23.1 Foreign relations and peace keeping Namibia practices a policy of non-alignment as outlined in article 96 of the Namibian Constitution. Namibia also encourages the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means. Since 1994, Namibia has participated in both regional and international peace keeping missions of the United Nations. During May 2013, Namibia deployed additional Namibian police officers to Sudan to be part of the UN peace keepers in that country where they have been serving for the past 8 years. 24. ARTICLE 24: PEOPLES RIGHTS TO SATISFACTORY ENVIRONMENT 24.1 Protection of the environment in Namibia Namibia has one of the highest ratios of protected land to population in the world, at 65.1 sq km (25.1 sq ml) per 1,000 people. About 44 % of Namibia’s land area is under conservation.13 Namibia ratified and or acceded to the following international environmental agreements: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), 1994; United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 1992; Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1997; Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992; The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands; Basel Convention for the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal; Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Apart from the Minerals Act, the exploitation of minerals is also affected by the enactment of the Environmental Management Act 7 of 2007 (EMA) and the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations passed in terms of that Act. In terms of this Act, no person may undertake a listed activity without an environmental clearance certificate. Listed activities include mining and quarrying activities. The Minister of Mines and Energy may not issue a mineral licence before the applicant has obtained an environmental clearance certificate. 13 Source: Ministry of Environment and Tourism July 2013 newsletter. - 45 -