The press release says a new Commission on Independence for Namibia, established by prominent attorneys, members of Congress, and former Cabinet Ministers, will monitor the seven-month process of Namibian independence. The first Commission observer team will visit Namibia June 18-26 to assess the first ten weeks of the independence process, which is to lead to elections around November 1 for a constitution-writing assembly. The press release says although the United Nations has official responsibility for monitoring the election process and certifying its overall fairness, U.N. Resolution 435 provides that South Africa will exercise complete control over every phase of the electoral process...
The press release says a new Commission on Independence for Namibia, established by prominent attorneys, members of Congress, and former Cabinet Ministers, will monitor the seven-month process of Namibian independence. The first Commission observer team will visit Namibia June 18-26 to assess the first ten weeks of the independence process, which is to lead to elections around November 1 for a constitution-writing assembly. The press release says although the United Nations has official responsibility for monitoring the election process and certifying its overall fairness, U.N. Resolution 435 provides that South Africa will exercise complete control over every phase of the electoral process -– designing the electoral system, recognizing candidates, printing ballots, staffing the polls, counting the votes, etc. Chaired by Sen. Paul Simon, Rep. Charles B. Rangel, and Yale Law Professor Burke Marshall, the Commission will monitor, critique, and make recommendations regarding proposed electoral laws and procedures, including voting registration, certification of political parties and candidates, and freedom to publish and hold rallies. The press release says the first observer team includes Howard University Law Professor Goler T. Butcher, former AID Assistant Administrator for Africa; U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, who has monitored South African political trials; John W. Douglas, senior partner at Covington and Burling and former Assistant U.S. Attorney General; and Robert H. Kapp, a partner at Hogan and Hartson and chair of the International Human Rights Law Group. The Commission is sponsored by the Southern Africa Project of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which has been providing legal and human rights assistance in Namibia and South Africa for over 20 years. Gay J. McDougall, director of the Committee's Southern Africa project, is director of the Commission and will accompany the observer teams, which will make additional visits in August and October/November. The press release says in addition, two Commission staff members are based in Windhoek, the Namibian capital, and two in Oshakati, the main town in the northern Ovamboland area where nearly half of Namibians live and where the South African military has been concentrated in its fight against the SWAPO liberation movement.
