Claiming Human Rights - in Angola

The Republic of Angola is a member of the United Nations and the African Union. It has ratified many UN Human Rights Conventions (compare list on the right) and thus has made binding international commitments to adhere to the standards laid down in these universal human rights documents.

Angola is a Portuguese-speaking country in South-Central Africa. Its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of 1,246,700 square km it is the 22^nd largest country in the world and the seventh largest on the African continent. On a global scale, its population density is very low. The capital of the country, which became independent on 11 November 1975 from Portugal, is Luanda. Angola is a member of the regional economic communities SADC and ECCAS.

With a Human Development Index of 0.56 Angola ranks 143^rd of 182 countries ranked in the UNDP Human Development Report of 2009. Life expectancy of the 18.0 million inhabitants at birth is 47 years, population growth is 2.6 percent per year. GNI is 3,450 US-$ per capita. External debt is 26.2 percent of gross national income.

In as far as Angola has ratified the Optional Protocols for UN Human Rights Conventions or has accepted the Competence of the corresponding UN Treaty Bodies (compare list on the right), the inhabitants of Angola and their representatives are able to invoke their human rights through these bodies.

All inhabitants of Angola may turn to the UN Human Rights Committee through procedure 1503, to the Special Rapporteurs for violations of specific human rights or to ECOSOC for women's rights violations.

Since Angola is a member state of UNESCO, its citizens may use the UNESCO procedure for human rights violations in UNESCO's fields of mandate.

Employers' or workers' and certain other organizations (not individuals) of Angola may file complaints through the ILO procedure in the cases of those conventions which Angola has ratified.

Since Angola is an AU member, its citizens and NGOs may file complaints to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

They may also file complaints according to the EU guidelines (on Human Rights Defenders, Death Penalty and Torture) to Embassies of EU Member States and the Delegations of the European Commission.

In cases of human rights violations by multinational enterprises, they may also invoke the National Contact Point in an OECD member state.

Angola has not yet joined the International Criminal Court.