Nico Horn

Professor, pastor and human rights activist Dr. Nico Horn has been at the forefront of the battle against the remnants apartheid in Namibia by working to create a sustainable system that facilitates communication and research within the judiciary. Dr. Horn became the Director of the Human Rights and Documentation Center at the University of Namibia in 2002. He then went on to teach as a professor of human rights and constitutional law at the University of Namibia, and in 2007 was promoted to the Dean of the Law Faculty. During his tenure at the Human Rights and Documentation Center, Dr. Horn led multiple projects, including the encouragement of government legislation against torture, human rights training for the police, army, prosecutors and magistrates, and a lobbying effort for a human rights commission that secured the appointment of a human rights advisory body to the office of the Ombudsman in 2005. Previously, Dr. Horn worked for the faith-based NGO, Help International, where, at the request of the Namibian government, he acted as a representative of the organization at the second United Nations conference in Istanbul. He also worked for the Danish NGO IBIS, that trains journalists for the labor movement. Dr. Horn attributes inspiration for his work to his personal experience of living in South Africa under apartheid. Upon completion of his education at the AFM Theological College, Dr. Horn worked as a journalist covering stories of student resistance against apartheid in Soweto, Johannesburg. The images of young children standing up against injustice, and even willing to sacrifice their own lives, remain etched in his mind and contribute to his passion for human rights. Dr. Horn is also the Editor of the Namibian Human Rights On-line Journal. He is well-published in the fields of Human Rights, International Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, and Pentecostal Theology. In 2008, he was co-editor of three books; including works on judicial independence and a commentary on the new Namibian Criminal Procedure Act.