iii. III. Establishment of three permanent regional offices of the Ombudsman with another two to be established in the next four years to make it accessible to the populations; FACTORS RESTRICTING THE ENJOYMENT OF THE RIGHTS GUARANTEED IN THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS 26. Despite the Government’s efforts to comply with the provisions of the African Charter, the limited resources at its disposal especially finances, human resources and infrastructure inhibit its ability to ensure that all its citizens enjoy their rights. 27. Namibia continues to experience prolonged drought which has made it more difficult and challenging for the Government to address issues of poverty and inequality in the country. 28. The African Charter is not widely disseminated to the public for them to know and hold duty bearers accountable for nonimplementation of the provisions therein. IV. AREAS OF CONCERN Whilst acknowledging the efforts made by the Government of Namibia to promote and protect human rights, the Commission is concerned about the following: Reporting Obligation 29. The Commission is concerned that: i. ii. iii. The Report does not provide specific and comprehensive responses to some of the issues in the previous Concluding Observations by the Commission particularly with regard to the ratification of human rights instruments and enactment of legislation to give effect to the rights contained in the African Charter; The Report does not for example provide a comprehensive response on the issue of the protection of human rights defenders and implementation of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders; Namibia did not fully comply with the Guidelines for State Reporting under the Maputo Protocol, in particular the lack of information on whether individuals and organisations working on gender issues were involved in the preparation of the Report and insufficient background information especially regarding the application of the Protocol in 10