Geneva, September 5 (RHC)-- Germany has come under fire from a group of UN experts for breaching the rights of Herero and Nama ethnic minorities in Namibia, by excluding them from discussions on making up for the atrocities committed against them under its colonial rule.

Seven UN delegates published their correspondence with both countries and pushed Germany to accept responsibility for all of its colonial crimes in Namibia, including mass murders.  They also stated that it was improper for the Herero and Nama ethnic minorities to have been indirectly involved in negotiations through an advisory council.  The UN experts recommended that Germany compensate the Herero and Nama minorities directly, rather than via the Namibian government.

The German Empire was the colonial power in what was then called German South West Africa from 1884 to 1915.  During that time, its military forces brutally put down several rebellions, killing tens of thousands of people.

German General Lothar von Trotha, who was sent to quell a Herero uprising in 1904, was particularly known for his extreme ruthlessness.

Historians believe that up to 65,000 of roughly 80,000 Herero people living in the area at the time, and at least 10,000 of the roughly 20,000 Nama people, were killed.