Namibia
follows a largely independent foreign policy, with strong
affiliations with states that aided the independence
struggle, including Libya and Cuba. In Africa, Namibia
has been involved in conflicts in neigbhouring Angola
as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo.
International organizations
Namibia is a member of 46 different international organizations.
Theses are:
-
Lomé Convention
(ACP)
-
African Development
Bank (AfDB)
-
African Union
(AU)
-
Commonwealth
of Nations (CN)
-
Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)
-
Group of 77 (G-77)
-
International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
-
International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
-
International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
-
International
Criminal Court (ICCt)
-
International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
-
ICRM
-
International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
-
International
Finance Corporation (IFC)
-
International
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IFRCS)
-
International
Labour Organization (ILO)
-
International
Monetary Fund (IMF)
-
Interpol
-
International
Olympic Committee (IOC)
-
International
Organization for Migration (IOM, observer)
-
IPU
-
International
Organization for Standardization (ISO, correspondent)
-
International
Telecommunication Union (ITU)
-
MIGA
-
Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM)
-
ONUB
-
Organisation
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
-
SACU
-
Southern African
Development Community (SADC)
-
United Nations
(UN)
-
United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
-
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)
-
UNHCR
-
United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
-
United Nations
Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE)
-
United Nations
Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
-
UNMIS
-
UNOCI
-
Universal Postal
Union (UPU)
-
WCL
-
World Customs
Organization (WCO)
-
World Health
Organization (WHO)
-
World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO)
-
World Meteorological
Organization (WMO)
-
World Tourism
Organization (WToO)
-
World Trade Organization
(WTrO)
United Nations
Namibia became the 160th member of the United Nations
on April 23, 1990 upon independence.
African Union
With a small army and a fragile economy, the Namibian
Government's principal foreign policy concern is developing
strengthened ties within the Southern African region.
A dynamic member of the Southern African Development
Community, Namibia is a vocal advocate for greater regional
integration.
Other countries
Angola
In 1999 Namibia signed a mutual defence pact
with its northern neighbour Angola. This affected the
Angolan Civil War that has been ongoing since Angola's
independence in 1975. Namibias ruling party SWAPO wanted
to support the ruling party MPLA in Angola to fight
the rebel movement UNITA, whose stronghold is in southern
Angola, bordering to Namibia. The defence pact allowed
Angolan troops to use Namibian territory when attacking
UNITA.
The alliance between
SWAPO and MPLA is old. Namibia's fight for independence
coincided with the civil war in Angola. In Angola, the
leftist movement MPLA was fighting the rightist movement
UNITA, which was supported by South Africa. In Namibia,
SWAPO, then being a rebel movement, was fighting for
independence from South Africa. As MPLA and SWAPO shared
a common ideological ground, and had a common enemie
in South Africa, they came to cooperate.
The Angolan civil war
resulted in a large number of Angolan refugees coming
to Namibia. At its peak in 2001 there were over 30,000
Angolan refugees in Namibia. The calmer situation in
Angola has made it possible for many of them to return
to their home with the help of UNHCR, and in 2004 only
12,600 remained in Namibia. Most of them reside in the
refugee camp Osire north of Windhoek.
Congo
Along with numerous other African nations, Namibia intervened
in the Second Congo War, sending troops in support of
the Democratic Republic of Congo's president Laurent-Désiré
Kabila. It is not clear why Namibia intervened in the
conflict, although it has been suggested that Namibia
was interested in Congo's natural resources, especially
copper.
Namibia's decision
to join the conflict resulted in criticism from opposition
parties, the public, as well as from within the ruling
party SWAPO.
International
disputes
Namibia is involved in several minor international disputes.
- Commission established with Botswana
to resolve small residual disputes along the
- Caprivi Strip, including the Situngu
marshlands along the Linyanti River
- Botswana residents protest Namibia's
planned construction of the Okavango hydroelectric
dam on Popa Falls
- Managed dispute with South Africa
over the location of the boundary in the Orange
River
- Dormant dispute remains where
Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe boundaries
converge
- Angolan rebels and refugees still
reside in Namibia.
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