of the tax revenue collected from members
of a particular ethnic groups stays with that group. As a
result, white medical and educational facilities are superior
to those of the other groups. For example, the white second
tier authority, representing about 6 percent of the total
population, had a budget of about $22 million, while the
Ovambo authority, representing almost 50 percent of the
population, had a budget of only about $330,000 in 1988.
The Windhoek Supreme Court issued an advisory opinion in March
that AG-8 violated the TO ' s own Bill of Fundamental Rights
largely because of discrimination in funding based on color or
ethnic classification. The Bill of Rights prohibits such
discrimination. However, the opinion was merely advisory, and
the TG parties remained divided and thus undecided on what to
do about AG-8.
Social facilities are generally open to all races, although
private businesses can, and in a relatively few cases, do
restrict admittance based on race. Unlike South Africa,
residential areas are not legally segregated. Economic
factors do, however, separate townships in the territory.
Some hospitals, such as the State Hospital in Windhoek, admit
all patients but have separate wings for different races.
Although the majority of the TG is in favor of opening the
schools to all races, the TG has not desegregated schools.
Parents must register their children in school according to
race and ethnic group. The Nama opposed the opening of a
private nonracial school in southern Namibia, apparently
because of political disagreement with the school's sponsor.
The white South West African National Party and the "colored"
Rehoboth Basters, two TG parties, continued their opposition
to open schools and a loosening of the various ethnic groups'
control over what is generally known as "own affairs." The
South African Government has consistently expressed support
for group rights and "own affairs," both in Namibia and the
Republic
.
Women still experience unequal treatment in both the
traditional and modern sectors, particularly with regard to
financial and legal matters. Under traditional practice, a
woman is not independent; she is usually the ward of her
father or, when married, her husband. There is still some de
facto discrimination in employment in the modern sector. Some
community groups--and government bodies--are targeting women
in their development programs. Among these are the Council of
Churches' Namibian Women's Voice, the Women of Namibia, and
the Namibian Womens Organization in Ovamboland.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The legal right to associate in labor unions, long enjoyed by
white and colored workers in Namibia, was extended to black
workers in July 1978. During the past 2 years, black union
membership has grown markedly, similar to recent black union
development in South Africa. Unions have been created in new
industries, including transport and public workers. Union
officials in 1988 claimed a membership of at least 50,000
members in all the unions out of a work force of at least
220,000. The majority of workers in the largest single
private sector of the economy, mining, are unionized.
Namibian workers have and exercise the right to strike.
As in South Africa, the labor and political situations are not
separated, and most of the unions are sympathetic toward
SWAPO; many union leaders are also SWAPO officials. These
unions organized a stayaway in June to demand the removal of
military bases from the vicinity of schools in northern
Namibia and the release of detainees without trial. The
stayaway closed down the country's largest employer, a diamond
mine; and participation ranged from zero to 70 percent in
Windhoek and reportedly from 75 to 100 percent in a few other
towns. However, the unions' demands were not met. Most
companies adopted a "no work, no pay" stance towards their
workers, but several companies, particularly smaller ones,
fired workers for staying away. At the end of 1988, the
unions were seeking their reinstatement. The police detained
one trade unionist for a few weeks under security legislation
as a result of the stayaway, but he was not charged.
Unions are allowed to publicize their views. Namibia
recognizes the May Day holiday, and a large rally was held
May 1. However, the 1988 Protection of the Bill of
Fundamental Rights Act seeks to restrict the advocacy and
organization of work stayaways and boycotts. The law is being
tested in the Windhoek Supreme Court to see if it actually
violates the freedoms protected by the 1985 Bill of
Fundamental Rights.
Namibian unions participate in the meetings of the
International Labor Organization, to which Namibia has
belonged since 1978, and are free to affiliate with
international trade union bodies. There is also a banned
union group, the National Union of Namibian Workers, which
operates in exile out of Angola and is affiliated to the
Organization of African Trade Union Unity and to the
Communist-controlled World Federation of Trade Unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The right of collective bargaining without the intervention of
a government agency was recognized by the Namibian Supreme
Court in February 1985. A government policy statement the
following year endorsed the principle of "tripartism" and
pledged to promote industrial self-government by employers and
employees. Since then, there have been continuing efforts to
develop a workable system. The commission created to revamp
Namibia's outdated labor laws continued its deliberations in
1988 and was expected to issue some of its proposals early in
1989. The commission—headed by the man who oversaw the
drafting of South Africa's important labor legislation of
1979, Nic Wiehahn--is expected to devise a system of
industrial courts as in South Africa, but the Namibian
proposals will not be exactly the same as those existing in
South Africa.
Namibia presently has a system of conciliation boards. Under
the system, employees or employers must apply to the TG
Cabinet to have a board appointed under the Wage and
Industrial Council Ordinance. The board's decisions are
binding on both sides of a dispute.
A major labor issue has been the recognition of unions by
individual companies and the unions' subsequent registration
with the TG . Existing labor law prohibits general unions,
i.e., one union representing workers in more than one
industry. Although unregistered unions can bargain with their
employers if they are recognized by management, they do not
have access to conciliation boards. Disputes have arisen,
usually along political lines, as to which of two competing
unions represented the majority of workers at a particular
company. Important recognition and work condition agreements
were reached with large employers in the mining and food
processing industries in 1988.
Labor legislation applies uniformly throughout the country.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced labor is prohibited in law, and there are no reports of
its practice in Namibia.
d. Mimimum Age for Employment of Children
As in South Africa, the minimum working age in most industries
in Namibia is 15. However, children below the age of 15 often
work on family farms.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is no statutory minimum wage in Namibia. Several of the
unions adopted "a living wage" as the theme of most of their
activity during 1988. Mandated occupational health standards
are similar to those in South Africa. Improved safety
conditions were part of union demands in 1988, particularly in
the mining industry, and some individual agreements have been
reached. Namibia also has legislation mandating leave
(including maternity leave) and overtime standards
