Protecting the Rights of Namibia's Children
Revising the Child Care and Protection Bill
In 2009, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare will be revising the Child Care and Protection Bill.

The Bill, first drafted in 1994 and revised several times since then, is a vital piece of legislation intended to replace the outdated Children’s Act 33 of 1960. Law reform in this area is essential if children in Namibia are to receive the care and protection they so desperately need.

The Bill addresses a number of key areas including children’s courts, early intervention services, procedures for removing endangered children from the home, foster care, adoption, child trafficking, child‐headed households and many more issues. In all of these areas, there is a critical need to ensure that the rights of children in Namibia are protected and upheld.

To ensure that the Bill is in the best possible form before being tabled in Parliament at the end of 2009, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare will be running a multi‐faceted multi‐media project to consult with stakeholders and the public on the Bill’s contents.

The objectives of this process are as follows:

a) to refine the Bill, which is still in rough draft form, so as to ensure its appropriateness to the Namibian situation;

b) to draw on the experience of other African countries with recent law reforms on similar issues, particularly South Africa which shares a common legal history with Namibia on children’s rights;

c) to raise the level of public awareness of the forthcoming law and provide opportunities for public input, which will advance overall awareness and
understanding of children’s rights in Namibia; and

d) to consult service providers and other stakeholders on various thematic topics covered in the draft law, to ensure that the proposals for law reform are appropriate and feasible to implement in practice.

The Legal Assistance Centre will be providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare throughout this process. The project is supported by UNICEF and guided by a Technical Working Group which meets regularly.

Learn More about what's included in this Bill in these Fact Sheets.

Selected Articles in the Media

• 26 June 2009 - Contraceptives: What's An Appropriate Age?
• 10 June 2009 - Should Namibia Lower its Age of Majority to 18?
• 29 May 2009 - Protecting the Next Generation: Have your say on the Child Care & Protection Bill
• 20 April 2009 - Child Law Under Revision