Marthinus Hamutenya of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Child Justice in Namibia and Stefan Schulz of Polytechnic of Namibia analyze the bill. Below is the summary of the article highlighting some of its key aspects. A PDF of the full article is also available.

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The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern about Namibia's juvenile justice system in 1994.  After that, Namibia started an Inter Ministerial Committee on Juvenile Justice (IMC).  The IMC has worked with civil society and nongovernmental groups to change the juvenile justice system in order to reduce delinquency.  In 2003, a draft Juvenile Justice Bill was prepared for potential presentation to the National Assembly. 

The Bill contains legal provisions that reform the present system based on principles of 'peacemaking' and 'reconciliation'.  It revives a presumption that a child under ten years of age cannot legally be prosecuted for an offense.  Police are to use cautioning methods, and only arrest if necessary to prevent continued offending.  In custody, children must be kept separate from adult detainees and those of the opposite sex.  Diversion procedures are given a stronger role than in the previous system.  The Bill also calls for specialized Child Justice Courts, with personnel specifically trained for youth matters.  The sentencing provisions emphasize accountability and reparation for the harm caused, individualized responses, and successful reintegration to family and community, with avoidance of detention in most cases. 

The Child Justice Bill represents a paradigm shift for Namibia in its approach to young offenders.  The Bill make provisions for restorative programs such as Life Skills Programs, Community Service, Victim Offender Mediation, and Family Group Conferences.  Admittedly, the diversion methods remain under the Prosecutor General's discretion.  However, even for convicted youth offenders, the sentencing requirements emphasize restorative values of responsibility and reintegration.

The in-depth analysis is available in PDF.

June 2004