Legal Assistance Centre

The Legal Assistance Centre is a human rights organization in Windhoek, Namibia.[1] The organization was established in 1988 during the apartheid era to litigate on behalf of people who were oppressed by the government [2] and continues to operate today.

According to the newspaper The Namibian, the lawyers and paralegals who opened the centre "were immediately flooded with cases from people complaining about human rights abuses" and hundreds of court cases were launched against the apartheid South African government.[3][4]

The centre continues to conduct public interest litigation[5] and expanded its mandate to incorporate public human rights education,[6] research, law reform and free legal advice.[5] Its work is guided by a board of directors.

Since Namibia's independence, the organization's areas of focus have included:

History

The history of the Legal Assistance Centre is embedded in Namibia's struggle to end South Africa's apartheid occupation and brutal rule of the country. In the 1980s, the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) was making progress in their fight for an independent state. However, human right violations and the use of apartheid era law continued to justify inhumane, degrading and discriminatory practices.[2]

On the legal front, lawyer Dave Smuts began pursuing public interest cases against the apartheid government. In 1987, Dave Smuts worked with churches in northern Namibia to successfully challenge the detainment of a group who had been held in prison without trial for several years. They were successful and together Smuts and church leaders began helping people obtain legal aid and spread information about laws.[2]

In July 1988, the Legal Assistance Centre was officially opened in Ongwediva in northern Namibia by Dave Smuts and a group of lawyers and paralegals. The Legal Assistance Centre's founding was based on the principle of taking public interest legal cases to court and providing free services to clients.[2] Additional offices were set up in Windhoek, Tsumeb, Walvis Bay and Rundu.

Nearly 500 cases were handled by the organization in its first hear of operation, the vast majority involving human rights abuses (assault, rape, detention) perpetrated by security forces. Labour cases (unfair dismissal, non payment of wages, workmen's compensation claims) were also brought to court in the Centre's first year.[2]

Notable cases

The Legal Assistance Centre has initiated a number of civil cases seeking injunctive relief and monetary awards on behalf of its clients. The Legal Assistance has also filed suits related to the conditions of incarceration for adults and children.

Sterilization of HIV positive women

The Legal Assistance Centre represented HIV positive women who were sterilized while at a state hospital. The women claimed the sterilization occurred without their informed consent by doctors employed at state hospitals. In 2012, LM&MI&NH versus the government of the Republic of Namibia, the women won their case at the High Court and awarded the women 1.2 million Namibian dollars in damages.[17] The ruling was appealed to the Namibian Supreme Court, which held the High Court ruling.[18]

References
  1. Guide to Civil Society in Namibia (PDF). Windhoek: Namibian Institute for Democracy. 2009. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-999-16-860-9-7.
  2. Welch, Claude E., Jr. (1995). Protecting Human Rights in Africa: Roles and Strategies of Nongovernmental Organizations. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812217803. namibia legal assistance.
  3. Tjombe, Norman (2004-07-12). "The LAC: 16 years of promoting human rights". The Namibian. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  4. "The Status of Human Rights Organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa Namibia". University of Minnesota, Human Rights Library.
  5. Horn, Nico; Bösl, Anton (2008). The Independence of the Judiciary in Namibia. Konrad Adenauer Foundation. pp. 197–198. ISBN 978-99916-0-807-5.
  6. University of Namibia Human Rights and Documentation Centre; Unesco; United Nations Information Centre (Windhoek Namibia); Unesco Social Sciences Programme in Southern Africa (1995). Human rights education and advocacy in Namibia in the 1990s: a tapestry of perspectives : a collection of papers submitted at a Workshop on Education, Training, and Information Concerning Human Rights in Namibia, held in Windhoek, Namibia, 12 to 13 May 1993. New Namibia Books. ISBN 9789991631394.
  7. Nakuta, John (2011). The Justice Sector and the Rule of Law in Namibia. Namibia Institute for Democracy. pp. 12, 14, 47. ISBN 978 - 99916 - 865 - 6 - 1.
  8. Bradley, M.T. (2005). "Civil society, emigration and democracy in Africa: an alternative proposition". The Western Journal of Black Studies. 29 (9): 540+.
  9. Nashuuta, Lahja (2018-02-21). "Namibia: LAC Marks 25 Years of Advocating Women and Children's Rights". New Era (Windhoek). Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  10. LaFont, Suzanne; Hubbard, Dianne (2007). Unravelling Taboos: Gender and Sexuality in Namibia. Gender Research & Advocacy Project, Legal Assistance Centre. ISBN 9789994561230.
  11. Dumba, Linda (October 2010). "Namibia: litigating the cases of sterilization without informed consent of HIV-positive women". HIV/AIDS Policy & Law Review. 15 (1): 50–51. ISSN 1712-624X. PMID 21413628.
  12. "Land is Life, Conservancy is Life.": The San and the N‡a Jaqna Conservancy, Tsumkwe District West, Namibia. Basler Afrika Bibliographien. 2018-08-02. ISBN 9783906927022.
  13. Bukurura, S.H. (2002). "Emerging Trends in the Protection of Prisoners' Rights in Southern Africa". African Human Rights Journal. 2 (1): 92–109.
  14. Falk, T.; Kirk, M.; Lohmann, D.; Kruger, B.; Hüttich, C.; Kamukuenjandje, R. (2017). "The profits of excludability and transferability in redistributive land reform in central Namibia". Development Southern Africa. 34 (3): 314–329. doi:10.1080/0376835X.2016.1269633.
  15. "Women's Property and Inheritance Rights in Namibia" (PDF). Sister Namibia. Jul 2004.
  16. Bernstein, Mary; Marshall, Anna-Maria (2009-09-01). Queer Mobilizations: LGBT Activists Confront the Law. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814791417.
  17. Mabuse, Nkepile. "Namibian women were sterilized without consent, judge rules". CNN. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  18. "Justice for Three Women Who Were Forcibly Sterilized". Open Society Foundations. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
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