BiAS 7 – The Bible and Politics in Africa
It is “not clear whether the rights of children born out of wedlock are
protected by the Namibian Constitution. The ACHR (American Conven-
tion of Human Rights – my explanation of the abbreviation) appears to be
the only international instrument which explicitly protects illegitimate
children.” (p. 80)
The above, however, does not mean that Namibia does not have laws on
the protection of children, even though the current Children’s Act 33
stems from 1960, but currently there is a new draft bill, which was
drafted in cooperation with the Legal Assistance Centre in Windhoek.
This was done in 2009 and is currently with the Ministry for promulga-
tion. This new draft Child Care and Protection Act includes several new
proposals to be included in the law, which include, amongst others, the
following:
To change the age of majority from 21 to 18, as in many other countries,
which means that an eighteen year old person will be seen as a “major”,
that is, legally an adult.
To introduce parenting plans to protect the best interest of the child.
These plans may include agreements between parents on, for example,
where and with whom the child lives, payment of maintenance, main-
taining contact with the child, and schooling and religious upbringing of
the child.
To introduce a Children’s Ombudsman who can help in protecting the
rights and interests of children in society, and
To introduce a Child Welfare and Advisory Council, which should be a
government-appointed body with the task of promoting the rights and
interests of children in society. (Countries with such councils are, for
example, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone.)
Who is doing something?
Apart from the mentioned efforts with regard to law changes in Na-
mibia, the government has proposed several plans to curb the problem
with orphans, particularly AIDS orphans in Namibia. The problem,
though, lies in the fact that these plans have not really worked thus far.
The above-mentioned facts about Namibia illustrate that. This is further
illustrated by individual reports. Only the latest two are indicated here.
One report is on the general situation in Namibia and the second on a