By Nkrumah A. Mushelenga It should be understood that the registration of refugees is a fundamental component of the international protection regime and it is the right of persons who may be of concern not only to the UNHCR but also to the Government. It is vital for all of us to understand that through registration, individuals can be recognized as someone of concern, or potentially of concern, to the UNHCR and indeed the Government, hence his or her continued need for protection. The registration process service is the first step in formalizing the protection relationship between the Government and the refugee by allowing the refugee or asylum-seeker to avail themselves of the protection and assistance they need and permitting the Government and UNHCR to provide protection and assistance. Apart from protection and assistance, the Government of the Republic of Namibia has an internationally-based mandate to ensure that refugees’ fundamental human rights and freedoms as provided in Chapter 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia are enforced without discrimination and indeed enjoyed by all refugees/asylum seekers – those who reside within the border of this country. For planning purposes, both the Government and the UNHCR would want to know the number of refugees, their age group, gender and educational profile. On education, Government wants to know the number of school-going age, how many for pre-primary, primary education, University, Polytechnic, how many school leavers, the number of vulnerable children, skilled refugee profile and their areas of specialization. Chapter 3 Article 15 of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia is specifically on children’s rights. It emphasizes that children are entitled to be protected from economic exploitation and that they are not allowed to be employed or to perform work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with education or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. A child according to the constitution shall be a person under the age of 16 years and no children under the age of 14 shall be employed to work in any factory or mine. The refugee community is made up of a combination of various age groups, i.e. male, female, youth, accompanied and unaccompanied children (boys and girls). For the Government of the Republic of Namibia to honour its constitutional responsibility as stipulated under Chapter 3 Article 15 of the constitution, the registration and profiling of refugee children within the Republic of Namibia is vital for the check and balance process. For protection, assistance and planning purposes, the Government should know how many male and female children as well as the number of the unaccompanied children. Equally, for Government to ensure that refugees enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and promote culture, language, tradition or religion as provided in the constitution, the Department of Refugee Administration is urgently required to ensure that a reliable database is in place. Not only that, chapter 3 Article 20 emphasizes the rights on education and that all persons have the right to education and the state shall provide reasonable facilities to render effective this right for every resident within Namibia, by establishing state schools at which primary schools will be provided free of charge, unquote. Refugee children are not exceptional. I was appointed as Namibia’s Refugee Commissioner on the 14th of June 2004. My mandates among others are to provide protection services on behalf of the Government to refugees/asylum seekers. The main goal is to work towards internationally recognized durable solutions, namely, voluntary repatriation, resettlement or local integration. As a new manager in a new working environment, my success depends on my strong desire to succeed and my commitment to operate within the framework of the 1951 Geneva Convention, the OAU Convention governing the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa, Charter 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia and indeed the Namibia Refugee Recognition and Control Act (Act No. 2 of 1992.) It is crucial to mention that the 1951 Geneva Convention prescribes the basic minimum standards for the treatment of refugees, without prejudice, to the granting by the state of more favourable treatment. It is to be applied without discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin, and contains various safeguards against expulsion of refugees. The convention also makes provision for their documentation, including a refugee travel document in passport form. Most state parties to the convention including Namibia issue this document. As the Commissioner of Refugees in the Republic of Namibia, I am expected to uphold the provisions of chapter 3 of the supreme law of the land, the 1951 Geneva Convention, the OAU Convention and provide professional advice to the Government through the appropriate authority, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration. Government in my view is the people and the people are the Government while the public sector is the people and the backbone of the country’s economy. That being the case, I challenge both the public sector and the non-governmental institutions in this country to play an active role by giving humanitarian donations to refugees in Osire. The Osire community consists of children, women, youth and elderly persons, they all need your kind support. My 2007 plan of action is to ensure that the Department of Refugee Administration continues to foster good working relations with other stakeholders, i.e. UNHCR, African Humanitarian Action (AHA), Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The department will also reinforcing strategic partnerships and alliances with the key stakeholders, namely, the Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ministry of Gender, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Safety and Security, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Lands and Resettlement, and the private sector. The goal is to make sure that instead of a brain drain, Namibia advocates brain gain by effectively utilizing the untapped refugees’ skills and expertise without much cost and in the best interests of the African continent, the SADC region and indeed the Land of the Brave and her people. For the registration project to succeed, I wish to request the public sector’s active involvement. .