International and domestic provisions on culture and language for indigenous peoples in Namibia (Guide to Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Namibia, The Office of the Ombudsman, Namibia)  

According to article 15 of the UNDRIP, indigenous peoples have the right to the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which shall be appropriately reflected in education and public information. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, including their intellectual property.

Article 13 of the UNDRIP provides that indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons. It further calls on the state to take effective measures to ensure that this right is protected and also to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand and be understood in political, legal and administrative proceedings, where necessary through the provision of interpretation or by other appropriate means.  

Article 19 of Namibia’s Constitution provides that every person shall be entitled to enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and promote any culture, language, tradition or religion subject to the Constitution, the rights of others and national interest.

Article 3 of Namibia’s Constitution prohibits discrimination of any other language as a medium of instruction in private schools or in schools financed by the state. On the basis of that provision, there is no legal basis in Namibia for denial of use of indigenou languages in schools, but in practice the reality is different where most schools even in areas inhabited by indigenous communities do not have teachers who can teach the indigenous languages.