A/HRC/24/41/Add.1 relatively strong socioeconomic position in Namibia. Various other groups in Namibia experience relative marginalization, albeit in different ways and to different degrees. 7. The population of the diverse communities that make up the San peoples is currently estimated at between 30,000 and 36,000, or just less than 2 per cent of the total national population. Distinct San communities maintain their own language, traditions, customs and histories, with the principle San groups being the Hai//om, Khwe, !Kung, Ju/’hoansi, Naro and =Au//eisi, while smaller San communities include the //Anikwe, !Xõó, |’Auni, and N|u (/Nu-//en). Previously, San peoples as a group were referred to as “Bushmen”, a term that has been used less in recent years due to its pejorative connotations. As will be described throughout the present report, the colonization process resulted in the San being marginalized and experiencing a significant loss of their lands and their customary livelihoods. 8. The Himba, a subgroup of the Herero, are an indigenous people numbering approximately 25,000. They are known for the continued practice of their semi-nomadic pastoral way of life and their strong cultures and identities. The Himba reside in the mountainous Kunene region, which was formerly known as Kaokoland, in northwestern Namibia and speak the Otjihereo language. Their livelihood focuses on raising cattle, sheep and goats for food, which they supplement with some agriculture and gathering activities. The Herero people also encompass other smaller subgroups that live in the Kunene region, including the Ovatue, Ovatjimba and Ovazemba. 9. While most people in Namibia can be characterized in a strict sense as indigenous to the area, the San, Himba, Ovatue, Ovatjimba, and Ovazemba are recognized by the Government of Namibia as particularly marginalized groups and have been identified in various Namibian laws and policies as groups that merit special attention and concern. The conditions of these groups, especially relative to other segments of the population of Namibia, can be identified as similar to those of groups identified as indigenous worldwide. 10. Other non-dominant groups in Namibia include the Nama, a Khoesan people, and the Rehoboth Basters. The Nama are herders and pastoralists who are descendants of some of the first inhabitants of present-day Namibia. The Nama traditionally led a nomadic life in the vast areas between the Kalahari and the Namib deserts but suffered enormous losses during German colonization, which contributed to a breakdown of their tribal social structure. Today, the Nama have a population of roughly 80,000 people, who represent 14 distinct groups and reside throughout the whole of Namibia, with a significant presence in the Karas region in the south of the country. 11. The Basters are a mixed-race Afrikaans-speaking community descended from Dutch South African settlers and Khoikhoi and Nama peoples. The Basters migrated to the Rehoboth area of Namibia in the late 1860s. In 1872, they declared a republic and drafted a constitution, and throughout German and South African administrations they maintained a considerable degree of political autonomy. With a population of approximately 55,000, the Rehoboth Basters maintain a distinctive and strong identity within Namibian society. III. Legal and institutional framework 12. Between 1883 and 1915, Germany colonized the area currently comprising Namibia, which was at the time known as South West Africa. Following the defeat of Germany in the First World War, the area became a mandated territory under the League of Nations and then under the United Nations. Under the mandate the territory was administered by South Africa and was eventually subjected to that country’s racially discriminatory apartheid policies. From the late 1940s until independence, Namibians petitioned the United Nations in various forms against South African rule. In 1966 the South West Africa People’s 5