Eba Kandovazu
THE parents of twin babies, Paula and Maya, have approached the High Court in Windhoek to seek an order that will compel the Namibian Government to grant the newborn pair citizenship.
Guillermo Delgado was accompanied by his father when they arrived at the Windhoek High Court this morning, while his Namibian husband, Phillip Lühl, is currently still stuck in Durban, South Africa, with their twins that were born this month via surrogacy.
The surrogate mother carried Paula and Maya Delgado Lühl to term and gave birth on 13 March 2021 in Durban.
The parents of the twin girls approached the High court after the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security refused to issue travel documents to the twins to enter Namibia, as the country does not recognise same-sex marriages nor surrogacy.
According to the Delgado Lühl couple, the ministry disregarded a birth certificate regularly issued by South African authorities identifying them as the rightful parents of the twins and their two-year-old son.
By refusing to issue travel documents to the twins, the couple further argues, the Namibian Government has rendered the newborns as de facto stateless persons.
The urgent application to the Windhoek High Court was filed arguing that the Minister is contravening Namibian Constitutional protection of children and the right to family, the UN Charter of the Rights of the Child, the African Children’s Charter and international laws.
Meanwhile, close to 100 people gathered today at the National Museum of Namibia to protest for equal rights of the Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual Transgender and Queer+ (LGBTQ+) community.
The march, which took place from the home affairs ministry to the national museum, was to show solidarity to the Delgado Lühl couple and their legal fight to have their family together.
Advocacy and communications officer for LGBTI non-governmental organization, Out-Right Namibia; Ndiilo Nthengwe said that the protest is not only to force government to grant the newborn twins travel documents and citizenship, but to address the systemic and continued oppression against a group of marginalized people.
According to Nthengwe, laws exclude the LGBTQ+ community from the right to dignity, a right to family and a right to life.
“We are looking at fighting an oppressive legal system, today is the start, however, this has been going on for years. We are here to show solidarity,” Nthengwe said.
Lühl, speaking from Durban, said: “I want my babies to meet their father and their brother ASAP! We can no longer pretend that LGBTQ+ Namibians are not harassed, abused and unable to seek protection of the law. Inequality is a colonial remnant, and it has to go.”
In a petition signed by over 2800 people, the Namibia Equal Rights Movement stated that the Namibian Constitution protects all Namibians from discrimination (Article 10) and states that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State (Article 14).
In their petition, the movement demands that the Minister of Home Affairs, Frans Kapofi rescind his decision and grant Yona, Maya and Paula their rights to Namibian citizenship by decent and allow Paula and Maya to come home and the family to be reunited.
It further reads that with absent evidence of fraud, the birth certificates validly issued by other countries should be recognized without discrimination on the basis of the sexual orientation of the parents, in terms of the principles of international reciprocity and to respect and protect the rights to family life and the best interests of the child.
The movement also pleaded that Ombudsman, Adv. John Walters intervene and investigate the best interests of children born to Namibian citizens in other countries and unfair discrimination against same-sex couples which violates the most recent National Human Rights Action Plan.
