Namibia

February 2017: Meeting with GVA mission. Very pleasant but quick meeting. They don’t currently have anyone in the mission covering human rights issues, which is why I got to meet with the ambassador. I pointed out Namibia’s recent decision to make secondary education free for all as a sign that her government was committed to ensuring the right to education for all, and she seemed suitably pleased. She was also interested in which other countries had signed on: glad to see that Zambia, a peaceful neighboring country had signed on for instance. “Nobody wants to be the first to sign on,” she said. “And nobody wants to be the last,” I added. She agreed. And was glad to hear that the AU had called for its support. Promised to pass things on positively, and they had seen the invitation already. May 2017: Human Rights Watch (Helen) published an op ed calling on Namibia to endorse the Declaration.

February 2018: In advance of the End Violence Solutions Summit in Stockholm on 14-15 February, GCPEA issued letter to Namibia, highlighting the Declaration and calling for endorsement.

June 2018: Gisela met with Ms. Linda Scott, Deputy Permanent Representative, who was extremely interested and positive. She was especially interested in implementation in Nigeria, and the level of endorsement by the South African Development Community (SADC), more so than the African Union more broadly. She shared details of Namibia’s experience in protecting children’s access to education in the late 1970s, when they relocated children to Cuba, East Germany, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria so they could continue their education. She spoke about Namibia’s role in bringing the concept of the girl child from the grassroots to the international level, following consultations with communities and civil society across the country. She also spoke about the negative impact of the use of military teachers and conscription on children and young people. Also interested in the link with the SDGs. Gisela followed up in writing, sharing a letter for the Foreign Minister and received a friendly reply stating that she would share the information with capital and “encourage full support”. I also advised her of Norway’s 6 July deadline for endorsement but she replied that this was too quick, and that she was still awaiting a response to her report from capital.

July 2018: a letter from the GCPEA Director, Ms. Diya Nijhowne, addressed to your Minister H.E. Mrs. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. Gisela let them know about the opportunity to announce endorsement at the UNSC Open Debate CAAC.

July 2018: UNSC Open Debate on children and armed conflict. 1) Co-sponsored resolution 2427 (2018). 2) joined the statement of Canada on behalf of the GoF which mentioned the Safe Schools Declaration.

August 2018: Sent an email to the mission in Geneva requesting for a meeting. Received an answer but could not schedule a meeting.

September 2018: Ahead of the UN WPS open debate, GCPEA a letter addressed to Foreign Minister sent to the Mission in New York. The letter encourages the government to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration and advocate for continued access to quality, conflict-sensitive education for women and girls.

October 2018: UN WPS open debate advocacy in New York: Catch-up meeting with the Third Committee and Election Officer, following meeting with DPR in June. Namibia is currently the chair of the Southern African Development Community. Namibia prioritises the issue of violence against women and works closely with the Special Rapporteur. She welcomed the argument that attacks on education can have a detrimental impact on women’s participation in political and civic life. She was very interested by the gender recommendations and promised to share them with capital. Namibia is on the troika of the WPS Focal Point Network with Germany and Spain. They will host a meeting on women, peace and security in their capital in April 2019 aimed at issuing a renewed call to Member States to implement the 1325 agenda. This will include several panel discussions. Attacks on education could be a topic of interest. Follow-up: Letter for Foreign Minister and gender recommendations sent by email. GCPEA will encourage Germany, Norway, and Spain to reach out in New York.

February 2019: GCPEA met with the new Ambassador of Namibia and the Deputy Permanent Representative. GCPEA provided a general overview of the Declaration and the Guidelines and encouraged their attendance at the Spain conference. The Ambassador highlighted that Namibia has a “passion for safety of children and that all children across the world should enjoy a safe and quality education”. He asked if the champions, Norway and Argentina, will invite Namibia to join the Safe Schools Declaration. GCPEA shared that the governments of Spain, Argentina, and Norway will issue a joint démarche encouraging non-endorsing states to sign the Declaration. Follow-up: GCPEA followed up in writing, sharing a letter for the Foreign Minister.

October 2019: Namibia elected as member for the Human Rights Council for the term 2020-2022.

Oct 2020: GCPEA (Nevena) met with the Deputy Permanent Representative in the New York Mission. She responded positively to our arguments and expressed personal support in encouraging her government to endorse the Declaration. She promised to recommend to her capital that Namibia announces endorsement at the upcoming WPS debate.

October 2021: Namibia co-sponsored UNSC resolution 2601 (2021), the first thematic resolution on the protection of education in armed conflict and to mention the SSD (preamble).