USAID supports efforts to improve the rule of law in Namibia through its Southern Africa regional programs.

Accomplishments

Civil Society and Media

•  Facilitated the activities of the Women’s Network Manifesto Movement, an um­brella organization representing 30 wom­en’s organizations, which drafted the first legislation submitted to Parliament from a non-executive branch source.

• Provided technical assistance, training, and grants to civic groups and community- based media organizations to improve their effectiveness in local issues advocacy.

• Supported the Namibian branch of the Me­dia Institute for Southern Africa to organize a conference on access to information in order to create demand for good gover­nance.

• Supported a series of trainings on in­vestigative journalism to enable young Namibians to develop their own stories on corruption and transparency in their communities.

• Supported establishment of the autono­mous, multi-partner Namibia Democ­racy Support Center (NDSC) to serve as a permanent body for coordinating the participation of civic organizations in the legislative process and in regional decision-making.

Human Rights

• Established a child witness protection program in Namibia with assistance from USAID’s Regional Rule of Law project, that support the legal community’s ability to promote and protect human rights and the rule of law.

• Supported the Southern African Litigation Centre, which argued before the Namibian High Court that forced sterilization of HIV-positive women in Na­mibia is a violation of the constitution.

• Provided training to the Legal Assistance Centre in Namibia on customary law ap­proaches, contributing to the successful defense of local communities from demoli­tion of their homes.

Governance and Rule of Law

• Fostered the development of Parliament through skills training and manuals for Members of Parliament (MPs) and staff on analyzing bills, reviewing the national budget and conducting research.

• Assisted Parliament in establishing func­tioning legislative review committees, which did not exist before 1996, as well as standing rules and orders to efficiently govern the business of the chamber and committees. 

• Assisted the Anti-Corruption Commission to improve investigations into cor­ruption through support for investigative techniques such as cell phone mapping. Supported the “Zero Tolerance for Corrup­tion Campaign” to help raise the profile and effectiveness of the body.

•  Assisted in providing government and civil society a blueprint for future action on corruption and governance in Namibia, through dialogue to create de­mand for improvements based on evidence-based information.