Germany has signed an agreement with Namibia to make amends for colonial crimes. The African country now wants to supplement this. The joint declaration would recognize the genocide historically, but not in the sense of international law, it is said.
The Namibian government has called on Germany to renegotiate a reconciliation agreement negotiated in 2021 on German atrocities during the colonial era. Vice President Nangolo Mbumba said the demand had already been raised in July. Nothing was initially known about the content of the requested renegotiations.
“Technical committees” from Namibia and Germany have looked at the issue and suggested that an amendment should be added to the joint statement. This had been sent to the German government, said Mbumba in Windhoek. Namibia is now waiting for an answer from the German side. Today’s Namibia was a German colony from 1884 to 1915. Between 1904 and 1908, under German colonial rule, tens of thousands of Herero and Nama were killed by troops from the German Empire.
In May last year, Germany and Namibia announced that they had reached a reconciliation agreement. It provides for development and reconstruction aid amounting to 1.1 billion euros over 30 years as compensation for German colonial crimes in today’s Namibia. In the agreement, the German crimes against the Herero and Nama ethnic groups are recognized as “genocide” in the historical sense, but not in the sense of international law.
This means that no legal claims for reparations or compensation can be derived from the agreement. The agreement was heavily criticized by the opposition in Namibia and representatives of the Herero and Nama, among others. They complained that victims’ representatives were not involved in the negotiations with Germany and insisted on official recognition of the genocide also in the sense of international law.
