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Angola: Security Forces Kill Protesters in Lunda Norte Province

Independent, Thorough Investigation Needed

(Johannesburg) – Angolan authorities should immediately ensure a prompt, independent, and thorough investigation into the killing by security forces of at least 10 unarmed protesters on January 30, 2021 during a protest organized by the Lunda Tchokwe…
Angolan police officers in Benguela, Angola in January 2010.
News

Angola: Police Fire on Peaceful Protesters

One Man Killed; Prominent Activists, Others Beaten

(Johannesburg) – Angolan police used live bullets, teargas, and dogs to disperse a peaceful anti-government protest, killing one protester, in the capital, Luanda, on November 11, 2020, Human Rights Watch said today. Police severely beat the well-…
man lying on gurney. outdoors. paramedics.
News

Angola’s Prisons Ill-Equipped to Curb Covid-19 Spread

Release More Detainees to Reduce Overcrowding

Angolan authorities have released nearly 1900 people in pretrial detention to help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic to the nation’s prisons. While the release of detainees will reduce prison overcrowding, it is not enough to avoid…
Angolan police patrol streets as people move about during the country's Covid-19 lockdown, Luanda, Angola, March 2020.
News

Southern Africa: Weak Rights Protections

Leaders Should Promote Human Rights Across Region

  (Johannesburg) – Weak domestic and regional institutions undermined human rights in several Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries during 2019, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2020…
A delegate attends the 37th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government in Pretoria, South Africa, August 19, 2017. © 2017 Reuters
News

UK's Prince Harry Should Highlight Landmines During Angola Visit

17 Years After War’s End, Mines Still Killing, Maiming Children

Today, Britain’s Prince Harry starts a two-day visit to Angola as part of a tour that will take him to South Africa, Botswana, and Malawi. While in Angola, Harry will visit a HALO Trust demining project in Huambo province, which his…
Villagers stand in front of a Unicef banner warning of landmines outside Caala, Angola
News

A Call for Justice in Africa’s Great Lakes Region

Nairobi Conference Commits to Greater Efforts to Fight Impunity, Defend Rights

Last week, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region met in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss “combating impunity and upholding human rights as key contributors to peace and security.” Representatives from the organization’s 12…
Jean Baptiste Nguondija, a resident of Ngbada, Central African Republic, by the grave of his 10 year-old daughter Nathana Poura. Nguondija has lost 5 children since the conflict began in 2013.
News

Angola: Abusive Arrest of Activist

Drop Case Against ‘Samussuku’ Tshikonde for Insulting President

(Johannesburg, May 17, 2019) – Angolan authorities should investigate alleged police abuse against a political activist and drop the baseless case against him, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 10, 2019 in Luanda…
Angolan activist Hitler “Samussuku” Tshikonde. @2018 Private
News

Submission for the Universal Periodic Review of Angola

March 2019

This submission highlights concerns about Angola’s compliance with its international human rights obligations since its previous Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR) in 2010 and 2014. The submission focuses on problems related to arbitrary arrest and…
News

Angolan Court Frees 13 Pro-Independence Activists

But 50 Cabinda Activists Remain Jailed for Planning Peaceful Protests

A court in Angola’s oil-rich province of Cabinda has ordered the release of 13 of the 63 activists arrested during a massive police crackdown earlier this year ahead of a pro-independence protest. The authorities made the…
201903africa_angola_cabinda_protest
News

Angola Decriminalizes Same-Sex Conduct

Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation Banned

CORRECTION: Although Angola’s parliament voted in January 2019 for a new penal code that no longer criminalizes consensual same-sex conduct, the president of Angola did not sign the new penal code into law until November 2020. It will come into…
LGBT Rainbow Flag
News

Southern Africa: New Leaders Can Do More for Rights

Expectations for Transitions Fall Short

(Johannesburg) – New leadership in key Southern Africa countries renewed hope for greater respect for human rights, but the region’s leaders failed to live up to expectations in 2018, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report…
A delegate attends the 37th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government in Pretoria, South Africa, August 19, 2017. © 2017 Reuters
News

Angola: Stop Abusive Expulsions of Migrants

Serious Abuses Alleged in Diamond Mining Crackdown

(Johannesburg) – The Angolan government should immediately suspend the abusive deportation of migrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo and conduct a prompt and impartial investigation into alleged abuses by state…
Congolese migrants who were living in Angola carry belongings near the Congolese border town of Kamako, on October 12, 2018, after returning to their country following a security crackdown by Angolan authorities. © 2018 SOSTHENE KAMBIDI/AFP/Getty Images
News

Angola: Investigate Past Rights Abuses

In Office a Year, President Lourenço Should Promote Justice

  (Johannesburg) – Angolan President João Lourenço should mark his first year in office by directing his government to investigate past rights abuses by state security forces, Human Rights Watch said…
President João Lourenço of Angola during the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 26, 2018. © 2018 Vladimir Astapkovich / Sputnik via AP
News

Angolan Army Sergeant Sentenced to Prison for Killing Boy

Authorities Should Do More to Protect Protesters

A magistrates court in Angola’s capital of Luanda has sentenced an army sergeant to 18 years in prison for the 2016 killing of a 14-year-old boy during a peaceful protest against house demolitions. The court decision sends a clear message that…
Some of the more than 600 houses demolished by the government in the Zango II area of Luanda, Angola since July 31, 2016.
News

Angolan Journalists’ Acquittal a Victory for Free Speech

Court Upholds Freedom of the Press and Expression

A court in Luanda, Angola’s capital, today acquitted investigative journalist Rafael Marques and editor Mariano Bras on accusations of insulting the state, a huge victory for press freedom in a country where the media have often been…
Renowned investigative journalist Rafael Marques awaits the verdict at Luanda Provincial Court. A judge found him and Mariano Bras not guilty on charges of insulting the state on July 6, 2018. © 2018 Luaty Beirao
News

Africa: Pregnant Girls, Young Mothers Barred from School

African Governments Should Ensure Right to Education

  (Nairobi) - Tens of thousands of pregnant girls and adolescent mothers are banned or discouraged from attending school across Africa, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today, ahead of the Day of the African Child…
Students enrolled in the final year of lower secondary school in the classroom in a village in Kolda region, southern Senegal. Adolescent mothers and married girls study in this school.
Report

Leave No Girl Behind in Africa

Summary When the head teacher found out that I was pregnant, he called me to his office and told me, “You have to leave our school immediately because you are pregnant.” —Jamida K., Kahama, Tanzania, April 2014 We don’t allow pregnant girls to…
News

Angola: Video Shows Apparent Execution by Police

Impartial Investigations Needed into Alleged Extrajudicial Killings

(Johannesburg) –Angolan authorities should promptly investigate the apparent summary execution of a criminal suspect by police officers in Luanda that was captured on video and shared on social media. The killing is one of dozens of…
A still from a video recorded by a witness to an apparent summary killing in Luanda, Angola, on June 1, 2018.