PM: Herero und Nama beschweren sich bei der UN und planen Teilnahme an Genozidkongress in Berlin

Hiermit veröffentlichen wir die aktuelle Pressemitteilung der Kanzlei McCallion&Associates, LLP, hinsichtlich der offiziellen Beschwerde der Herero- und Namaverbände beim Ständigen Forum für Indigene Angelegenheiten und beim Hochkomissar für Menschenrechte bei der UN über ihren Ausschluss aus den laufenden Regierungsverhandlungen über den Genozid 1904-08 zwischen der Bundesrepublik und Namibia.

Zudem möchten wir Sie herzlich zur Teilnahme an dem von uns gemeinsam mit den Herero-und Namaverbänden geplanten Kongress "Restorative Justice after Genocide" in Berlin, Centre de Francais, Müllerstraße 74 einladen, der am 14.10. um 14 Uhr beginnen und bis zum 15.10. um 22 Uhr tagen wird. Der Kongress wird am 16.10. ab 10:30 Uhr mit einem Solidaritätsmarsch vom Kunsthaus KuLe, Auguststraße 10 in Berlin Mitte, zum Humboldt Forum beendet werden. Am Kongress werden zahlreiche bedeutende Vertreter_innen der Opferverbände sowie mehrere traditionelle Herero- und Namaführer - darunter auch der Paramount Chief Vekuii Rukoro und Chief David Frederick - teilnehmen. Den Kongressflyer finden Sie bitte im Anhang.

For Release
September 26, 2016

THE LEADERS OF THE OVAHERERO AND NAMA INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ANNOUNCE THE FILING OF U.N. COMPLAINTS

New York, NY— September 26, 2016 — The official representatives of the Ovaherero and Nama indigenous peoples of Namibia have filed formal complaints with the UN Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, objecting to their exclusion from current negotiations between the German and Namibian governments concerning the 1904-1908 Genocide of their peoples. Ovaherero Paramount Chief Adv.Vekuii Rukoro and Chief David Frederick, Chairman of the Nama Traditional Authorities Association, representing the Ovaherero and Nama peoples of Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, the United States and elsewhere, have repeatedly petitioned the German and Namibian governments to include them in the ongoing discussions, without success.

Both Germany and Namibia are parties to the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on September 13, 2007. Without question, the Ovaherero and Nama peoples have suffered incalculable cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual losses as a result of their mistreatment at the hands of the German colonial authorities. Article 18 of the 2007 Declaration provides that “indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves …”

During the German colonial occupation period, and during the 1904-1908 Genocide, the Ovaherero and Nama indigenous people were robbed of virtually all of the rich grazing lands that provided the economic basis for their communities and cultural heritage. As a result, the Ovaherero and Nama indigenous peoples have been condemned for generations to perpetual and institutionalized poverty. Justice therefore requires that the representatives of the Ovaherero and Nama peoples be included in the negotiations with Germany. The Namibian government does not represent the interests of these indigenous minority communities in Namibia, and most certainly cannot represent the tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama peoples who live in Botswana, South Africa, the United States and many other countries around the globe.

These leaders, therefore, request that the U.N. intervene on behalf of the Ovaherero and Nama peoples to assure that their minority, indigenous and human rights are properly protected, and that their claims against Germany relating to the 1904-1908 Genocide not be compromised or settled without their participation or permission.

Copies of the complaint letters follow.

For more information, press only:

Kenneth F. McCallion
McCallion & Associates, LLP
Phone: 646-366-0884
Fax 646-366-1384
Email: kfm(at)mccallionlaw.com

PM: Herero und Nama beschweren sich bei der UN und planen Teilnahme an Genozidkongress in Berlin

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