Human rights situation improved, says report

The civil and political rights of citizens "improved remarkably" in the past twelve months, but economic, environmental and social rights deteriorated, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) said in its annual report. This year the Namibia Annual Human Rights Report focused more on developmental issues than on human rights violations, which had decreased, it noted. "There were less incidents of civil and political rights violations. Incidents of hate expression, name-calling ... also decreased exponentially towards the end of 2004," the report commented. Similarly, discrimination and the abuse of fundamental freedoms were also lower. Only five cases of torture and inhuman treatment were monitored in the period under review, from July 2004 to July 2005. Two cases involved the police, who were accused of torturing suspects, while two incidents of corporal punishment by schoolteachers were recorded. Corporal punishment in schools is prohibited by law. "Gross income disparities, soaring rates of unemployment, internal migration and urbanisation, indebtedness, crime and a crisis [in the] educational system signal a gradual and steady [erosion] of Namibia's social structures," said NSHR executive director Phil ya Nangoloh. "Altogether 85,650 criminals cases were reported to the Namibian police, 2,275 more than the year before," the NSHR observed. The report pointed out that seventy-five percent of the rural population lived in poverty and were deprived of basic human rights, such as the right to education, proper healthcare and work. Ya Nangoloh said the education system was inadequate and not meeting the country's development needs. "We have established that school dropouts at secondary school [level] was some 50 percent," he noted, adding that the majority of teenagers dropping out of school were girls. Corruption in government and state-owned enterprises was rising, the report observed, citing recent cases where public inquiries were being conducted in government agencies after public funds had been squandered and kick-backs received for investment deals. "The government's Offshore Development Company (ODC) is now looking for Namibian $100 million invested by a company in Botswana and the money has disappeared", Ya Nangoloh noted, adding that the proposed establishment of an anticorruption commission was a step in the right direction. Among other recommendations, the report said classes in human rights and the country's constitution should be introduced at schools. It also suggested that the existing Electoral Commission, which was severely criticised for inefficiency and being closely linked to the ruling SWAPO party, be transformed into a "genuinely independent" and impartial body.