Namibia

Article 7. Protection of liberty
No persons shall be deprived of personal liberty except according to procedures established by law.
Article 8. Respect for human dignity
1. The dignity of all persons shall be inviolable.
2. a. In any judicial proceedings or in other proceedings before any organ of the State, and during the enforcement of a penalty, respect for human dignity shall be guaranteed.
b. No persons shall be subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 9. Slavery and forced labour
1. No persons shall be held in slavery or servitude.
2. No persons shall be required to perform forced labour.
3. For the purposes of this Article, the expression “forced labour” shall not include:
a. any labour required in consequence of a sentence or order of a Court;
b. any labour required of persons while lawfully detained which, though not required in consequence of a sentence or order of a Court, is reasonably necessary in the interests of hygiene;
c. any labour required of members of the defence force, the police force and the correctional service in pursuance of their duties as such or, in the case of persons who have conscientious objections to serving as members of the defence force, any labour which they are required by law to perform in place of such service;
d. any labour required during any period of public emergency or in the event of any other emergency or calamity which threatens the life and well-being of the community, to the extent that requiring such labour is reasonably justifiable in the circumstances of any situation arising or existing during that period or as a result of that other emergency or calamity, for the purpose of dealing with that situation;
e. any labour reasonably required as part of reasonable and normal communal or other civic obligations.
Article 14. Family
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, creed or social or economic status shall have the right to marry and to found a family. They shall be entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 15. Children’s rights
2. Children are entitled to be protected from economic exploitation and shall not be employed in or required to perform work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their education, or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. For the purposes of this Sub-Article children shall be persons under the age of sixteen (16) years.
3. No children under the age of fourteen (14) years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine, save under conditions and circumstances regulated by Act of Parliament. Nothing in this Sub-Article shall be construed as derogating in any way from Sub-Article (2) hereof.
4. Any arrangement or scheme employed on any farm or other undertaking, the object or effect of which is to compel the minor children of an employee to work for or in the interest of the employer of such employee, shall for the purposes of Article 9 hereof be deemed to constitute an arrangement or scheme to compel the performance of forced labour.
Article 21. Fundamental freedoms
1. All persons shall have the right to:
f. withhold their labour without being exposed to criminal penalties;
g. move freely throughout Namibia;
j. practise any profession, or carry on any occupation, trade or business.Namibia Constitution

3. Prohibition and restriction of child labour
(1) A person must not employ or require or permit a child to work in any circumstances prohibited in terms of this section.
(2) A person must not employ a child under the age of 14 years.
(3) In respect of a child who is at least aged 14, but under the age of 16 years, a person –
(a) must not employ that child in any circumstances contemplated in Article 15(2) of the Namibian Constitution;
(b) must not employ that child in any circumstances in respect of which the Minister, in terms of subsection (5)(a), has prohibited the employment of such children;
(c) must not employ that child in respect of any work between the hours of 20h00 and 07h00; or
(d) except to the extent that the Minister by regulation in terms of subsection (5)(b) permits, must not employ that child, on any premises where –
(i) work is done underground or in a mine;
(ii) construction or demolition takes place;
(iii) goods are manufactured;
(iv) electricity is generated, transformed or distributed;
(v) machinery is installed or dismantled; or
(vi) any work-related activities take place that may place the child’s health, safety, or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development at risk.
(4) In respect of a child who is at least aged 16 but under the age of 18 years, a person may not employ that child in any of the circumstances set out in subsection (3)(c) or (d), unless the Minister has permitted such employment by regulation in terms of subsection (5)(c).
(5) The Minister may make regulations to –
(a) prohibit the employment of children between the ages of 14 and 16 at any place or in respect of any work;
(b) permit the employment of children between the ages of 14 and 16 in circumstances contemplated in subsection (3)(d), subject to any conditions or restrictions that may be contained in those regulations;
(c) permit the employment of children between the ages of 16 and 18 in circumstances contemplated in subsections (3)(c) or (d), subject to any conditions or restrictions that may be contained in those regulations.
(6) It is an offence for any person to employ, or require or permit, a child to work in any circumstances prohibited under this section and a person who is convicted of the offence is liable to a fine not exceeding N$20 000, or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding four years, or to both the fine and imprisonment.

4. Prohibition of forced labour
(1) A person must not directly or indirectly cause, permit or require any individual to perform forced labour.
(2) Forced labour does not include any labour described in Article 9(3)(a) to (e) of the Namibian Constitution and, for the purposes of this Act, ‘forced labour’ includes –
(a) any work or service performed or rendered involuntarily by an individual under threat of any penalty, punishment or other harm to be imposed or inflicted on or caused to that individual by any other individual, if the first mentioned individual does not perform the work or render the service;
(b) any work, performed by an employee’s child who is under the age of 18 years, if the work is performed in terms of an arrangement or scheme in any undertaking between the employer and the employee;
(c) any work performed by any individual because that individual is for any reason subject to the control, supervision or jurisdiction of a traditional leader in that leader’s capacity as traditional leader.
(3) It is an offence for any person to directly or indirectly, cause, permit or require an individual to perform forced labour prohibited under this section and a person who is convicted of the offence is liable to a fine not exceeding N$20 000, or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding four years or to both the fine and imprisonment Namibia Labour Act

1. Definitions and interpretation
“trafficking in persons” means the recruitment, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation and includes any attempt, participation or organising of any of these actions.
Exploitation includes, at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs; and
15. Trafficking in persons
Any person who participates in or who aids and abets the trafficking in persons, as contemplated in Annex II of the Convention, in Namibia or across the border to and from foreign countries commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding N$1 000 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 50 years.Namibia Prevention of Organised Crime Act

Chapter 1- Introductory provisions

Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates

[…]

“debt bondage” means the involuntary status or condition that arises from a pledge by a person of –

(a) his or her personal services;

(b) the personal services of another person under his or her control, as security for a debt owed or claimed to be owed, including a debt incurred or claimed to be incurred after the pledge is given, by that person if the –

(i) debt owed or claimed to be owed, as reasonably assessed, is manifestly excessive;

(ii) length or nature of the services are not limited and defined; or

(iii) value of the services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or purported debt

[…]

“exploitation” includes, but is not limited to –

(a) prostitution or any form of sexual exploitation;

(b) forced labour or forced services, prohibited child labour or other economic exploitation;

(c) slavery or practices similar to slavery, including debt bondage or a forced marriage;

(d) involuntary servitude;

(e) criminal exploitation;

(f) removal of organs or body parts; or

(g) the impregnation of a female person against her will for the purpose of selling the child when the child is born;

[…]

“trafficking in persons” has the meaning as assigned to it by section 3 of this Act

[…]

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)

“forced labour or services” means labour or services obtained or maintained through threats, the use of force, intimidation, exploitation or other forms of coercion or physical restraint;

“forced marriage” means a marriage which is without the free and full consent of both spouses or is in contravention of any of the laws on civil and customary marriages in Namibia;

“prohibited child labour” means any child labour which is in contravention of the Namibian Constitution, the Labour Act, 2007 (Act No. 11 of 2007) or the Child Care and Protection Act;

“removal of organs or body parts” means the removal or trade in any human organ or other body part in contravention of a law;

“servitude” means a condition in which the labour or services of a person are provided or obtained through threats of harm to that person or another person or through any scheme, plan or pattern intended to cause the person to believe that if the person does not perform the labour or services in question the person or another person would suffer harm; and

“sexual exploitation” means the commission of any offence of a sexual nature in terms of a law against a person.

Prohibition of trafficking in persons

(1) A person commits an offence of trafficking in persons if he or she intentionally recruits, transports, delivers, transfers, harbours, sells, exchanges, leases or receives a person by means of –

(a) threat;

(b) use of force or other forms of coercion;

(c) abduction;

(d) fraud;

(e) deception;

(f) kidnapping;

(g) abuse of power or abuse of position of vulnerability; or

(h) giving or receiving of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person who has control over another person, for the purposes of exploitation.

(2) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receiving of a child for the purposes of exploitation is trafficking in persons even if this does not involve any of the means set out in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (e), (f), (g) or (h) of subsection (1)

(3) A person who facilitates or secures the adoption of a child, for the purpose of exploiting that child, commits an offence.

(4) A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1), (2) or (3) –

(a) in the case of a first conviction, is liable to a fine not exceeding N$1 000 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 30 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment; and

(b) in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, is liable to a fine not exceeding N$2 500 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 50 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment

Debt bondage

A person who intentionally engages in conduct that causes another person to enter into debt bondage commits an offence and is on conviction liable –

(a) in the case of a first conviction, to a fine not exceeding N$1 000 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 30 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment; and

(b) in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding N$2 500 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 50 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

Using services of victims of trafficking

(1) A person commits an offence if he or she intentionally benefits, financially or otherwise, from the services of a victim of trafficking in persons or uses or allows another person to use the services of a victim of trafficking in persons.

(2) A person who is convicted of an offence under subsection (1), is liable –

(a) in the case of a first conviction, to a fine not exceeding N$1 000 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 30 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment; and

(b) in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding N$2 500 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 50 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

ANTI-TRAFFICKING LAW (PDF)