Says all Namibians have human rights
Zorena Jantze
The Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab, in Parliament this week, shut down conversations around the new Ombudsman Bill in relation to international funding and the protection of human rights concerning members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer (LGBTQ) community, adding that this conversation would not be entertained as all Namibians have rights.
“I don’t want to go into the details of people’s individual interpretations of what human rights are, guided by their own prejudices to say what human rights are. What I can say, regardless of what our interpretation is, first in this country, as Namibians, we are all humans; it does not matter what our race is or what our choices in life are. If this august House is talking about the protection of human rights, it means all Namibians, regardless of where they find themselves. I really don’t want to go into that homosexual debate; I am not interested in that debate. It dilutes the essence of what this House is about when we are so focused on people’s private lives,” Dausab said.
The Minister made these remarks in relation to questions posed by SWAPO parliamentary backbenchers, Tjekero Tweya and Veikko Nekundi, who expressed concerns that the new Ombudsman bill could support the homosexuality agenda through various international instruments and international funding from foreign countries.
“I made it clear that I appreciate what these international instruments are. Section 7 of the Bill refers to international instruments and touches on homosexuality. Section 7/D of the bill says to review the adequacy and effectiveness of laws and practices in Namibia, relating to the protection of human rights, and compliance with international human rights instruments. What are these instruments? Once bitten, twice shy. Our constitution did not support homosexuality. The Supreme Court surprised all of us. We cannot pass a bill without knowing certainly what those international instruments are?” Nekundi questioned.
Tweya also reiterated these sentiments and said, “Somebody outside the country gives money to that office and says, ‘This is how we define human rights; here is a billion dollars to administer those human rights.’ We should not subject human rights to anyone because they have money,” Tweya said.
Dausab, however, shut these questions down and said that international funding is a broader debate that should be discussed outside the new Ombudsman Bill, and that insinuations that the bill promotes homosexuality will not be entertained.
The Minister added that Namibia has a plethora of international laws ratified since 1990 and advised Tweya to read up on some of the papers she has written with regard to how international agreements apply to domestic laws. She also added that there are institutions that review laws in Namibia, which can assess how the country can exit international laws it has signed, which may not be in the best interest of Namibians.
“What we are saying is we don’t trust anyone outside ourselves. We don’t trust that the Chief Justice or Ombudsman will take decisions that are good for the country. This shows a mistrust of our own institutions. The language we use to denigrate other Namibians, firstly, and secondly, not to trust important institutions, I think that is not okay. We have passed laws in this Parliament with similar language. What we should be saying is: Let’s have a bigger conversation about foreign funding, and not suggest that the Ombudsman Bill has ulterior motives. I want protection, Honourable Speaker, because I will not allow any more conversations in the Ombudsman Bill about homosexuality,” Dausab said.
