A Call To End Gender-Based Violence: Namibia’s 4th Cycle Universal Periodic Review

By Mildred Asiimwe/ GICJ

Namibia’s fourth cycle under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) took place on May 4, 2026, in Geneva. Led by the Minister of Justice and Labour Relations, Fillemon Wise Immanuel, the session highlighted the country’s progress since the previous review cycle including the passing of relevant laws and policies, existing constitutional provisions and challenges faced in the implementation of such laws including economic hardships as well as societal norms that hinder progress.

The UPR is a four-and-a-half year cycle mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) that reviews the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. It promotes equality and accountability by allowing countries to review each other's human rights commitments and provide recommendations. Furthermore, the methodology of self-reporting and peer-review where Member States give recommendations to the State under review promotes accountability.  

The State under review implements the recommendations in the next four years and reports progress made in the next review cycle. The main objective of the UPR is to improve human rights situations and address violations among member states. Although the review is state-driven, other participants like NGOs and human rights groups can attend the meetings, may give recommendations before the review and monitor the implementation of recommendations.  

For more information click on the image below: