Namibian indigenous communities, the Nama and Ovaherero, on Thursday demanded to take part in direct re-negotiations with Germany of a disputed agreement recognising the 1904-1908 genocide.
The call follows a recent report by United Nations rapporteurs highlighting the legal status of the Nama and Ovaherero peoples as distinct from the Namibian government which has sought to reopen talks with Berlin.
The report also noted that indigenous communities should be involved in developing mechanisms to redress colonial-era crimes.
"Our demands for reparations are now based in the hands of the UN," Mutjinde Katjiua, paramount chief of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority told a press conference in Windhoek.
"We will now go back to them to ensure Germany lives up to the obligations of the UN and global nations," he said.
German settlers killed tens of thousands of men, women and children from the Ovaherero and Nama people who rebelled against colonial rule in the southwest African country between 1904 and 1908.
Some historians have described the slaughter as the 20th century's first genocide.
After more than five years of sometimes acrimonious negotiations, Germany in 2021 acknowledged it had committed genocide in Namibia, which it colonised between 1884 and 1915.
It offered 1.1 billion euros in development aid spread over 30 years for the benefit of Ovaherero and Nama descendants.
Berlin stressed the aid would be paid on a voluntary basis and the deal was not comparable to the payment of reparations.
Many descendants of the victims rejected the agreement and along with Namibian political parties sought to reopen talks.
Last October, the Namibian government, under pressure from the opposition, announced it had asked Germany to re-negotiate the terms, but did not reveal its demands.
