Category: Human Rights

Washington DC – The First Lady of Angola, Ana Dias Lourenço, stated in Washington, capital city of the United States of America, that Africa can take out millions of people from poverty, promote economic growth and attract investment to boost businesswomen’s potential with the right interventions and policies.

Speaking at a panel with the African First Ladies on the sidelines of the US-Africa Leaders Summit, Ana Dias Lourenço, considered that it is important to reinforce support to the rural woman by improving public policies effectiveness, promoting more and better education and health, access to technologies, the creation of support networks and the encouragement of autonomy for these women and their children in their respective communities.

“To expand and consolidate the African single market, beyond young people, it is crucial to count on women”, said Ana Dias Lourenço.

To Ana Dias Lourenço, the entrepreneurs create Job opportunities, contribute to community development and at medium-long term, they work to improve living conditions across the African continent.

During the First Ladies panel, the role of Africa’s cultural diplomacy, the economic empowerment of African women, the importance of investment in African communities and female leadership were discussed.

The First Ladies interacted with several political leaders, business people, artists, financiers, among others, representing a variety of knowledge and ideas, but sharing a common goal which is to promote the sustainable development of the continent based on the empowerment of women and the reduction of gender inequality.

The event also included tributes to the public support of first ladies initiatives by the Presidents of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who defended the importance of girls’ and women’s access to formal education.

On his turn, the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, condemned gender-based violence.

The event, held under the theme “Honour the First Ladies of Africa”, was promoted by Women United Foundation and gathered at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art the President of Sierra Leone and the President of Central African Republic and the First Ladies of Angola, Cabo Verde, Gambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, artists and other personalities.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Human trafficking in Angola figured at about 200 in the last five years, with stress to the border provinces, the Secretary of State for Human Rights Ana Celeste Januário has told Angop.

She said that the phenomenon occurs mainly in the provinces of Luanda (capital of the country), Cunene, Lunda-Norte and Malanje, involving adults and children who are victims of forced labour at home and abroad.

She acknowledged, however, that the cases reported and entered the national database do not reflect the reality of the country.

The official pointed out that the most frequent types of human trafficking were child exploitation, domestic servitude, begging and sexual exploitation, with economic and cultural reasons.

Of the total number of victims, 10% are foreigners and, among Angolans, many are sent abroad, especially to Namibia and Portugal, through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), she added.

In order to reverse the situation, the Government has carried out education campaigns.

It includes working with schools, young people, children, transporters, with the Customs and Border Guard Police, airport personnel and everyone who can help by giving a tip-off to the authorities.

The Secretary of State said that the proportion of cases denounced was much higher than those judged, but there are already a large number of cases judged that do not come to the public for several reasons, for some of which she made “half blame”, without further detail.

So far, the official mentioned 27%, of the cases that reached the authorities, as having already been tried and with accountability.

The Secretary of State warned society to denounce to the authorities whenever there are situations or signs that indicate possible victims or traffickers, such as absolute control over their movements, limited contact with family or friends, injuries resulting from aggressions or when victims act as if they were instructed, among others.

She also referred to false “scouts” who, from abroad, “spot” the most unwary with promises of a better future of children as a fashion model or footballer, but, once travelled abroad, no one ever hears about them.

In order to discourage this practice in the country, the Government decided, in 2021, to increase the penalty, which ranges from two to eight years in prison, and may be further increased depending on the situation.

Human trafficking is a violation of human rights and, as a result, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 2010, the Global Action Plan against this scourge

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Angolan Airlines “TAAG” presented Tuesday at Luanda’s 4 de Fevereiro International Airport the first of six aircraft of the A220-300 model, from Airbus, acquired through a commercial contract with ALC (Air Lease Corporation).

The Airbus A220 has capacity for 148 passengers, of whom 130 in economy class and 18 in business class. This aircraft is a modern and extremely efficient aircraft with a reduction in fuel consumption of around 25 percent.

The Airbus A220 is an “environmentally friendly” vehicle with reduced CO2 emissions and noise pollution by around 50 percent.

This is a flexible aircraft, with an autonomy of 7h30 minutes, at an altitude of over 13,000 feet, reaching a speed of 850 km/hour.

The company plans to incorporate the A220 aircraft into its fleet from August 2023 on a dry lease basis, allowing personnel, after training, to operate and maintain these aircraft.

The next arrives in August next year and the remaining two in 2024, under a contract signed in June this year between the parties.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed Monday satisfaction with Angola’s fight against inflation and the adjustments carried out on the foreign exchange market.

The stance was voiced by the executive director of the Board of Directors representing Angola at the IMF, Willy Nakuniada.

Nakuniada was speaking to the press after the meeting with Finance Minister, Vera Daves, as part of the monitoring activity of the Post-Financing Programme on Regular Surveillance, under Article IV of the Fund’s constitutive agreement.

Nakuniada said that the actions carried out by Angola are having results, adding that the mission would request data from the Angolan authorities about the country’s economic situation, in order to assess the need for possible recommendations.

He also said that after the programme, the authorities were focusing on an agenda to diversify the economy.

“This is an event that the authorities discuss with the IMF, including the World Bank (WB), which are the alternatives to be explored for the economic diversification agenda,” he said.

In turn, the minister of Finance, Vera Daves de Sousa, highlighted the reforms conducted in Angola, aimed to diversify the economy and have a lower inflation rate.

According to her, the country will share the most recent developments and its prospects with the Joint Mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The official explained that it is a follow-up mission that takes place every six months, allowing to have advice, technical assistance in various aspects considered relevant.

“It is not a funded programme. It is simply a follow-up initiative that we are having, in order to defend what we have achieved in the programme that we had with the IMF, and in order to help us to think about how we can speed up some of the reforms,” he stressed.

Nkunianda also said that the IMF’s focus, “is to see how they can support us so that we can move a little bit outside the macro framework, but it is a greater sensitivity to see how efforts can be made for economic diversification to happen.

Questioned about possible future funding, the leader said that, from the outset, the need for funding had not been identified.

“We expect to work with other multilateral financial institutions, in financing projects and budget support logic, such as the World Bank and French Development Agency and the African Development Bank.”

Removal of fuel subsidy

Another issue addressed by the Minister of Finance is related to the possibility of removing fuel subsidies.

The minister said that the technical discussions continue with the IMF and WB.

She stressed that concern remains about the potential social impact of that removal, “what we are doing with these two financial institutions is to analysing possible mitigation measures, which could be implemented, should we decide to move forward.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Joint Mission runs from 28 November to 15 December.

The Mission will also hold meetings with other ministerial departments, such the Public Works and Land Planning, Trade and Industry and Mineral Resources and Oil and Gas, the Economy and Planning, as well as meetings with the private sector, multilateral development partners and the National Bank of Angola.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Sports journalist from Angolan Public Television (TPA) Manecas Madeira died early Sunday morning in Luanda, at the age of 63, victim of illness.

Retired since 2015, Madeira was part of a generation of journalists who over the last 30 years helped to build the profession, mainly in matters related to sports, with coverage inside and outside the country.

Graduated from the INEF Institute, he was also a physical education teacher for many years.

Founding member of the Angolan Sports Press Association (AIDA), Manecas Madeira held positions in sports management.

The former sports journalist was the founder of the Angolan Olympics Academy , apart from being a trainer of the Angolan Olympic Committee (COA).

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The Ministerial Committee of the Organ on Politics, Defence, Security and Cooperation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held an extraordinary meeting Wednesday, in the Republic of Namibia, under the slogan “Promoting peace and security in the Southern African Development Community region, ANGOP has learnt.

Angola was represented by the secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Esmeralda Mendonça, who heads a delegation that includes the secretary of State for National Defence Policy, José Maria de Lima.

The Angolan delegation includes the country’s ambassador to Namibia, Jovelina Imperial, senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and Veterans of the Homeland and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting served to discuss the political and security situation in the region and to strengthen democratic processes and rule and law in the SADC region.

The opening session was chaired by the Namibian deputy prime minister and minister of International Relations and Cooperation as chairperson of the Ministerial Committee of the SADC Organ, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah congratulated the governments of Angola and Lesotho for the peaceful way in which they conducted their general elections this year.

The Namibian official stressed that the electoral processes demonstrate the will of the people within the democratic principles defended by the countries of the Southern African Development Community.

The meeting, held behind closed doors, also served to analyze the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in light of the M23 attacks, in a report of negative acts that endanger the security, stability, peace, and consequently the economic development of the region.

Regarding the situation in DRC, during the speech of the SADC Executive Secretary, read by the acting director Kealeboga Moruti, the SADC Political, Defence, Security and Cooperation Organ recognized the efforts of President João Lourenço as mediator of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kealeboga Moruti underlined the commitment of the Angolan State in the resolution of conflicts in the region and in the continent.

The Defence and Security Committee of SADC addressed the performance of the SADC Mission in the stability and security in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique that allowed the return of thousands of Mozambicans to their areas of origin.

The extraordinary meeting of the Security and Cooperation Council was preceded by the meeting of the SADC Chiefs of Defence and Security organs.

Namibia currently chairs the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, Security and Cooperation, responsible for promoting peace and security in the southern region.

SADC is a sub-regional integration organization, composed of 16 member states, namely, Angola, DRC, Eswatini, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, South Africa, Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana, which hosts the headquarters and Mozambique, which currently assumes the rotating presidency.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – A Campaign aimed to put an end to the violence against women and girls opened Friday during a ceremony presided over by minister of Social Action, Family and Promotion of Women, Ana Paula do Sacramento Neto.

The 16-day campaign is meant to encourage reporting, advocate protection for victims and the application of punitive measures,

Taking place under the slogan “United in the fight against violence on women and girls,” the nationwide campaign aims to develop awareness actions, involvement of families in the fight against violence and promote reflections to ensure the rights of women and children against harassment, sexual assault, pregnancy and early marriage.

The minister Ana Paula do Sacramento Neto said that domestic violence is a public health problem and a social scourge that continues to hinder the achievement of gender equity and equality.

It also prevents the achievement of development, peace, harmony and social cohesion, according to Agenda 2030 and 2060 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

According to the official, from January to November this year, Angola reported 913 cases of domestic violence in its Counseling Centers and 11,710 complaints through the lines 145 and 146.

In turn, the United Nations coordinator in Angola, Zahira Virani, described the elimination of all forms of gender violence as a priority for the development of Angola and to achieve a fairer, egalitarian and inclusive society.

The ceremony was attended by the diplomatic corps accredited to Angola, government officials, representatives of churches, NGOs, and members of civil society.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Angolan government will continue to promote the protection of minorities, whether in sexual, ethnic or linguistic, said the State Secretary for Human Rights and Citizenship.

Ana Celeste Januário made the pledge on Thursday (24), stating that the country has introduced in its legal system the criminality of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender or social condition.

Addressing an opening ceremony of the Regional Forum of magistrates from the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries (PALOP), on non-discrimination and inclusion of vulnerable groups, the official acknowledged existing several challenges in Angolan legislation as well as the strengthening of the technical and institutional capacity for its effective implementation.

She said that the situations of stigma, discrimination and violence continue to occur due to sexual orientation of many citizens.

She said she was aware that in many countries, there are challenges in applying protective laws, with a view to promoting non-discrimination and ensuring the inclusion of marginalised vulnerable groups.

The official considered the role of judiciary in the PALOP crucial to ensure the application of laws against all types and forms of discrimination as well as to ensure the inclusion of all people.

She spoke of the role of judiciary in protecting the rights, freedoms and fundamental guarantees of citizens, who have suffered discrimination because of their sexual orientation, political and ideological options that often lead to be marginalised from societies.

In turn, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Mamisoa Rangers said data shows that 60 per cent of countries in East, West, Southern and Central Africa have laws that criminalise same-sex relation.

She said that for this group of society, violence, degrading treatment, exclusion and discrimination is a daily reality, impacting on their ability to participate in society on an equal basis and access the services they need.

The two-day event is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the National Institute of Judicial Studies (INEJ) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Mbanza Kongo – National Police seized Monday 37 trucks for illegally transporting fuel into Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The fleet of trucks, on their way from Luanda, was seized at the checkpoint connecting the provinces of Zaire and Bengo.

Angop learnt that the trucks were transporting 59,800 liters of diesel, stored in 92 deposits (steppes), many of which were adapted.

The police source also mentions that the fleet belongs to the L.K. Morais company, general trade and Transport, Lda, headquartered in Luanda.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Angola’s Cabinet Council approved Tuesday the proposal for an Amnesty Law, aimed at granting general pardon for common crimes punishable with a prison sentence of up to ten years, committed between 12 November 2015 and 11 November 2022

The communiqué of the session, chaired by the President of the Republic João Lourenço, states that the diploma, applicable to national or foreign citizens, excludes intentional crimes committed with violence and result in death.

The Minister of Justice and Human Rights Marcy Lopes specified that the pardon covers a quarter of the penalty handed to these citizens.

According to the official, this amnesty does not include intentional crimes committed with violence or threats to people that resulted in death or use of a firearm.

“Citizens who have committed violent crimes, trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances that are not of lesser gravity will not be granted amnesty,” he noted.

Speaking to the press at the end of the meeting, Minister Marcy Lopes clarified that “all crimes that include drug trafficking and that have a wider scope” will not be amnestied either.

In this context, the government official indicates that the crimes of trafficking in persons, sexual trafficking in persons, weapons and war ammunition will not be amnestied in the same way.

The same applies to the sexual crimes with penetration, sexual crimes committed against minors or that have been practiced through sexual aggression.

The list includes crimes of promoting and aiding illegal immigration, embezzlement, corruption, money laundering and environmental crimes.

The list continues with crimes that result in the damaging, destruction or deprivation of public property, crimes against the security of the State, which do not admit parole.

Completing the list are crimes of incitement to public disorder, popular uprising and coup d’état.

The last Amnesty Law was passed in 2015. “This is the reason why the temporal scope of the proposed law (…) has this temporal spectrum”, clarified the minister.

The proposed Amnesty Law will be discussed and approved by the National Assembly.

At Tuesday’s session, the Cabinet Council also approved the Organic Statutes of the ministries of Public Works, Urban Planning and Housing, Agriculture and Forestry, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Culture and Tourism, as well as the Ministry of the Environment .

Source: Angola Press News Agency