Govt flip flops on UN motion

INTERNATIONAL relations minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says Namibia was not against the United Nations motion on the responsibility to protect and prevent genocide.

The motion “Responsibility to Protect and the Prevention of Genocide, War Crimes, Ethnic Cleansing, and Crimes Against Humanity”, was proposed by Ghana and Australia to be part of the General Assembly's agenda for discussions last week. About 112 countries voted in favour while 17 countries abstained from the vote. Namibia was among the 21 countries who voted against the inclusion of the motion, meant to compel countries to uphold the principles and norms that safeguard humanity. The motion is also meant to hold those who have committed crimes against humanity accountable. In a press statement issued yesterday, Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia's decision to oppose the inclusion of the motion on the General Assembly's agenda was a “procedural vote” adding that the country was not necessarily against the concept of the motion. “It was not a vote against the essence of the concept as such. It was a procedural vote,” she said. Namibia's stance comes at a time the country is demanding that Germany pays about N$400 billion in reparations for the 1904-1908 genocide against Namibians.