Abstract

The question of reparations to the descendants of the victims of the Herero genocide remains unresolved. This article analyses the 2021 agreement (‘Joint Declaration’) between Germany and Namibia, and highlights its shortcomings. This article divides the critique of the Joint Declaration into the following parts: the timing of the agreement; the exclusionary nature of the negotiations process; the staggered nature of the payments; the government’s refusal to call the payment reparations, calling it instead ‘development aid’; the paternalistic tone of the agreement, as well as the fact that the agreement was made as ‘full and final settlement’. These points of critique reflect the Herero’s main concerns with the agreement. It argues that the major defects in the Joint Declaration were not addressed sufficiently in the renegotiated agreement of 2024. The article further considers the ongoing political and legal fallout of the Joint Declaration, the litigation arising from it, and the reactions of the affected groups to the Declaration.