Despite Namibia taking several progressive measures to promote and protect human rights, the country continues to enforce repressive laws that infringe on the rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, commercial sex workers and other vulnerable groups.
LGBTQ communities in Namibia and those defending their rights remain targeted, suffering various forms of discrimination, stigmatisation and violence. It is time for the Namibian government to take action and decriminalise same-sex sexual relations, revise laws discriminating against, and take measures to address violence in, LGBT communities.
ISHR and Namibia Diverse Women’s Association – a Namibian NGO focused on defending the human rights of LBT persons – have convened online workshops to identify strategies to strengthen the protection of LGBTI and gender diverse persons in the country. These workshops build on a series of national workshops on engaging with UN mechanisms in Liberia in 2019 and Jamaica in 2018.
“We carry out the universal responsibility to insure that all people are protected” affirms Linda RM Baumann in her interview with ISHR. Linda is a strategic coordinator for Namibia’s Diverse Women Association (NDWA) and she advocates for LBT’s women rights.
ISHR's flagship Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme begins on Monday 11 June, with 14 inspiring human rights defenders from around the globe travelling to Geneva to learn about strategic engagement with the UN mechanisms for even greater impact on the ground.
Jacobus Witbooi from Namibia champions LGBTIQ rights and sexual health education, impacting national policies and fostering support for sexual orientation and gender identity rights in Africa.
A coalition of over 40 leading non-governmental organisations has today called for States that are candidates for membership to the UN Human Rights Council to do more to respect human rights at home and at the international level.
