U.S. Dep't of State, 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Namibia

NAMIBIA (Tier 2) The Government of Namibia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period; therefore, Namibia remained on Tier 2. These efforts included significantly increasing funding for victim protection and trafficking prevention efforts, collaborating with other governments on anti-trafficking activities, and expanding training. It also signed an MOU with an NGO to raise awareness about online child sexual exploitation and abuse and to enhance child safety.

However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government did not report on its efforts to investigate trafficking crimes or prosecute or convict traffickers. It reported identifying and referring to care fewer trafficking victims. Due to inconsistent screening among vulnerable populations, the government did not take effective measures to prevent the inappropriate penalization of potential victims solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: Increase efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers, including officials complicit in trafficking crimes, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms. Proactively identify trafficking victims, including by screening vulnerable populations, such as individuals engaged in commercial sex, children, migrants, refugees, and Cuban regime-affiliated workers, and refer all identified trafficking victims to services, especially in rural and border regions. Strengthen coordination mechanisms across government ministries and with NGOs to ensure clear roles and responsibilities, effective anti-trafficking policies, and increased communication. Institutionalize annual anti-trafficking training for all front-line officials, including on the NRM and SOPs.

Implement and consistently enforce strong regulations and oversight of labor recruitment companies, including by holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable. Provide anti-trafficking training to all Namibian diplomats.

PROSECUTION

The government decreased law enforcement efforts. The Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act of 2018 criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of up to 30 years’ imprisonment, a fine not exceeding one million Namibia dollars ($53,100), or both. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with punishments prescribed for other serious crimes, such as kidnapping. The government did not report any trafficking investigations, prosecutions, or convictions, compared with investigating seven trafficking cases involving 23 suspects, prosecuting 20 suspects, and convicting four traffickers in the previous reporting period.

The government did not report any prosecutions or convictions of government officials complicit in human trafficking crimes in the reporting period; however, corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action. An NGO reported the government arrested, prosecuted, and convicted two traffickers during the reporting period. A seven-person police unit investigated exclusively trafficking crimes. Specialized prosecutors within the Office of the Prosecutor General’s Sexual Offenses Unit prosecuted trafficking cases in the High Court and worked closely with prosecutors on cases indicted outside of the High Court.

A special children’s court at Katutura Magistrate’s Court heard child trafficking cases. In partnership with an NGO and international organizations, the government conducted anti-trafficking trainings for police and prosecutors. The government investigated cross-border trafficking with Botswana officials and maintained bilateral law enforcement cooperation agreements with the Zimbabwean, Malawian, and Angolan governments. The government entered into a bilateral law enforcement cooperation agreement with the Zambian government during the reporting period.

PROTECTION

The government slightly increased protection efforts. The government identified and referred to care 23 trafficking victims, compared with 69 in the previous reporting period. The government used its NRM and SOPs for victim identification and referral to care. An NGO reported identifying 239 victims in the reporting period.

The government reported screening migrants for trafficking indicators. However, due to inadequate screening among vulnerable populations, the government did not take effective measures to prevent the inappropriate penalization of potential victims solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Media reported the government collaborated with the Angolan government to repatriate vulnerable women and children, including potential trafficking victims. The government and NGOs provided shelter, psycho-social services, and medical care to at least 23 trafficking victims.

One victim died while in a shelter; the government coordinated with the Government of Botswana to repatriate the body. The government reported allocating 29.7 million Namibia dollars ($1.6 million) for victim protection and assistance, a significant increase compared with 2.5 million Namibia dollars ($130,000) in the previous reporting period. The government operated eight shelters to assist victims of crime, including trafficking. Three NGO shelters could provide care for men, women, and children, although observers noted shelter for male victims was limited.

The government could place child victims in government-operated residential childcare facilities and give them access to education. Namibian victims could leave shelters unaccompanied. Foreign victims could access the same services as Namibian victims, but foreign victims were required to stay at shelters and could not leave unaccompanied. The police and Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication, and Social Welfare (MGEPESW) managed 17 units offering psycho-social, legal, and medical support to victims of violence against women, including trafficking.

The government reported it could provide support to victims who assisted in the investigation or prosecution of trafficking cases, although it did not report any victims assisted law enforcement during the reporting period. The government did not condition access to victim services on cooperation with law enforcement, but observers reported the MGEPESW required an open police case before accepting a referral for services. The government could provide transportation and witness protection to victims. The government allowed victims to testify in rooms outside the courtroom when possible.

Foreign victims could obtain temporary residence visas during legal proceedings, but the government did not report if any foreign victims received visas in the reporting period. The law allowed victims to obtain restitution and file civil suits against their traffickers; however, to date no victims have received restitution. The government did not maintain a victim compensation fund.

PREVENTION

The government maintained overall prevention efforts. It continued to implement its 2023-2027 NAP and reported spending 1.37 million Namibia dollars ($72,700) on prevention efforts, including NAP implementation, an increase compared with one million Namibia dollars ($53,050) in the previous reporting period. The MGEPESW-chaired National Coordinating Body coordinated the government’s anti-trafficking efforts and met four times during the reporting period. Unlike last year, the government reported providing anti-trafficking training to labor inspectors, immigration officials, community liaison officers, doctors, traditional leaders, and private sector aviation workers; additionally, Namibia’s military school added a course for cadets that discusses anti-trafficking approaches.

The government reported conducting public awareness-raising campaigns through print and digital media. The Ministry of Information, Communication, and Technology signed an MOU with an NGO to raise awareness about online child sexual exploitation and abuse and to enhance child safety. During the reporting period, the government hosted Botswana government officials to share best practices to combat trafficking. The government operated a trafficking hotline and provided in-kind support to a 24-hour NGO-operated hotline focused on child protection issues, including trafficking.

The government did not report identifying trafficking victims via the hotlines. The government continued to contribute information to a regional anti-trafficking database. Labor officials inspected businesses, unlike the previous reporting period, when the government did not report conducting any inspections. The law banned worker-paid recruitment fees.

The government licensed recruitment agencies and managed a database of job seekers and employment abroad. The government did not report initiating fraudulent recruitment investigations. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. The government did not provide anti-trafficking training to its diplomats.

TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Trafficking affects all communities. This section summarizes government and civil society reporting on the nature and scope of trafficking over the past five years. Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Namibia, and traffickers exploit Namibians abroad. Traffickers exploit children from Namibia and neighboring countries in sex trafficking and forced labor in agriculture, herding, domestic service, fishing, and street vending.

Namibians commonly care for children of distant relatives to provide expanded educational opportunities; however, traffickers exploit some of these children in forced labor. Recruiters lure foreign nationals to Namibia with legitimate work then traffickers exploit them in forced labor in urban centers and on commercial farms. Traffickers in Namibia exploit Angolans, Kenyans, Zambians, Zimbabweans, and South Africans in sex trafficking and forced labor. Traffickers transport potential victims through Namibia en route to South Africa.

Drought-caused food shortages make Namibians vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labor. An international organization estimated 38 percent of Namibians are food insecure, and sources report vulnerable children being coerced into sex trafficking in exchange for food. Food shortages in the Osire Refugee Camp, which hosts 7,000 people, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including more than 3,000 children, increase vulnerability to sex trafficking. High unemployment among young adults raises their vulnerability to trafficking.

Fishers may be vulnerable to trafficking. Traffickers increasingly use social media to advertise false jobs and groom potential victims, including children. The estimated 20,000 Namibian child victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse may include trafficking victims. Chinese nationals employed in Namibia at worksites affiliated with China’s Belt and Road Initiative are vulnerable to forced labor.

The Cuban regime may force the 98 Cuban regime-affiliated medical professionals in Namibia to work. On This Page search > < NAMIBIA (Tier 2) PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: PROSECUTION PROTECTION PREVENTION TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Tags Bureau of African Affairs Human Trafficking Namibia Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Reports