Angola - Universal Periodic Review

UPR 34, November 7, 2019
Recommendations by Canada

Background

According to UPR Info, a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) that tracks the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, in the last two cycles of the UPR, Angola received 392 recommendations, of which 350 were accepted (an acceptance rate of 89%). Canada’s previous recommendations to Angola were related to violence against women and freedom of religion.

The Government of Angola has taken several positive steps in recent years toward good governance, notably by presenting its 2018 Strategic Plan on the Prevention and Combatting of Corruption and the creation of a Directorate on Crimes of Corruption within the Criminal Investigation Service.

One of the challenges regarding human rights in Angola is the lack of freedom of expression and assembly. Media laws enacted in January 2017, known as the Social Communication Legislative Package, enable the government to control and censor critical information online. Adding to this challenge is the excessive use of force by law enforcement officers. According to Human Rights Watch, Angolan police continues to arbitrarily arrest peaceful protesters and activists. In addition, Angolan security forces were implicated in several cases of extrajudicial killings of young men suspected of crimes in 2017-2018.

Restrictions on religious freedom are a persistent issue in Angola. Some domestic legislation still effectively prevents minority religious groups, in particular Muslim communities, from practising their religion.

On a positive note, the new Penal Code introduced in 2019 decriminalized same-sex conduct and went the further step of prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Nonetheless, important challenges remain. Cultural attitudes have to change to prevent violence and discrimination against individuals belonging to certain stigmatized groups, in particular persons living with HIV/AIDS and LGBTI persons. Further, threats or violence against these groups are often not taken seriously by state authorities and are dismissed without any investigation by law enforcement.

According to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to adequate housing is not upheld for a large proportion of the population of Angola. Angolan authorities continued to forcibly evict people without the necessary procedural guarantees or the provision of alternative housing or adequate compensation to the affected individuals

Recommendations

Thank you, Mr. President.

Canada thanks Angola for its presentation and takes note of notable reforms, including the positive legislative steps taken to protect persons with disabilities and the LGBTI community from discrimination.

Canada recommends that Angola:

1. Uphold individuals’ rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and to freedom of opinion and expression by continuing to address excessive use of force by law enforcement officers and by carrying out prompt, thorough, impartial, and independent investigations into cases of arbitrary arrest and detention.
2. Promote respect for religious minorities by reforming Law 2/04 on Freedom of Religion to conform to the provisions of the Angolan Constitution, as well as international human rights obligations.
3. Enact legislation to guarantee property rights, determine the circumstances and safeguards under which evictions can take place and ensuring that evictions are used only as a last resort and evictees are provided with alternative housing and/or adequate compensation.