• Human Rights in Angola

    Angola’s August 2012 elections, although generally peaceful on polling day, fell short of international and regional standards. José Eduardo dos Santos, in power for 33 years despite never having been elected, was voted president, and his ruling party’s position was reaffirmed. Leading up to the election, political parties had unequal access to state resources, and Santos’s party dominated the media. The elections oversight body did not hold Santos’s party to account for violating electoral laws, and independent observation was hampered by delays and restrictions. Acts of violence by apparent plainclothes police against peaceful protesters before the elections contributed to a climate of fear.

  • © 2012 Human Rights Watch
    Angola: Stop Rape, Abuse of Congolese Migrants
    Angolan security forces frequently abuse irregular migrants during expulsions from Angola, including sexual violence and other degrading and inhuman treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
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Angola

  • Angola: Scores Detained, Convicted After Forced Evictions
    Feb 26, 2013
    The Angolan police have arrested dozens of people who were victims of forced eviction and the demolition of their homes in early February 2013. They had lived in Maiombe, a peripheral neighborhood in Luanda, Angola’s capital. On February 23, security forces barred a delegation of the main opposition party, National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), from meeting with and providing assistance to the community, and beat some of the delegates.
  • HRW submission on Angola to UN Human Rights Committee
    Feb 15, 2013
    This memorandum provides an overview of Human Rights Watch’s main concerns with respect to the human rights situation in Angola. We hope it will inform the Committee’s preparation for its review of the Angolan government’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“the Covenant”).
  • SADC: Press Angola, Zimbabwe on Rights as Elections Near
    Aug 14, 2012
    Leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting this week should press the governments of Angola and Zimbabwe to improve human rights conditions in advance of upcoming national elections. SADC’s annual heads of state summit is scheduled for August 17 and 18, 2012, in Maputo, Mozambique.
  • Angola: Stop Stifling Free Speech
    Aug 1, 2012
    The Angolan government is responsible for numerous incidents of political violence, intimidation of protesters, and crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations that might have a negative impact on the August 31, 2012 parliamentary elections. The government should end its crackdown on peaceful protests and the media with the start of the election campaign on August 1.
  • Angola: IMF Should Insist on Audit
    Jul 11, 2012

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should insist that Angola’s government explain how it spent more than US$41.8 billion in unaccounted oil revenues from 2007 to 2011, Human Rights Watch, Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA)-Angola and the Revenue Watch Institute said in a letter to the IMF released today. The IMF’s Executive Board is scheduled to meet on July 11, 2012, in Washington, DC, to discuss Angola as part of an annual review of each of its member countries. 

  • Joint Letter to Managing Director Lagarde Re. July 11 Executive Board Meeting on Angola
    Jul 11, 2012

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should insist that Angola’s government explain how it spent more than US$41.8 billion in unaccounted oil revenues from 2007 to 2011, Human Rights Watch, Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA)-Angola and the Revenue Watch Institute said in a letter to the IMF.

  • Angola: Protesters Detained, Disappeared
    Jul 5, 2012
    The Angolan government is targeting protest organizers for arbitrary arrest and detention in response to increasing demonstrations criticizing the government or its policies,
  • Angola: Stop Rape, Abuse of Congolese Migrants
    May 21, 2012
    Angolan security forces frequently abuse irregular migrants during expulsions from Angola, including sexual violence and other degrading and inhuman treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
  • Angola: Violent Crackdown on Critics
    Apr 2, 2012
    The Angolan government should immediately end its use of unnecessary force against peaceful anti-government protesters, human rights activists, journalists, and opposition politicians. Ensuring that people can exercise their basic rights to freedom of association, expression, and peaceful assembly, and prosecuting those who violate those rights, is crucial for creating a peaceful environment for parliamentary elections slated for later in 2012. On April 4, Angola will celebrate 10 years of peace since the end of the decades-long civil war.
  • IMF: Withhold Funds to Angola
    Mar 27, 2012
    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should withhold a scheduled $130 million loan disbursement to the government of Angola until Angolan authorities fully and publicly justify a US$32 billion discrepancy in Angola’s public accounts.
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