the Commission's jurisprudence, while remedy may exist in theory, it may not need
to be exhausted if it is unavailable, inadequate, or ineffective. Accordingly, the
Commission will proceed to determine whether the existing remedies in the
Respondent State were available, adequate and sufficient, in relation to the Victim in
the present Communication.
87. In the present Communication the Complainants contend that the Respondent State's
in ufficient investigation led to the failure to prosecute the Victim's traffickers,
rendering the remedies unavailable and ineffective. The Complainants submit that,
following escape from her captors on 18 October 2017, the Victim went to the Cenh·al
Police Station, reported that she was a victim of human trafficking and provided the
police with her laptop and phone. As detailed in paragraph 15 above, the Victim
remained in detention from 20 October 2017 until her departure from the Respondent
State, without any explanation from the police on the reasons for her detention, or
information on an investigation being undertaken in her case. The Complainants
further submit that on 14 June 2018, Ms. Van Wyk, of the LAC, was informed by
Commissioner Agas that the police investigation in the case of human trafficking for
purposes of sexual exploitation had been concluded and the case closed.
88. The Respondent State, on the other hand, avers that the Complainant n ver sought
legal recourse in the Republic of Namibia, and submits that a criminal investigation
into the matter commenced immediately and a criminal case opened, as indicated in
paragraph 55.
89. In its jurisprudence, the Commission has, in a number of cases, determined that the
available remedies were .ineffective when authorities knew of a violation but failed to
act; 22 for example, when the State fails to investigate or prosecute those responsible
for alleged violations despite having notice of the allegations, the Commission will
consider the remedies ineffective, although available. 23
90. This is further elaborated in Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum v. Zimbabwe,
in which the Commission held: "The responsibility of maintainin
·
der in
any country lies with the State, specifically with the police forceilliat"Statec:
,
,.,
I, ,)
, .. ch,
it is the duty of the State to ensure through its police force ,. "at · ere 1ere . a
1 ~n
~
See Com munications 54/91, 61/91, 98/93, 164/97 & 196/97, 210/98 Malawi
..
~
"'
~
ric~ Asi o iatlon,
International, Ms Sarr Diop, UIADH and RADDHO, Collectif des veuves et ayan
P.)it Mb v.
Communications 48/90, 50/91, 52/91, 89/93, Amnesty International, Comitl! Loosli B
, , td &W3/er$~ On;uWt
for Human Rights, Association of Members of the Episcopal Conference of East Africa v.
)-IC'qfl
23 Communication 379/09: Monim Elgak, Osman Hummeida and Amir SuJiman (r presente
_
Cf) v.
Sudan (2014) AOiPR, paragraph 56. See also Communication 386/10: Dr. Farouk Mohamed Ibrahim represented by
REDRESS) v. Sudan; Communication 275/03: Article 19 v. Eritrea
22
17