Minimum Legal Standards in Reparation Processes for Colonial Crimes: The Case of Namibia and Germany

Abstract

In 2021, the German and Namibian governments published a Joint Declaration as a result of their negotiations on reparations. Ovaherero and Nama representatives strongly criticized the violation of their participation rights during the negotiations and the reproduction of colonial racism. In 2023, a lawsuit was filed with the Namibian High Court. This litigation could become a milestone in the history of legal struggles for reparations for colonial crimes worldwide. In addition to the litigation, several United Nations Special Rapporteurs were contacted and published their joint communication in April 2023, essentially confirming the lack of effective participation and the obligation to grant reparations.

Keywords

• Reparations
• Colonialism
• Intertemporal Law
• Decolonization
• Namibia
• Germany