A/HRC/17/14 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, held its tenth session from 24 January to 4 February 2011. The review of Namibia was held at the 12th meeting on 31 January 2011. The delegation of Namibia was headed by Hon. Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, MP, Minister of Justice. At its 16th meeting held on 2 February 2011, the Working Group adopted the report on Namibia. 2. On 21 June 2010, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Namibia: Pakistan, Brazil and Mauritius. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to resolution 5/1, the following documents were issued for the review of Namibia: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/10/NAM/1) and (A/HRC/WG.6/10/NAM/1/Corr.1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/10/NAM/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/10/NAM/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom was transmitted to Namibia through the troika. These questions are available on the extranet of the UPR. I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. Namibia welcomed the opportunity of participating in the review process to provide an overview of its human rights landscape. 6. Namibia noted that it had become independent only in 1990, after more than 100 years of oppressive apartheid rule, and that its history had been characterized by widespread human rights violations and brutal repression. At independence, Namibia had put in place a framework to promote and protect human rights. Chapter 3 of the Constitution protected most of the human rights referred to in the various international human rights instruments. 7. To repeal past discriminatory laws, the Government established the Law Reform and Development Commission (LRDC) in 1991 to review such laws with a view to enacting progressive legislation. Both the higher courts and the LRDC have made important contributions to reform Namibia’s pre-independence legislation and policies. 8. The Constitution established the Office of the Ombudsman with a specific mandate to investigate alleged violations of human rights and recommend remedial action. 9. Namibia ratified the core international human rights instruments, which are directly applicable in the national legal order. The Government submitted various reports in line with its international treaty obligations and intends to submit those that were still outstanding. The Ministry of Justice has put in place the necessary measures to address this backlog, but capacity-building remained a challenge. 3