Prof Durojaye joins the African Commission’s HIV Committee visit to Namibia

The Dullah Omar Institute’s Prof Ebenezer Durojaye was part of the delegation making the HIV Committee of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights that recently visited Namibia from 24 to 29 April 2017. The Committee focuses on the Protection of the Rights of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS, Persons at Risk, Vulnerable to and Affected by the HIV / AIDS.

The visit was carried out in line with the mandate of the Committee, which states that it shall: request, receive, analyse and respond to reliable information on the status of the rights of people living with HIV and persons at risk received from States Parties, individuals, community-based organizations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations; conduct fact-finding missions; call on States parties to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of people living with HIV and those at risk.

The visit afforded the Delegation an opportunity to assess the human rights situation in the context of HIV in Namibia. During the visit, the Delegation met with different stakeholders including government institutions such as departments of justice and health, Law Reform Commission, private actors, non-governmental organisations, the Law Society and United Nations agencies to get first-hand information on the extent to which a rights-based approach is applied to efforts to address the HIV pandemic in the country. The visit revealed some good practices by the Namibian government in the fight against HIV at the same time, some gaps such as lack of specific legislation to address human rights concerns in the context of HIV were identified. The mission ended with a media meeting and a press conference

The delegation consisted of:

Honorable Commissioner Soyata Maiga, Vice-Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and Chairperson of the Committee on HIV/AIDS (head of delegation);
Honorable Commissioner Lucy Asuabgor, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa and member of the Committee on HIV/AIDS;
Professor Ebenezer Durojaye, expert, member of the Committee (Head/Senior Researcher Socio-economic Rights Project Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape)
Dr Agnes Apea Atim, expert, member of the Committee
Ms Annabel Raw, partner of the Committee
Dr.Aquilnado Mandlate, partner of the Committee;

The Delegation was assisted by a legal officer from the Secretariat of the African Commission.