Raising awareness of human rights issues in Namibia
A research group within BCU were recently selected to attend an important event at the United Nations (UN), alongside government representatives, in order to raise awareness of human rights concerns within the African country of Namibia.
Addressing serious global issues
Dr Alice Storey,听Dr Amna Nazir听补苍诲听Professor Jon Yorke听鈥� all part of BCU鈥檚听Centre for Human Rights听鈥� regularly engage with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which reviews human rights concerns and violations in every country.
As part of听The UPR Project at BCU, Alice and the team are working on a range of challenges, including abolishing the death penalty, Islamophobia, climate change and women鈥檚 rights.
On Friday 26 March 2021, the UPR Project served as a panellist for Namibia鈥檚 UPR pre-session, based upon a report the team submitted regarding the rights of women and girls living with HIV in the country.
Alice, who gave the talk at the pre-session, says this issue is of great importance in the country.
鈥淲omen and girls make up 60 percent of those infected with HIV in Namibia, and while the government has made significant progress in tackling the epidemic, women and girls are still facing stigmatisation,鈥� she says.
鈥淭his has led to women being afraid of seeking out testing for HIV and ultimately not receiving antiretroviral treatment. As such, this serious issue must be addressed.鈥�
Informing government officials
Alice鈥檚 attendance at the UPR pre-session enabled her to inform global government delegations about this serious issue, and to encourage them to make recommendations on this issue at Namibia鈥檚 UPR in May.
Furthermore, Alice has been in communication with numerous government representatives on this issue.
Alice鈥檚 talk proved positive - during the session, a representative from Namibia鈥檚 Ministry of Justice invited Alice and the panellists to engage in a consultation with the Namibian government.
鈥淭his will see me working with the government to try to implement strategies to tackle stigmatisation of women and girls with HIV. The initial consultation will take place over the next month, prior to Namibia鈥檚 UPR in May,鈥� Alice reveals.
Priority action
Alice believes that in order for Namibia to conquer this concern, it needs the full support of the UN.
鈥淣amibia is not alone in needing to tackle gender equality, but it鈥檚 vital that as a starting point this issue is discussed during Namibia鈥檚 UPR in May,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his will encourage the Namibian government to put the stigmatisation of women with HIV as a priority action.鈥�
More information, including the statement presented at the pre-UPR session, can be found on听The UPR Project 鈥� Namibia page.
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