Swedish International Development Corporation Agency and the LAC sign funding agreement
Brief comments by Toni Hancox, Director, Legal Assistance Centre on the occasion of the signing ceremony of the funding agreement between the Swedish International Development Corporation Agency and the Legal Assistance Centre on Monday, 11th April 2011.
A very warm welcome to you all. In particular I would like to welcome Nyamko Sabuni, Honourable Minister for Integration and Gender Equality in the Swedish government as well as Peter Tejler, the Swedish Ambassador and Marie Bergström, the head of Development Cooperation, both from the Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria, South Africa.
It is a great honour to have you here today, not only because we will be signing an agreement which will mean a great deal to the continuation of the democracy building work of the Legal Assistance Centre, but also because you will be spending some time with us and therefore will have the opportunity to see what we do and what this contribution means to the ordinary Namibian.
The people of Sweden’s relationship with Namibia is a long-standing one and their support to Namibia’s liberation movement was instrumental in keeping Namibia’s quest for independence on the international agenda. The people of Sweden will therefore always be a part of the history of Namibia and that makes it even more special for me to host you all here today.
The Government of Sweden, through SIDA, has been consistent in its support of the work of the Legal Assistance Centre, both before independence and thereafter. The idea of human rights being a global issue is so clearly emphasized by this partnership. We are all in this together and the agreement we are signing today, clearly indicates that this global emphasis on human rights is acknowledged and respected by the Government of Sweden.
The LAC is a non-profit organisation. Our services are provided free of charge to our clients – not as a charitable act, but because it is necessary and because it is the right thing to do. Our country has a large number of poor people who cannot enforce their most basic rights and it is up to us, as Namibians, to take up the challenge of facilitating that access to human rights which is the birthright of every human being. For democracy to flourish, the rule of law needs to be adhered to and for the rule of law to be adhered to, the rights and freedoms of people will have to be fulfilled, protected and promoted. This is not just window- dressing. We need only to look to the situation of our fellow Africans in Libya at present to see what happens when these rights and freedoms come under threat.
We must not become complacent in our relative space of freedoms and rights. The funding we receive today will contribute to the LAC’s work in creating a human rights culture in Namibia by strengthening the capacity of the LAC to deliver appropriate services to its target groups – to assist people to assert their rights and to influence Government to address appropriate law reform when needed. We will also continue to be involved in our education and information activities.
Whilst we are aware that global events and changing focus has meant that Swedish support to Namibia may change drastically in the years to come, we are hopeful that new partnerships will be forged with the people of Sweden which will assist us in the continuation of the work of the LAC which remains relevant in the lives of Namibians today.
Finally, I thank you for your belief and trust in the work of the Legal Assistance Centre. We undertake to use the funding received to create the broadest possible impact and to use same with integrity. You may rest assured that your support is much appreciated and valued in our quest to create and maintain a human rights based democracy in Namibia.
Thank you. Toni Hancox Director, Legal Assistance Centre
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