Overview

• The Bundesregierung’s reply to a parliamentary inquiry restates that no legal basis for reparations existed at the time of the Herero and Nama genocide
• No portion of the €1.1 billion reconciliation package agreed with Namibia in 2021 has been disbursed despite official commitments
• Green Party lawmakers and historians criticize the government’s formal-legal argument as morally insufficient and perpetuating colonial hierarchies
• Herero and Nama representatives reject the 2021 agreement as inadequate and continue to demand binding compensation and a seat at the negotiation table
• Debates over returning colonial-era artifacts and building dedicated memorials persist against a background of federal budget cuts and stalled restitution negotiations