Submitted by ssaliba on
Angola – Twentieth session - 2014
30 October 2014 - 2.30 p.m. - 6.00 p.m
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National Report
Compilation of UN information
Stakeholder Information
Accepted and rejected recommendations
II. Principal developments from the first UPR
B. Consultative bodies
15. The National Children’s Council (Conselho Nacional da Criança – CNAC) was established by Decree 20/07 of 20 April 2007 as a body for social concertation, supervision and oversight of the implementation of policies to promote and protect the rights of children.
E. Technical cooperation with United Nations mechanisms (Recommendations 34–45, 134, 164–166)
26. In 2010, Angola welcomed the Special Rapporteur on Women’s Rights in Africa from African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, allowing an evaluation of the situation of Women’s and Children’s rights in Angola.
F. Ratification of International Conventions (Recommendations 1-24)
1. Instruments ratified [...]
(b) United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its additional protocols, specifically the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (Palermo Protocols).
3. Preventing and combating human trafficking
42. The fight against criminal Human trafficking is guaranteed by Article 60 of the Constitution, which prohibits abhorrent and violent crime.
43. Resolution 21/10 of the Angolan National Assembly of 22 June 2010 ratified the United Nations Convention on Organised Transnational Crime, and its three additional protocols, in particular the Protocols to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (Palermo Protocols).
K. Gender equality and combating violence against women (Recommendations 47–53, 55–66)
61. The principle of equality is enshrined in the Constitution, but Angola recognises the existence of certain bad practices and stereotypes, above all in rural zones, derived from cultural practices which result in discrimination against women and girls. The Constitution prohibits these practices, which diminish the dignity of the individual.
62. Confronted with this, the Ministry for the Family and the Promotion of Women has, together with the Government other stakeholders have been conducting information and awareness-raising campaigns throughout the country. The actions undertaken include: [...]
(b) Distribution of pamphlets and leaflets with messages on issues relating to children's rights and combating violence in schools, universities, National Police units, hospitals, municipal offices, communities, public and private businesses, civil society organisations, etc; [...]
M. Stereotypes and harmful practices
67. Concrete measures have been taken to change social and cultural patterns and eliminate stereotypes:
- (a) Permanent literacy campaigns;
- (b) Scaling up education throughout the country;
- (c) Development of the school-meals program to encourage school attendance and prevent pupils from dropping out;
N. Rights of the child (Recommendations 54, 67–71, 79, 82, 98)
70. The Constitution of the Republic of Angola guarantees protection of the fundamental rights of the child. With a view to promoting child welfare, the Government established with Decree 20/07 of 20 April 2007 the National Children’s Council, which is the coordination and monitoring mechanism of public policy for the promotion and protection of children at national and municipal levels. Resolution 5/8, of 18 January 2008 accepts the 11 commitments fostering the protection and full development of children.
71. The law on the Protection and Full Development of Child was enacted in 2012 which underlines the responsibility for implementing the Government’s 11 commitments for children through action plan, coordinated, overseen and evaluated by the National Children’s Council.
72. In 2011 the Government adopted the Strategy for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Children, as a response to all forms of violence found in the country, adopting the following initiatives:
•Establishment of the National Observatory, aimed at harmonising the methods for the collection and processing of statistical data on the situation of children, including the Helpline SOS-child which is available for individuals to report cases of violence against children in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure;
• Expansion and strengthening of Provincial, Municipal, Communal and Local networks for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of the Child, coordination mechanisms and articulation of actions to prevent and combat violence against children.
73. Currently there are 467 public institutions dealing with early infancy (Community infants’ centres and Infants’ centres) assisting 92,500 children up to age six.
74. Networks for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child are particularly useful mechanisms in implementing the Strategy for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Children which can be found in various forms throughout the country.
O. Birth registration
75. The Civil Registration is a priority for the Angolan Government. However, due to the difficulties encountered in conventional civil registration process in recent years special civil registration campaigns were conducted. However those campaigns did not reach the expected results due to several factors, including the lack of infrastructure, technical and human resources constraints, limited accessibility to remote areas, among other factors contributed to a significant number of citizens without Civil Registry.
76. Beyond the forth mentioned factors, it is worth to refer that some cultural factors have also contributed to hinder the process of civil registration. For example, in some regions, parents cannot assign a name to a child without the consent of other members of the family, in the broadest sense of the maternal and paternal lineage, who meet to choose a consensus name. This process can take years in some cases. In other regions, the sharp cultural belief does not allow the child to be registered before the age of five years.
78. The implementation of this program will be possible thanks to mass investment in tens of registration facilities throughout the country. In addition, the Government has decided to expand the opening hours of registration centers from 7:30 a.m to 8:30 p.m, while the regular opening hours of public services is from 8:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m.
79. With the adoption of the above measures, the number of new registrations has risen substantially. As an example, from September 2013 to January 2014, were recorded, a total of 700,000 new civil registration both children and adults nationwide.
P. Assistance to children at risk
81. The Government of Angola has adopted a range of measures for the protection and assistance of children, based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols, incorporated in Law 25/12 on the Protection and Integral Development of the Child, amongst other legislation on the question.
82. The Government of Angola has created a programme of social support to families in need with children and vulnerable children, including those affected by HIV/AIDS, young offenders and orphans.
83. For implementation of Joint Executive Decree 18/08 on Community Service as an alternative to imprisonment for young offenders, (provided for in Article 17 (d) of Law 9/96 of 19 April 1996 on juvenile offenders) seminars have been held to enhance the capacity building of various justice administration institutions and other stakeholders.
84. The juvenile courts apply social protection measures to minors of all ages, and criminal prevention measures to those aged between 12 and 16. Their work is complemented by the non-jurisdictional, permanent and independent Commission for Minors. Its five members are responsible in close cooperation with the juvenile courts for monitoring the minors within its jurisdiction and cooperate in implementing the courts’ decisions.
85. The system is not fully operational due to the lack of adequate infrastructure and limited human resources on the matter.
86. The Government has adopted actions based on the General Law on Labour and the Framework Law on Social Protection which prohibits child labour for those aged under 17, as well as forced labour and other practices which violate children's rights. Multisectoral subcommittees have been established on child labour and trafficking, physical violence and sexual abuse.
Q. Protection of children accused of witchcraft
87. The accusation of children witchcraft is a troubling phenomenon that arises in Angola especially in rural areas in recent years. It consists of mistreatment; abandonment by family member and communities making the children vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation. After being charged, the children face difficulties to reintegrate within the family and community due to stigma and discrimination.
88. The Government has been working in partnership with UNICEF and civil society organisations to eliminate this harmful practice, by launching awareness campaigns to alert and prevent child abuse opening shelters, providing psychological support and in some cases, a foster family for the victims.
89. On the other hand the Government has established legal mechanisms to hold accountable the perpetrators of such abuses.
R. Right to education (Recommendations 140, 147–157)
90. The Government adopted the Law 13/01 of 31 December 2001, the framework law on the Education System, the National Action Plan for Education for All (PAN/EPT – 2001–2015) and an Integrated Strategy for Improving the Educational System (2001-2015) which aim to ensure that all children have access to basic and compulsory education.
91. The Angola 2025 Strategy and National Action Plan for Education for All set out measures and Action plans for three phases - Emergency (2001–2002), Stabilisation (2003– 2006) and Expansion and Development (2007–2015) for each subsystem, by level and type of education, including Literacy and continuing education and vocational education.
92. The education system benefits from the valuable contribution of some programs and specialized agencies and the United Nations system, which develop various complementary programs, highlighting the Child Friendly Schools Initiative to improve access and quality of primary education across the country, developing a set of rules and guidelines for the construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure as well as water and sanitation facilities in Child-Friendly Schools in rural areas throughout the country.
93. In order to strengthen and improve the performance of the national educational system and respond to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the Government has been implementing since 2001 a broad reform to the national educational system which comprises legislative and administrative measures.
94. The main objective of the reform of the educational system is to ensure strategic changes that contribute to the equitable universalization education, elimination of gender disparity, improve teacher’s performance, redesign of curriculum, improve and expand the school infrastructures.
95. Due to several programs and policies implemented under the reform of the educational system, the number of students has risen from 2.2 million in 2001 to 7.4 million in 2013.
96. Under the scope of educational reform, the Government adopted its Strategy on Literacy and Recovery of Lost School Years 2006–2015. This instrument is complemented by other measures such as the “Yes, I can” (“Sim Eu Posso”), the literacy programme which registered 1,610,203 Angolans of whom 140,000 finished all three modules of the programme.
97. Encouraging indicators were recorded in reducing illiteracy and implementing Literacy and Recovery of Lost School Years in partnership with UNICEF. The programme seeks to accelerate learning by the use of self-teaching methods and the certification of competencies acquired in various formal and informal educational contexts.
S. Education on human rights
108. Human rights as a subject is not specifically enshrined in the school curriculum. However, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with other public entities and civil society organizations has established a Coordinating Committee for the Integration of Human Rights in Subsystems Primary and Secondary Education. This committee has developed Methodological Guidelines for Human Rights for Teacher of primary and secondary in view to mainstream of human rights education.
109. In 2013 the Government has begun training teachers on human rights issues in order to introduce this subject to the school curriculum.
A. Right to health ( Recommendations 113–115, 117, 140, 146)
116. The improved health indicators resulted from several factors jointly, in particular the greater number of health units offering mother-and-baby services, improved coverage for both routine and campaign immunisation, improvements in the health information system through capacity-building of Community agents, investment in training and capacity- building for healthcare professionals, investment in equipment, etc.
117. Despite the progress registered in last few years, but Angola still faces many challenges in health sector, specially affecting children and women with incidences of infectious and parasitic diseases. On the other hand, there has been in the last few years an exponential increase in non-transmissible chronic diseases.
120. Prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) is one of the major priorities in the Angola National HIV Strategic plan, with the goal of achieving 80% coverage rate for HIV-positive pregnant women.
121. The overall infected pregnant women it is estimated to be 3%, with a lower rate of 2% in young pregnant women aged 15–24. In relation to vertical transmission estimates suggest that 25% of children born to HIV-positive mothers contract the disease.
W. Sustainable development and the fight against poverty (Recommendations 46, 112, 116, 119, 121–129, 132, 133, 139, 144, 145)
132. The Programme has four essential axes: the “Strategy to Combat Poverty”, the “Water for All Programme”, the “Rural Extension and Commercialisation Programme”, and the “National Food and Nutritional Security Strategy”. The integrated programme is implemented in every municipality of the country, and provides actions and projects in the areas of health, education, sanitation, domestic energy and water supplies, roads and communications infrastructures, agriculture, stock-raising and rural trade.
X. Rights of vulnerable groups (Recommendations 24, 42, 99, 100, 118) Persons with disabilities
137. Through the implementation of programmes to support persons with disabilities, support was provided to 88,504 persons in this target group through Programs to Provide Means of Transport and Technical Assistance and Community-Based Rehabilitation. Hence, the Program to Provide Means of Transport and Technical Assistance provided services to 73,730 persons with disabilities as well as many devices and means of transport, i.e. [...] 200 wheelchairs for children, 2,004 three-wheeled manual vehicles, 16,560 guides for the blind, 3,698 pairs of crutches, [...]8,254 pairs of walking canes for children, 2,155 canes for the blind, 1,370 walkers, 428 three-wheeled motorized cycles for carrying goods, and 240 three-wheeled motorized cycles for passengers.
- Background and framework
A. Scope of international obligations1
1. In 2013, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and in 2010, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) encouraged Angola to consider ratifying ICERD, CAT, ICRMW and CPED. CRC also encouraged Angola to consider acceding to the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption. CEDAW recommended that Angola ratify the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the Convention, and the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa.
- Constitutional and legislative framework
6. CRC encouraged Angola to ensure that all legislation relating to children was harmonized and to fully enforce the Constitution by creating mechanisms and adopting legislation to facilitate its implementation.
7. CRC recommended that Angola strengthen its efforts to integrate the general principle of the best interests of the child in all legal provisions, judicial and administrative decisions and laws, projects and programmes that had an impact on children. It also recommended strengthening efforts to promote respect for the views of the child at any age in administrative and judicial proceedings.
- Institutional and human rights infrastructure and policy measures
13. CRC recommended that Angola establish councils for children in all municipalities and provide them with adequate resources.
14. CRC encouraged Angola to adopt the Action Plan for Children, ensure that it addressed all of the rights of the child enshrined in the Convention, and ensure that the activities of the Action Plan and of the other national strategies and plans were well coordinated and monitored.
15. CRC urged Angola to increase budget allocations to social spending and to prioritize and increase budgetary allocations for children.
II. Cooperation with human rights mechanisms
- Cooperation with treaty bodies
1. Reporting status
17. CRC urged Angola to fulfil its reporting obligations under OP-CRC-AC and OP- CRC-SC.37 It also urged Angola to address the recommendations contained in the Committee’s concluding observations on the initial report of Angola that had not yet or not sufficiently been implemented.
III. Implementation of international human rights obligations, taking into account applicable international humanitarian law
A. Equality and non-discrimination
23. UNCT stated that the National Policy for Gender Equality and Equity, approved in late 2013, would strengthen the capacity to integrate gender issues at central, local and institutional levels. It would also challenge the current practice of early marriage, and the discrimination experienced by daughters, widows and divorced women with regard to inheritance and property rights.
24. CRC urged Angola to strengthen its activities undertaken to combat discrimination, in particular with regard to children with disabilities, children with HIV/AIDS and San children.
B. Right to life, liberty and security of the person
28. CEDAW urged Angola to adopt and implement a national strategy to fight against all forms of violence against women; ensure the effective implementation of Law 25/11 against Domestic Violence; ensure that marital rape was explicitly criminalized; adopt legal provisions prohibiting sexual harassment at school, in the workplace and in the public sphere; and encourage women to opt for legal action rather than mediation in cases of domestic violence whenever it was justified.
29. The HR Committee stated that Angola should protect children accused of witchcraft from ill-treatment and abuse, and carry out awareness-raising programmes among the population on the negative effects of such practice.54 CRC made similar recommendations.
30. The HR Committee noted with concern that, although the minimum age for marriage was 18 years, there was a high percentage of children aged between 12 and 14 years who were in de facto marriages.
31. CRC expressed concern at the widespread incidence of child abuse and neglect in all its forms and the lack of specific legislation to protect children from abuse and neglect. CRC encouraged Angola to implement the National Strategy to Prevent and Mitigate Violence against Children.
32. CRC recommended that Angola prohibit by law all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment, in all settings, and carry out awareness-raising campaigns on the eradication of corporal punishment and the promotion of alternative forms of discipline.
33. CRC expressed concern at the extent to which children between the ages of 5 and 14 years worked as a result of poverty and the unavailability of quality schools. It recommended that Angola combat child labour by the enforcement of an inspection system, strengthened Child Protection Networks and more support to families living in extreme poverty; invite working children to participate in the development of measures to reduce and abolish child labour; and develop a framework to provide guidance and assistance to children between the ages of 12 and 14 years who had left school and needed preparation and training before entering the labour market.
34. CRC expressed concern that commercial sexual exploitation was widespread, particularly in hotels and night clubs. It recommended that Angola implement appropriate policies and programmes for the prevention of sexual exploitation and for recovery and social integration of child victims.
35. The HR Committee stated that Angola should effectively combat trafficking in persons; include the prohibition of trafficking as a specific offence in its legislation; investigate cases of trafficking, prosecute and, if convicted, punish those responsible, as well as provide compensation and protection to victims; reinforce its cooperation with neighbouring countries and consider adopting a national action plan to combat trafficking. CEDAW and CRC made similar recommendations.
36. CRC recommended that Angola continue to raise the awareness of children about the dangers of landmines and speed up its landmine removal efforts. The HR Committee made similar recommendations.
C. Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law
38. The HR Committee stated that Angola should raise awareness about ICCPR and ICCPR-OP 1 among judges, lawyers and prosecutors in order to ensure that those instruments were taken into account by domestic courts. CEDAW made similar recommendations regarding its Convention. CRC recommended strengthening the provision of training of all professional groups working for and with children.
41. The HR Committee stated that Angola should improve detention conditions. In particular, it should reduce the high percentage of overcrowding, including by using alternatives to detention; guarantee the principle of separation of minors and adults in detention facilities; and facilitate complaints by detainees regarding detention conditions or ill-treatment and investigate and sanction those responsible.
42. CRC recommended that Angola improve the juvenile justice system, including through the establishment of courts for children in conflict with the law; consider establishing specialized procedural rules to ensure that all juvenile justice guarantees were respected; ensure that children, including those aged between 16 and 18 years, benefited from the protection of specific provisions for children in conflict with the law; ensure that children were held in detention only as a last resort, for as short a time as possible, and separately from adults in both pretrial detention and after being sentenced, and provide children deprived in any form of their liberty the right to a review of the decision of placement; and ensure that children were not ill-treated by police officers when in custody.
D. Right to privacy, marriage and family life
43. The High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern that millions of Angolans, including per cent of children under the age of 5 years, had not been registered. That had enormous ramifications for their future ability to play a full role in society, receive benefits and find employment and could potentially lead to problems of statelessness.
44. The HR Committee stated that Angola should finalize the adoption of the new decree on free birth registration for all children and adults, improve the registration system, and conduct awareness-raising campaigns on birth registration procedures within communities. CRC made similar recommendations.
45. CRC recommended that Angola expand its efforts to help families invigorate parent- child relationships by increasing financial, economic, infrastructural and counselling support such as allowances, microcredits, care facilities and parental information and education; and make particular efforts for single-parent families, particularly families headed by young mothers.
46. CRC recommended that Angola strengthen its deinstitutionalization policy and expand and support the placement of children in extended and foster families; and monitor all care arrangements for children, particularly the placement of children in institutions, as long as those facilities continued to exist.
47. CRC noted that the complexities of the adoption regulations impeded and discouraged their use by parents who were willing to adopt. It recommended that Angola simplify the adoption regulations in order to facilitate the use of the procedure by the general public.
F. Right to work and to just and favourable conditions of work
57. CRC noted that vocational training was available for persons from 14 years of age who had at least six years of primary schooling. However, since mandatory schooling ended at 12 years of age, children between the ages of 12 and 14 years did not receive adequate guidance and vocational training in the transition to employment.
58. CRC encouraged Angola to enable the National Council for Children to advise State departments cooperating with industry and trade to develop guidelines to ensure that corporate business respected the rights of the child and protected children. Furthermore, CRC encouraged Angola to include clauses on the rights of the child in business agreements, investment treaties and other foreign investment agreements with multinational corporations and foreign governments.
G.Right to social security and to an adequate standard of living
59. CRC took note of the Government’s various efforts to reduce poverty, including a massive increase in the budget on social security, but remained deeply concerned at the very high rates of poverty and extreme poverty. It was particularly concerned at the immense social inequality. CRC recommended that Angola strengthen its efforts to use the wealth of the country to improve the socioeconomic living conditions of the majority of the population and guarantee an adequate standard of living for all children.
63. CRC urged Angola to take steps to prevent corruption, including by strengthening control over public expenditure.102 The HR Committee made similar recommendations.
H. Right to health
65. While welcoming the adoption of the 2009 executive plan for primary health care, the 2007–2013 Investment Plan for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality and the 2012–2014 National Strategy on HIV/AIDS, CEDAW called upon Angola to: increase access to basic health-care services for women and girls and address the obstacles to women’s access to health care, including sociocultural norms; increase the funding allocated to health care, and the number of health-care facilities and of trained health-care providers and medical personnel; strengthen the maternal and infant mortality reduction programme, and eliminate the causes of such mortality; widely promote education on sexual and reproductive health and rights; and ensure the effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the 2012–2014 National Strategy on HIV/AIDS.105 CRC made similar recommendations.
67. CRC expressed concern at the high incidence of early pregnancies, with more than 50 per cent of first pregnancies being in girls under 18 years of age. It recommended that Angola strengthen its efforts to prevent early pregnancies, including through raising awareness on contraceptives.
I. Right to education
68. UNCT stated that the illiteracy rate among women was high, as was the school drop- out rate among girls.110 CEDAW recommended that Angola raise awareness about the importance of women’s and girl’s education; ensure their de facto equal access to all levels of education and retain girls in school; allocate adequate resources to education to increase the number of teachers and improve the quality of teacher training and of school facilities; undertake a revision of educational textbooks to eliminate gender stereotypes; and strengthen adult literacy programmes, especially for women in rural areas.
69. UNESCO stated that Angola should be encouraged to consolidate its achievements with regard to expanding education to disadvantaged areas by according special attention to the rights of girls, especially in nomadic communities.
70. CRC recommended that Angola take steps to ensure universal enrolment in primary school for both boys and girls and to increase attendance of secondary schools; strengthen efforts to prevent children from dropping out of school and reintegrate those who had dropped out; ensure, by constructing new schools and rehabilitating destroyed schools, that there was an adequate number of schools and classrooms and that schools and classrooms had gender-sensitive sanitation facilities; ensure that, following the end of compulsory education at age 12 years, vocational training facilities were available; protect children, in particular girls, against violence and sexual harassment in school; ensure the integration of human rights, in particular the rights of the child, into school curricula at all levels; increase budget allocations for education so that plans and strategies could be implemented with adequate personnel and material resources; and raise the awareness of the general public about early childhood education and ensure that early childhood education facilities were also provided with necessary resources so that they were adequately staffed and furnished.
J. Persons with disabilities
72. CRC noted that the Constitution acknowledged the rights of children with physical and mental disabilities to live “full and decent lives” without discrimination based on their disability, and that programmes were carried out to ensure their social inclusion. However, it remained concerned that there was still resistance to their full integration in society, that legislative and policy gaps in the protection of their rights remained and that professional staff working with them might not be adequately trained. CRC recommended that Angola ensure full implementation of, and, if necessary, create additional legislation and policies for, the protection of the rights of children with disabilities, and ensure that appropriate care, protection and inclusive education were provided to those children.
K. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
79. UNHCR expressed concern at the fact that refugees and asylum seekers had not been included in Presidential Decree 80/13 of 5 September 2013, which provided for late birth registration free of charge for nationals. Further, pursuant to an administrative instruction circulated by the Ministry of Justice in May 2011, the issuance of birth certificates to children born of foreigners, including refugee children, had been suspended until the approval of the new nationality law. As a result, a large number of refugees and asylum seekers had been unable to register their children and obtain birth registration documents.
80. CRC noted with concern reports of the deportation of more than 30,000 children, amongst whom were unaccompanied children, including children below the age of five, some of whom had reportedly been suffering from malnutrition.CRC recommended that Angola conduct inquiries into the alleged deportations and prosecute alleged perpetrators of abuses against those children.
L. Right to development, and environmental issues
82. CRC recommended that Angola issue appropriate policies and regulations with regard to the activities of the corporate business sector, whether privately or State-owned, especially the oil and diamond industries, requiring companies to operate in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
C. Implementation of international human rights obligations, taking into account applicable international humanitarian law
1 Right to life, liberty and security of the person
17. HRW stated that research in 2011 found that members of the security forces— including border police, rapid intervention police, and immigration officials—routinely committed violence against female migrants in a number of transit prison facilities where migrants are detained before deportation, particularly in the border provinces of Cabinda and Lunda Norte. Corroborated abuses targeting women included rape, sexual coercion, beatings, deprivation of food and water, and—in some cases—sexual abuse in the presence of children and other female inmates. HRW stated that it was not aware of any credible and thorough investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the violations.28 HRW recommended inter alia thorough, credible, and impartial investigations into all allegations of serious abuse by members of the security forces against irregular migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and others during past expulsions, and publication of the findings; disciplining or prosecuting those responsible, including officials with oversight responsibility, and the adoption and implementation of a “no-tolerance policy” for sexual violence by security forces.
C. Implementation of international human rights obligations, taking into account applicable international humanitarian law
1 Right to life, liberty and security of the person
21. Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) stated that the Child Law 2012 did not prohibit corporal punishment in the home or in any other setting. The Domestic Violence Act 2010 made corporal punishment of a certain severity unlawful but did not effectively prohibit all forms of corporal punishment, however light, in childrearing and education. There was no explicit confirmation of children’s right not to be subjected to corporal punishment in any form in the Constitution. There was also no explicit prohibition of all forms of corporal punishment in alternative care settings, day care facilities, schools and penal institutions.
6. Right to education
49. JS 1 stated that although the relevant law on education provided for free primary education, there were cases of students paying for tuition in addition to paying for examinations, and also paying for the maintenance of the school. JS 1 stated that schools lacked adequate conditions conducive to teaching, including a shortage of classrooms, and that there was also corruption.
50. JS 1 called for the implementation of mechanisms for monitoring fees charged by schools and for support to disadvantaged children and adults, and people with disabilities, to access education.
51. JS 1 stated that a bureau for adult and youth education or a department within the Ministry of Education should be established to address specific problems relating to the education of youth, adults, and people with disabilities. It also stated that mechanisms should be implemented that allowed for greater interaction between civil society and public bodies involved in adult and youth education.
52. JS 1 stated that the Coordinating Committee for the Integration of Human Rights in the Educational Subsystems has not submitted a national plan for a human rights oriented education, and that manuals for primary and basic education was yet to be produced. JS 1 called for the incorporation of human rights education into the academic syllabus at all school levels and establish a specialised human rights course at the university level.
Accepted and rejected recommendations
Accepted recommendations:
The recommendations formulated during the interactive dialogue and listed below have been examined by and enjoy the support of Angola:
134.4 Speed up the process of ratification of the conventions it has signed, and consider acceding to other international human rights instruments to which it is not yet a party, such as the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) (Philippines);
134.13 Consider ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Burkina Faso);
134.14 Consider the possibility of ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Ecuador);
134.19 Ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Ghana);
134.37 Ensure harmonization of the Law on Domestic Violence and the child law with international human rights standards (Uruguay);
134.38 Continue to introduce legislation to fulfil its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Australia);
134.39 Adopt a law, in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, that criminalizes all forms of violence against children (Botswana);
134.55 Further expand the initiatives aimed at reaching better protection of the rights of the child (Armenia);
134.59 Improve the situation of women and children by implementing Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security and adopting a relevant national action plan (Estonia);
134.66 Further strengthen its activities undertaken to combat discrimination, in particular with regard to children with disabilities, children with HIV/AIDS and San children (Israel);
134.69 Continue implementing its national programs and policies to advance women’s rights and ensure quality education of children, especially in rural areas (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea);
134.72 Continue addressing the existence of certain practices and stereotypes derived from cultural practices which could result in discrimination against women and girls (Myanmar);
134.75 Improve the birth registration system, as previously recommended (Italy);
134.78 Take appropriate measures for the immediate completion of the registration of citizens, in particular children under the age of 4, who have not had their birth registration carried out (Republic of Korea);
134.79 Finalize legislation on free birth registration for all citizens and enhance registration systems and continue campaigns to this effect (Sierra Leone);
134.80 Consider without delay to adopt a new legislation on free birth registration (Slovenia);
134.87 Explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in the upbringing and education of children (Uruguay);
134.88 Continue the efforts to prevent and fight violence against children (Algeria);
134.89 Strengthen the fight against harmful traditional practices, such as the stigmatization of children accused of sorcery (Chad);
134.90 Fight against the phenomenon of child sorcerers to spare innocent childhood from this terrible calamity of another age (Democratic Republic of the Congo);
134.91 Protect children accused of witchcraft from ill-treatment and abuse, as previously recommended (Italy);
134.92 Stop child labour, as previously recommended (Italy);
134.93 Continue giving due attention to the issue of violence against children by ensuring effective implementation of the Strategy for Preventing and Combating Violence against Children (Malaysia);
134.94 Continue to implement the National Strategy for Preventing and Combating Violence against Children (Mexico);
134.95 Continue to strengthen efforts to eliminate all types of violence against children including through the criminalization of corporal punishment (Portugal);
134.96 Adopt policies and measures in order to prevent the sexual exploitation of children and to facilitate the social integration of those who were victims of such a crime (Romania);
134.105 Ensure effective and practical implementation of the Law on Domestic Violence and the law on the protection of children’s comprehensive development (Russian Federation);
134.118 Consider improving the juvenile justice system by integrating and implementing the child friendly justice standards, including by, inter alia, ensuring that children benefit from the protection of specific provisions for children in conflict with the law; and establishing specialized procedural rules to ensure that all juvenile justice guarantees are respected, and ensuring that children are held in detention only as a last resort and separately from adults in both pre-trial detention and after being sentenced (Serbia);
134.138 Continue to improve standards of living; ensure broad public access to quality education and health services (Uzbekistan);
134.148 Continue to increase human and financial resources allocated by the Government to fight poverty and improve services in the fields of health and education (Cabo Verde);
134.151 Increase its efforts in protecting the human rights of the poor and the disadvantaged, particularly women and children (Holy See);
134.158 Continue the efforts to improve the health care especially of children and the elderly persons, as well as those suffering from HIV (Holy See);
134.159 Take action at all levels to address the interlinked root causes of preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 and consider applying the “Technical guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce and eliminate preventable mortality of children under 5 years of age” (A/HRC/27/31) (Ireland);
134.160 Conduct a survey on child mortality in order to get updated and reliable data (Norway);
134.164 Take additional measures to ensure that all children have access to primary and secondary education (Belgium);
134.165 Integrate human rights education into primary and secondary school curricula (Zimbabwe);
134.166 Encouraged to bring human rights into the curriculum by, among others, training teachers (Djibouti);
134.167 Continue to increase education input to ensure the right to education for all the people (China);
134.168 Continue with the implementation of literacy and remedial education, especially in rural areas (Dominican Republic);
134.169 Realize the right to education for all, including human rights education, by inter alia, ensuring the effective implementation of the law providing for free primary education (Germany);
134.170 Continue its efforts to improve the national system to access education for all children (Iran (Islamic Republic of));
134.171 Improve and facilitate access to education, in particular of girls, as previously recommended (Italy);
134.172 Continue its literacy campaign in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (Kuwait);
134.173 Continue its positive measures to realize the right to education of its citizens (Malaysia);
134.174 Intensify efforts to fully implement legislation to provide free education for all children, to ensure all children have equal access to education (Maldives);
134.175 Integrate human rights in the school curricula (Morocco);
134.176 Take steps to ensure universal enrolment in primary school for both boys and girls and to increase attendance of secondary schools, as well as to ensure the integration of human rights into school curricula at all levels (State of Palestine);
134.177 Ensure equal access to education for women and girls (Turkey);