Committee on the Rights of the Child

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 44 of the Convention

Combined fifth to seventh periodic reports of States parties due in 2015

Angola * , **

[Date received: 30 November 2016]

Contents

Page

List of Abbreviations3

Introduction6

I.General measures of implementation (Articles 4, 42 and 44, paragraph 6 of the Convention)6

II.Definition of the child (Article 1 of the CRC)11

III.General principles (Articles 2, 3, 6 and 12)12

IV.Civil rights and freedoms (Articles 7, 8, 13, 17, 28 No. 2, 37 and 39)14

V.Family environment and alternative care (Articles 5, 9 to 11, 18 No. 1 and 2, 19 to 21, 25, 27 No. 4 and 39)17

VI.Basic health and well-being (Articles 6 and 18,3; 23, 24, 26, 27 and 33)22

VII.Education, recreation and cultural activities (Articles 28, 29, 30 and 31)28

VIII.Special protection measures (Articles 22, 30, 32 (a), 36 and 37 (b), (c) and (d),38, 39 and 40)34

List of Abbreviations

ANNational Assembly

APPeople’s Assembly

BNANational Bank of Angola

CCIInter-Agency Coordinating Committee

CDC or CRCConvention on the Rights of the Child

CEDAWConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

CFFamily Code

CIERNDHIntersectoral Commission for the Preparation of National Reports on Human Rights

CNACNational Council of the Child

CPIConsumer Price Index

DNICNational Criminal Investigation Directorate

DRCDemocratic Republic of the Congo

EACEspaço Amigo da Criança

ECCASEconomic Community of Central African States

ECOWASMinisterial Conference of the Economic Community of West African States

EIRPInterim Poverty Reduction Strategy

ENDLPLongo National Development Strategy

EPIExpanded Program on Immunization

GDPGross Domestic Product

HRHuman Rights

ICESCRInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

IDRRevenue and Expenditure Survey

ILOInternational Labour Organization

INACNational Institute of the Child

INENational Statistics Institute

INEJNational Institute of Legal Studies

LCConstitutional Law

LJMLaw on the Court for Minors

MAPESSMinistry of Public Administration, Employment and Social Security

MCSMinistry of Social Communication

MDGMillennium Development Goals

MEDMinistry of Education

MINADERMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development

MINARSMinistry of Social Assistance and Reintegration

MINCULTMinistry of Culture

MINEAMinistry of Energy and Water

MINFAMUMinistry of the Family and Women’s Empowerment

MINFINMinistry of Finance

MININTMinistry of Interior

MINJUDMinistry of Youth and Sports

MINJUSDHMinistry of Justice and Human Rights

MINSAMinistry of Health

MINUAMinistry of the Environment

MIPLANMinistry of Planning

MIREXMinistry of Foreign Relations

NGONongovernmental Organization

OAAOrder of Attorneys of Angola

OGEGeneral State Budget

OMAOrganization of Angolan Women

OPAAgostinho Neto Pioneers Organization

OPACOptional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

OPSCAdditional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

OVCOrphans and Vulnerable Children

PICCommunity Program for Children

PLRFFamily Location and Reunification Program

PNNational Police

PNDNacional Development Program

PNSNational Health Policy

PPDDisabled Person

PPMSSBPublic Program to Improve Services

PRLLegislative Reform Program

RAAAPRapid Action, Analysis and Evaluation Program

REEducation Reform

SADCSouthern African Development Community

SCMSecretariat of the Council of Ministers

SICAIndicator System of the Angolan Child

SMEMigration and Alien Services

SNSNational Health Services

STISexually Transmitted Infection

UNICEFUnited Nations Children’s Fund

WFCA World Fit for Children

WFPWorld Food Program

WHOWorld Health Organization

Introduction

1.Report CRC/C/AGO/2-4 was submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (Committee), in Geneva by the State of Angola in accordance with Article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), pursuant to 1545 and 1547 (CRC/C/SR.1545 and 1547) on 14 September 2010 and at its 1,583rd session. At that time, the final observations were approved that indicated Angola’s progress and difficulties. That report combined the second, third and fourth periodic reports. This report combines the fifth, sixth and seventh periodic reports in accordance with the final observations (CRC/C/ago/co/2-4, Recommendation 11 paragraph 80). The information included herein observe the United Nations Harmonized Guidelines on Reporting under the International Human Rights Treaties HRI/GEN/2/Rev.6 HRI/GEN/2/Rev. 6 of 3 June 2009.

(i)Methodology adopted for preparing the report

2.The Intersectorial Commission for the Preparation of National Reports on Human Rights (CIERDH), which consists of members from all sectors and public institutions that are directly and indirectly involved in the promotion and defence of the rights of the child as part of their duties, was the main stakeholder in the process of preparing this report. Other State institutions also took part in preparing the report. The Office of UNICEF support involved conducting information and social awareness campaigns to publicly present the activities that were carried out.

I.General measures of implementation (Article 4, 42, and 44, paragraph 6 of the Convention)

1.1Recommendations of the Committee prior to this report

3.Special attention was paid to the commentary in the final observations of the Committee (CRC/C/ago/co/2-4) on following up on the final observations (CCPR /C/SR. 2.975) in preparing this report.

4.The sustainability of the implementation of the recommendations (CCPR/C/SR.2.975) was included in the policy measures in the government’s two-year programs and in the OGE for the 2009-2011 period with titles corresponding to the activities that were carried out in order to: (a) expand and give children access to birth registry services, harmonize Angolan legislation and address the awareness and social mobilization for the guarantee of rights; (b) prevent and fight all forms of abuse against children and carry out educational, training and legislative activities—these are part of multisectoral integration mechanisms to mobilize society in order to promote the rights of the child; (c) and promote the culture of social inclusion while fighting all forms of discrimination, and most of all, discrimination against girls.

5.To illustrate the information in subparagraph (a) of the previous paragraph, the following table shows the amounts provided and administered in accordance with the statutory provisions subject to on-going monitoring by the Audit Office.

6.The budget allocations for the 2012-2015 period show the following total amounts in kwanzas for the indicated programs:

Table 1

Amounts allocated for program implementation (2012-2015 period)

Programs	Amounts (KZ)
Harmonization of the law	6 789 609 181.00
Birth registries	24 699 634 550.00
Fighting discrimination against girls	1 598 763 915.00
Fighting violence against children	117 032 554.00

Source : General State Budget (2012-2015 OGE) .

7.The following specific programs are for carrying out the activities described in the table: revision of the criminal and civil legislation and support for the Commission for the Reform of Justice and Law for the harmonization of the law and birth registries; the Strategy to Prevent and Fight Violence against Children, the Call Center (SOS—Criança), women’s empowerment and the harmonious development of the family and support for gender issues and women’s empowerment for proposals to fight violence against children as part of the programs to promote the rights and development of the child. Likewise, those that deal with fighting discrimination against girls are closely linked with the programs mentioned in Table 1 and the 2013-2017 PND.

8.Another important part of the budget for the child, approved for the 2014-2015 two-year period, in the amounts of Akz. 84,214,480,530.00 and 99,341,366,863.00 respectively, was intended for activities that are executed in the following programs: institutional and social advocacy; prevention; protection; intervention; and support as part of cooperation with civil society, the details of which are highlighted in Annex 1. Fiscal and other expenditures in 2015, as in previous years, are detailed by function in accordance with Table 2.

Table 2

Expenditure by function in the initial and revised 2015 OGE M.U.: thousands of millions of AKz

	OGE	Rev. OGE	Change	Structure
Fiscal expenditure	Social sector	2 482.5	1 772.9	-28.6%	32.5%
Economic sector	1 050.0	584.4	-44.3%	10.7%
Defence, security and public order	1 023.2	847.3	-17.2%	15.5%
General public services	1 302.1	835.4	-35.8%	15.3%
Other expenditures	Public debt operations	1 394.0	1 414.0	1.4%	25.9%
Total	7 251.8	5 454.0	-24.8%	100.0%

9.Table 4 shows a few indicators that arose due to the revision of the OGE and the key risks in this fiscal year, including but not limited to:

The reduced capacity of the State to service/resort to the external debt

Suspension of implementation of current investment projects

The reduced capacity to finance the provision of education, health and social assistance services

Compromised functioning of the government

10.Despite the persistent constraints the efforts of the State and society have been positive, even though spending is now being cut.

11.The work of analysing international human rights treaties is an on-going activity as part of a process of cooperating with non-convention and other mechanisms of the United Nations and the African Union. These include the Convention against Torture and Other Inhuman and Degrading Treatments and its Optional Protocol. In this fiscal year, it is an indicator of the details of compatibility of this with the Constitution of the Republic of Angola. It is in the processing phase for ratification. It should be noted that about 27.6 million kwanzas is the monetary amount that the OGE allocated to continue implementing this activity in 2015.

12.In March 2013, Angola ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol.

13.The monitoring and dissemination of the recommendations for the State of Angola were made as part of tracking all procedures and achievements of the government entities and institutions that are members of the Inter-sectoral Commission for the Preparation of National Reports on Human Rights (CIERNDH). In addition, the Supreme Court, National Assembly, Attorney General of Angola, Ombudsman, ministers who are and are not members of the CIERNDH and the governors of the provinces were made aware of this.

14.Over the years, the programs of the National Council on the Child and of its members have been disseminated through the National Institute of the Child and the CIERNDH.

1.2Measures adopted for the implementation of the Convention and its Optional Protocols (OPACand OPSC)

15.The national and international commitments to children are a major concern for the State of Angola, which has spared no effort to carry out specific activities, keeping in mind the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in general and the ad hoc recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Committee) regarding the initial report (CRC/C/3/Add. 66), as well as those mentioned in periodic reports 2, 3 and 4 (CRC/C/AGO/2-4). In this context, legislative measures were adopted, the National Development Plan (2013-2017 PND) was prepared, and mechanisms were developed or strengthened to coordinate, link and adopt measures to improve the budget. This was done to optimize the execution of all policies that make it possible to implement the Convention and its Additional Protocols, the details of which are presented below.

1.2.1Legislative measures

16.The revision and adoption of general and specific laws and other regulatory measures, which by their crosscutting nature cover areas that achieve the principles of the Rights of the Child, strengthen the statutory and regulatory framework for the protection and development of the whole child in Angola.

This exercise resulted in the following:

(a)Law No. 3/14 of February 2014, the Law on Crimes Underlying Money Laundering, whose provisions contain articles to protect against the trafficking of women and children;

(b)Law No. 25/11 against Domestic Violence, which establishes the legal regime for the prevention of domestic violence, protection and assistance to victims in order to punish perpetrators of acts of violence and informs victims of their rights;

(c)Law No. 25/12 on the Protection and Development of the Whole Child, which establishes the legal rules and principles on the protection and development of the whole child in order to strengthen and harmonize the statutory and institutional instruments intended to ensure the rights of the child. The purpose is to expand and promote the rights of the child as they are defined in the CRA, the CRC, the CAC and in other applicable legislation. They include rather innovative components in terms of aligning their precepts with those of the CRC, in particular with regard:

To the promotion of equality and fighting discrimination in the family in public or private institutions and in society in general.

To the protection of life and health through means that are within the reach of the family and the State, in particular social public policies and the creation of conditions that allow for their birth and healthy and harmonious development.

To issues related to the Supreme Interest of the Child, and this principle must be taken into account in the interpretation and application of the law and in assessing disputes that involve the child. If there is a conflict between two statutes, the one that prevails is the one that specifically best protects the child’s interests.

To the Right to the Participation of the Child that involves the family, the community, institutions that provide care and services for children, the authorities and all citizens, to create propitious conditions and to act so that children, based on their age and maturity, enjoy this right and so that their suggestions and opinions can be heard and considered when decisions that involve them are taken.

(d)Presidential Decree 207/14 of 15 August on the Intervention Strategy for the Social Inclusion of the Disabled Child is an instrument that implements the current legal framework in the area of disabilities, with specific responses that are better directed toward disabled children. Attention is paid to the complexity of their vulnerability, with five pillars of intervention as follows: early intervention, rehabilitation and skills, special education, social action and accessibility.

1.2.2National Development Plan

17.The 2013-2017 PND is firmly based on social justice and human development. Its implementation is based on a strategy of economic growth in which public and private investment in long-term public sector projects are carried out in the platform for the development of the national economy. This is a fundamental factor for achieving human rights in general and the rights of the child in particular. This factor requires good socioeconomic performance from Angola.

1.2.3Mechanisms to coordinate and link implementation activities

18.Report CRC/C/AGO/2-4 makes references to the mechanism for coordinating and linking actions to implement the CDC and delves into great detail on the entities that are part of it, namely the National Council on the Child, which is a forum for dialogue that includes institutions from civil society and State institutions. Specifically, the duties assigned to the Ministry of Social Assistance and Reintegration (MINARS) and the National Institute of the Child (INAC) are established in other mechanisms.

19.Efforts have been intensified to accelerate the work to strengthen the CNAC at all levels with regard to the reorganization of human and financial resources. This is a major action in all the entities that comprise the national coordination and linkage arrangement. As a result, there has been progress in the organizational component for promoting and protecting human rights in Angola, and in particular the rights of the child. This is evidence of a framework that has been extensively strengthened in the different areas as follows:

(a)Institutional level

20.The INAC has been integrated with and interacts on the institutional level with other institutions for the objectives of the child component.

(b)Participative Linkage and interaction

21.To link activities in the most varied areas and at levels of intervention among institutions with similar objectives as regards children’s issues and to motivate interaction among different stakeholders to seek a consensus or solutions that contribute to improving the requisite service to everyone, there are the Provincial Human Rights Committees, Networks for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of the Child, the Friends of the Child Units and the provincial, municipal and communal councils that provide linkage and interaction.

(c)Advisory services

22.In this area there are two fundamental mechanisms related to the purposes for which they were created directly or indirectly. They are the National Council of the Family and the National Council of the Child.

1.2.4Budget for the CRC and their OPSC and OPAC, international assistance or support

23.The preparation and approval of the General State Budget (OGE) observes the statutes: Law No. 15/10 of 14 July (Framework Law on the General State Budget), which is based on the new constitutional vision assumed in the political, economic and social realms. The purpose is to achieve the State objectives in the 2013-2017 PND. This is perceived as a document that is especially important for the life of Angola as it provides for the resources necessary to cover all expenses.

24.The Revised General State Budget for 2015 provides total financing in the amount of AKz 5,454.02 thousand million. This amounts to a decrease of about ¼ of the initial OGE. For information, below is a comparative statement of amounts allocated to the sectors that carry out the general activity of the State, i.e. social, economic, security and internal order, as well as general public services, confined to the period from 2012 to 2015. It provides generic information on the functional performance of spending in the OGE.

25.The result of the revision of the 2015 OGE and the allocation of amounts to the sectors that carry out the general activity of the State are precepts that are shown in the tables in the annex. They show that the following total amounts were approved or allocated to the different programs: in 2013 Akz. 15,330,425,071.00; in 2014 Akz. 140,984,424,659.00; in 2015 initially approved kz. 277,684,615,854.00 and as a result of the revision Akz. 208,263,461,890.50.

Table 3

Statement of allocations by sector 2012-2015 OGE (millions of kwanzas)

Sectors of activity	Social	Economic	Defence, security and internal order	General public services
Year	2012	1 552.9	541.3	835.2	1 571.3
2013	2 228.6	1 214.1	1 172.0	2 020.8
2014	2 175.1	1 423.7	1 194.1	2 465.5
2015(1)	2 482.5	1 050.0	1 023.2	1 302.1
2015(2)	1 772.9	584.4	847.3	835.4

Source : Report of the Basis for the General State Budget .

(1) Initial .

(2) Revised .

26.As for the budget in general, the functional composition of the OGE expenditures in 2014 shows the following indicators in terms of the changes in the system for allocating budgetary funds. They show a strong trend of increasingly paying attention and assigning high responsibility to making the rights given to citizens a reality, as summarized in the table below. The heaviest weight in the social sector for the economy, defence, security and the internal order is due to the importance of running and maintaining institutions that provide public services for health, education and social assistance to children and senior citizens.

1.2.5National Independent Human Rights Institution (NHRIS)

27.The possibility of establishing a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) is being studied. In accordance with the Paris Principles, it will be an essential partner of the government for questions of promoting and protecting human rights.

28.Meanwhile, there is the Ombudsman in Angola. This is a public independent entity whose objective is to defend the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens. Through informal means, it ensures justice and the legality of the central government.

29.In general terms, the charter of the Ombudsman of Angola is consistent with the Paris Principles regarding the duties, responsibilities and constitutional provision. As in other countries, the Ombudsman of Angola performs the role of the National Human Rights Institution.

II.Definition of the child (Article 1 of the CRC)

30.There has been no change in the definition of the child. On the contrary, the Constitution of the Republic of Angola used and strengthened the Constitutional Law in effect at that time. Article 24 establishes that majority is acquired at 18 years of age.

31.In accordance with the precept of the CRC (Article 1) and the CRA (Article 24), the legislation of Angola defines as a child a citizen who is not yet 18 years old, but it allows for cases in which the majority may be attained earlier when the law specifically applicable to the child provides for it in Law 9/96 on the Court for Minors, in Articles 66, 69, 123, 124, 125 and 127 of the Civil Code, 24 of the Family Code, 617 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and 68, 69, 108, 109 and 399 of the Penal Code.

32.Regarding the minimum age for marriage, the law of Angola provides for the possibility for a minor to acquire civil eligibility before reaching the legal age of emancipation. Under the law, a minor may be emancipated as a result of marriage (Article 24 of the Family Code) with permission from parents, guardians or anyone who has custody of the minor, and a court decision can override the non-permission after hearing the Family Council. In the reality of Angola, this provision pertains to other situations that may arise from the involvement of two minors that results in a significant situation, and attention is paid to the supreme interest of the minors.

III.General principles (Articles 2, 3, 6 and 12)

3.1Non-discrimination (Article 2)

33.In accordance with Article 2 of the Convention, Article 23 of the CRA enshrines the principle of equality of all citizens under the Constitution and the Law. No one may be aggrieved, privileged, deprived of any right or exempted from any duty because of their ancestry, sex, race, ethnicity, colour, disability, language, place of birth, religion, political, ideological or philosophical convictions, degree of schooling, economic and social condition or occupation. Article 4 of the Family Code (CF), with regard to the protection and equality of the child, assigns this duty to the family, with the collaboration of the State, which must provide the utmost protection and equality of the child so that they reach their whole physical and mental development. Consequently, Article 4 of Law No. 25/12 of 22 August on the Protection and Development of the Whole Child, guarantees the protection of the child, regardless of colour, race, sex, ethnic origin, marital status of the parents, physical and mental condition, or any other objective or subjective special feature. Other rights are ensured as established in the following subparagraphs of the same article.

34.The necessity of eliminating discriminatory factors and practices continues, despite the preliminary measures that range from information, training and awareness to prevention.

35.In any event, age, ancestry, sex, race, ethnicity, colour of skin, disability, language, place of birth, chosen or professed religion, political, ideological or philosophical convictions, degree of schooling, economic or social condition or occupation, and ultimately, regardless of the characteristic of the person, are not conditions that limit rights for the child, since there are programs that provide special services to children whose physical, psychological, social or other condition so requires.

36.In 2013 Angola signed for ratification the Convention against All Forms of Racial Discrimination, even though the Constitution and all legislation contains provisions against any type of discrimination.

37.Today the population of Angola is a highly diversified composition of ethnic languages and nationalities. In this group, the largest group is the Ovimbundos. See table No. 14.

3.2

38.Practices regarding observance of the principle of the supreme interest of the child that turn out to be positive are disseminated and duly programmed.

39.The advocacy carried out by the National Institute of the Child (INAC), events in support of efforts by the government and civil society, and cooperation and the evaluation of outcomes by the National Council of the Child (CNAC), resulted in the enactment of Law No. 25/12 on the Protection and Development of the Whole Child. Its purpose is to expand and further the rights of the child as they are defined in the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Well Being of the Child, and other governing legislation.

40.Moreover, we repeat the constitutional precept and the conventional principle of the Supreme Interest of the Child. Article 6, No. 1 of Law 25/12 provides avenues for better interpreting and implementing the law and settling disputes that involved children based on that principle. Emphasis is on property and social ends that children and their special condition represent as developing persons.

3.3The right to life, survival and development (Article 5) (Article 6)

41.In pursuing its efforts based on the observance of the constitutional provisions, the Executive Branch of Angola continues to bolster its mechanisms for the harmonious development of the personality of children and to create conditions for integrating them, because for various reasons they are in a situation that merits special attention in order to prepare them to participate in active life in society.

42.The prerequisite for the continued existence of the whole and healthy nation of Angola is the survival and development of its citizens. In sum, this means the right to life, which has been of paramount concern for the Executive Branch of Angola, as shown in its performance in implementing public policies that are subject to international evaluation. Some of the results were presented in the 2014 Report on Human Development, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It was reported that, among the 187 countries studied since 2002, Angola has the third highest annual growth rate of the Human Development Index (HDI), at 2%. Only Rwanda and Ethiopia have higher rates. Nonetheless, efforts are constantly being redoubled to forge ahead along the long and arduous path so that, in a few decades, Angola will rise to be among the group of countries with high human development.

43.Thus, life expectancy at birth in 2000 was 45.2 years. In 2013 the index rose to 51.9 years. In other words, in just 13 years, almost seven years were added to life expectancy. This is an encouraging trend made possible by the contribution of progress observed in the education and health of our population, where the adult literacy rate reached 73 percent, as opposed to 10 years ago, when it was less than 50%.

3.4.Respect for the opinion of the child (Article 12)

44.Articles 40 and 41 of the CRA provide for the total guarantee of the exercise of freedom of expression of citizens. They mention freedoms of expression and information and conscience, freedom of religion and worship that are absolute and consistent with Article 7 of the Charter and Article 13 of the CDC respectively.

45.A set of precepts that guarantee these rights are in the CF, a legal instrument widely used to evaluate disputes that involve children, especially in the Family Sections and Courts for Minors in the provincial courts. In these venues, as of age 10 children must be heard and are frequently heard in cases that pertain to them that are related to the exercise of parental responsibility.

46.The promotion of the culture of respect for the opinion of children is a complex task that requires a series of measures that involve: the family of all social classes—the first institution for the participation of the child; the community and its social institutions (schools, hospitals, children’s centres, orphanages, police units, courts, etc.); and society as a whole, which must create conditions so that children:

(a)Have opportunities and forums to express their feelings, opinions and suggestions, especially as they pertain to their existence since they will be in full development, and all of the above are to be taken into consideration;

(b)Have opportunities to participate in activities that facilitate their understanding of the world in which they live, and to learn everything that is useful for them to develop as dignified and whole persons throughout their lifetime.

47.The voice and expression of the child in the various forums of participation have already been provided to them. Children have been heard completely and their opinions and suggestions have been taken into consideration in public institutions (Family Sections and Courts for Minors in the provincial courts), schools, hospitals and others, where the supreme interest of the child is taken into consideration, and in provincial and national children’s meetings organized by public institutions and civic associations from primary and secondary schools. There they interact with the leaders of different sectors and make recommendations to improve given aspects. Provincial and national assemblies of children are held the day before each edition of the National Children’s Forum. The recommendations that result are taken into consideration and incorporated into the final documents of that biennial event among others.

48.For improving systems to promote the observance of this essential principle of the rights of the child, INAC, with technical and financial support from UNICEF, a guidelines document on the participation of the child is being prepared. This can be a worthwhile instrument for the entire system for the protection and development of the whole child and a tool to be used in training activities.

49.Based on the CDC version of “Amiga da criança” published by UNICEF, INAC prepared a large guide for children to hold meetings, and gave them venues for participation so that they can contribute their opinions to the process of preparing reports and hence, to solving their problems.

IV.Civil rights and freedoms (Articles 7, 8, 13, 17, 28 No. 2, 37 and 39)

4.1Birth registries, name and nationality (Article 7)

50.The performance indicators of birth registry activities has shown considerable progress, thanks to the effort made to reinstate these citizens’ rights that they were denied during the years of armed conflict. The Executive Branch of Angola has constantly been searching for better methods for the system to run smoothly. Excellent figures have resulted from this effort and they show that the number of children registered has changed as follows: in 2011, 387,098; in 2012, 3,422,151; these figures are disaggregated in Annex 4.

51.The lack of reliable information on the exact number of Angolans that have no civil registration is the reason for Presidential Order No. 80/13 of 5 September. It adopts temporary exception measures, and Executive Decree 309/13 of 23 September, which provides an exemption for paying the fees for birth registry documents and for the acquisition of the identification card until 31 December 2016. The projected figure for the year is to reach 2,174,880 citizens, and the goal is to reach 8,144,640, established for the period throughout the entire country.

52.These legislative measures are strengthened through information and awareness campaigns and by a component of the Program to Promote Family Skills, known as the “Receita da Felicidade.” This consists of education activities for families, and especially for those with pregnant women and children between 0 and 5 years of age. It gives them knowledge and mobilizes them for easy practices of preventing and addressing problems that affect children, one of which is the birth registry.

4.2Preservation of identity (Article 8)

53.When defining the term “identity,” the conclusion was reached that it is very broad and depends on the point of view and what is to be addressed. For the purposes of the report, we propose addressing the different aspects of the question.

54.The National Culture Festival (Fenacult), held in September 2014, was a way to promote the cohesion, unity and cultural diversity of Angola, as well as to preserve and disseminate the national identity. Another cultural event that is national in scope is Carnaval, and it has a children’s component. In the festivities of the Children’s Carnaval, children can listen to stories from adults, simply for the purpose of perpetuating the manifestations that are characteristic of the diversity of the peoples of Angola. In this regard, studies are being performed to create cores of cultural action in schools, and students, teachers and educators are part of this.

55.In the partnerships with the civil society and business sectors, many other events have been held, in particular the National Music and Dance Festival, held during three consecutive days, along with Fenacult, and the National Children’s Song Festival, which is held every year in two phases: provincial and national.

4.3Freedom of expression (Article 13)

56.The right to express oneself, disseminate and freely share thoughts, ideas and opinions, through words, images or any other means, as well as the right and freedom to inform, to inform oneself and to be informed without obstruction or discrimination is an exercise found in No. 1 of Article 40 of the CRA. It may not be prevented or limited by any type or form of censorship and it is available to all citizens. It is especially strengthened for children by Article 13 of the CDC, with which it is in perfect harmony.

57.In this regard, the Executive increase, solidify and expand physical forums, systems and events at which children express themselves freely. They think and their ideas are considered and included in all agendas with themes about them.

58.The State of Angola believes that there is a direct relationship between the concept of the principle of the child’s participation and the exercise of citizenship to build the most practical form of learning all aspects of using the right and freedom of expression in a peaceful manner that respects the dignity of others and the youthful segments of the population. The greatest visibility of children’s participation is made possible through social communication entities such as the following programs: Carrocel on TPA weekly, Rádio Pió and Caluanda Pió, on Rádio Nacional de Angola and Rádio Luanda.

4.4Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 14)

59.Article 41 provides a constitutional guarantee of freedom of conscience, religious beliefs and worship. According to this article, this freedom is inviolable and no one may be deprived of their rights, persecuted or exempted from obligations on the grounds of religious beliefs or philosophical or political convictions.

60.These constitutional precepts, which can be harmonized with the CDC, are observed in general and more seriously for children. Generally, children go along with their parents in all family customs, including religious prophecy. However, the opposite trend appears to be resulting from persistence in the dissemination of the precepts of the CDC, as there are cases of children choosing religious sects freely.

61.At this time there is a commission that is working on analysing the religious phenomenon and the harmful practices of some religious sects and groups. Recently in Huambo there was a case of a leader of a sect who was acting in a manner harmful to children.

4.5Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (Article 15)

62.The few existing children’s associations were established freely by Angolan citizens in accordance with the current legislation, reflected in thee)e) Constitution. It addresses freedom of expression, assembly, demonstration, association and all other types of expression in public and private places. Provided they are not against the law, morality, order, public tranquillity and the rights of individuals and groups, these rights are granted to all citizens including minors under age 18 however children under 16 (sixteen) years may not integrate in the administration of the associations.

4.6Protection of privacy and image (Article 1)

63.The State guarantees the right to privacy and family with the limits especially provided for in Article 32 of the Constitution, which prohibits the illegal use or use against human dignity of information about persons and families. As a citizen, the child enjoys guaranteed privacy as shown in the interpretation of the statutory provisions, namely in the Civil Code, Penal Code, Family Code and Civil Registry, and in the international legal instruments currently in effect in Angola, which strengthen the role of the family with community education programs to provide and preserve cultural and traditional values and to disseminate the CDC and the African Charter.

64.As a rule, the illegal use of images of children in the media is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to the punishments imposed by the Social Communication Council that investigates the actions of organs of the press under the terms of Law 25/12.

4.7Access to information and protection from damaging material (Article 17)

65.Commitments No. 9 and 10 are part of the series approved by the government regarding the child. They refer specifically to family competencies and social communications. They are made available to each community to ensure the survival and development of the whole child in Angola beginning with the early years of life. Actions that are carried out to implement these commitments provide the minimum required services for children: media dissemination and promotion of the main program objectives based on the rights of the child; these include information on the relevance and activities of each government and nongovernment sector and involve the radio and television stations, the press, training activities for church activists, etc.

66.To ensure the effective protection of the child against pernicious information and harmful materials, there is the Penal Code, which prohibits the use of minors under 16 years old in pornographic photography, films and recordings, punished by a prison term of up to 4 years. This is entirely consistent with Law 25/12 on the Protection and Development of the Whole Child, including: (a) restrictions on children being in night-time entertainment venues; (b) the protection of children on the Internet; (c) control of photographs, captions or announcements in magazines and publications intended for child or youth audiences; (d) and the restriction of access for children to articles and information considered pornographic or that incite children to violence.

4.8Right to not be subjected to torture (Articles 37 (a) and 28 No. 2)

67.The few cases of violence against children that occur in some schools are due to the fact that the inclusion of a human rights component in teacher training programmes is poor, and to the lack of mechanisms and a culture of children and their parents or educators not reporting the incidents. Sometimes they render violence with the argument that if children were subjected to these practices, occasionally severe, they would learn better.

68.Teacher training through seminars, workshops and other similar activities and information and awareness campaigns on appropriate occasions have resulted in fewer cases and more reporting of incidents. Responses to reports of incidents range from counselling to warnings and criminal liability based on the seriousness and the relation to the child (victim). According to INAC indicators, an annual average of 815 cases of violence against children reported to the authorities are estimated in the entire country; of that number, 1,097 per year are brought to trial, most frequently by order of seriousness: homicide, abandonment of infants, sexual abuse, bodily offence, flight with parental responsibility, negligence and instrumentalization.

69.According to Articles 7 and 8 of Law No. 25/12 on the Protection and Development of the Whole Child, children are not to be treated in a negligent, discriminatory, violent or cruel manner, nor may they be subject to any type of exploitation or oppression. The law punishes all behaviours that breach these prohibitions. It is the duty of every citizen to ensure the dignity of children and protect them from any inhuman, cruel, violent, exploitative, humiliating, embarrassing or discriminatory treatment and any other type of attack on the dignity and integrity of the child.

70.These are the National Observatory of the Rights of the Child, which is in charge of the System of Indicators of the Angolan Child (SICA), the Psycho-social Support Center and the SOS — Criança Call Center.

4.9Physical and psychological treatment and social reintegration (Article 39)

71.The physical and psychological treatment of the child, as well as social reintegration, as rights of the child, are duties that are part of specific national legislation and other additional measures that have been revised and adjusted to the current context. They have been and are being carried out by the different bodies and institutions that operate in the institutional, participative integration, linkage, interaction and advisory areas. They focus on enforcing the provisions of Law 25/12 on the Protection and Development of the Whole Child, and on Article 3 in particular, which establishes the enjoyment by the child of all the fundamental rights inherent in human beings, notwithstanding the fundamental rights that are specially intended for the protection and development of the child or of its system. Article 4 et seq. provide that under the Law there is no discrimination against children. It establishes the amount of time a child can spend in a treatment institution, and that time is always to be as short as possible. The family is to be strengthened to be able to receive the child upon returning to the family and ensure that incidents do not recur.

72.Decisions about removing a child from the family are periodically reviewed to ensure that the child returns to parental care as soon as the reasons the child was placed there are resolved or eliminated.

73.With State support, similar institutions carry out multidisciplinary research activities to improve the means of prevention.

V.Family environment and alternative care (Articles 5, 9 to 11, 18 No. 1 and 2, 19 to 21, 25, 27 No. 4 and 39)

5.1Counselling for parents to ensure child empowerment (Article 5)

74.The positive results that have been achieved through activities to protect families encourage the State to pursue its efforts to promote healthy relationships between parents and children to strengthen stable family environments. To this end, the National Family Council, an advisory body of the National Executive Branch, carries out national dialogue functions on a series of thematic issues that dominate the situation of families. It has obtained a consensus that has had a positive influence and has dealt with constraints to promote the full exercise of citizenship.

75.The National Family Council submits to the Executive Branch ideas from Angolan families, and vice versa, to similar government institutions, in compliance with policies from above. They have created conditions to advise parents on what they need to exercise their parental responsibilities in terms of guidance and caring for children. They perform this role to strengthen family compliance with their obligations set forth in the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, and in particular the Family Code and Law 25/12 on the Protection and Development of the Child, the Ministerial Department of the Family and Women’s Empowerment (MINFAMU) and the National Institute of the Child (INAC). The MINFAMU has Family Counselling Centers throughout the country where family counsellors work. As of 2014 there were hundreds of advisors and there are plans to train about 5,000 by 2017 for programs to educate, raise awareness and prevent improper behaviour by citizens. Through its provincial units, INAC has created forums for receiving complaints and claims from children. Based on each case, there is mediation for complaints from parents and/or families in the supreme interest of the child. It sends children who are victims of serious offenses to the appropriate entities for medical or legal services and also to courts since it is necessary to protect the child and penalize offenders when counselling or reconciliation is unsuitable.

5.2Shared parental responsibility in the provision of care (Article 18)

76.With the cooperation of the family and society, the State promotes harmonious and whole development and creates conditions for implementing the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the child, based on the fact that the child is the absolute priority. Children are equal under the law and are to be treated without discrimination and/or the use of any discriminatory designation regarding family ties. This precept is enshrined in Article 35 of the CRA, which considers the family as the fundamental core of the organization of society. It obtains special protection from the State, whether based on marriage or a de facto union between a man and a woman. They have every right to freely establish a family in which man and woman are equals. They enjoy the same rights and the same duties are required of them to protect the health, living conditions and upbringing of the child.

77.The understanding of the concept of family by Angolans leads to separate classifications for the immediate and extended family. In the majority of ethnic groups, families are organized based on lineage or clan structures. Therein parents consider as their children not only their biological children, but also their nieces and nephews and they adopt them if their real parents die or become unable to play their parental role. This understanding includes love and parental responsibility to the children in their custody and the father and mother share the responsibility for caring for them and the duties.

5.3Separation of children from their parents (Article 9)

78.According to estimates, 10% of all children are living outside the family environment in Angola, and slightly over half of this percentage are living with foster families even though the father and mother are alive. These indicators show the socioeconomic difficulties of households that are unable to care for all the children for whom they are responsible. These indicators have changed with the government’s work in implementing the assistance and social reintegration policy for vulnerable groups. The changes are shown in Table 4.

Table 4

Change in assistance and social reintegration for vulnerable groups

	Indicators	Base year	Goals
2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
1	Number of families assisted	55 829	36 097	23 443	20 000	15 000	10 000
2	Number of children assisted in institutions	91 528	53 617	45 397	200 000	200 000	200 000
3	Number of children protected/reported	1 896	1 777	1 601	1 700	1 275	850

Source : 2013 — 2017 PND .

79.The data for 2012 and 2013 are actual and are for the number of families and children served; the data for 2014 to 2017 are projections. Regardless, progress can be seen as time passes, and as programs are implemented the number of persons requiring the services will decrease.

5.4Family reunification (Article 10)

80.Of the 24,383,301 inhabitants in Angola counted by the 2014 Census, roughly half are above the absolute poverty line. International institutions that indicate that the number of Angolans living on less than $2/day dropped from 92% in 2000 to 54% in 2014 confirmed this indicator. These institutions show the progress Angola has made. They also announced that efforts made by public institutions have been redoubled. This encourages the pursuit of the objectives to totally eradicate poverty. These are important indicators with a major impact on the life of Angolan families. At the same time, they contribute to the MDGs and the rights of children.

5.5Reinstatement of child maintenance (Article 27, 4)

81.The report of Angola, which combines the second, third and fourth periods, to which the Committee has assigned the abbreviation CRC/C/AGO/2-4, provides a generic approach to the legislation aligned with Article 27 point 4 of the CDC, namely: Law No. 7/05, Decrees No. 38/98 of 6 November on support and Decree 46-C/92 of 9 September on family allowances; the Family Code broadly defines the concept of support as everything that is necessary for the life of the supported person (minor), including expenses for health, education and other costs related to the well being of the child.

82.To a certain extent, the laws mentioned in the previous paragraph are not suited to the current context. Therefore, they are in the process of being revised, although they are still in effect. Regardless, they fill potential statutory and normative gaps, including Article 25 of Law 25/12, which establishes family competencies related to children and the duty of the State to take adequate measures to promote the active participation of parents in creating opportunities for children to exercise their rights progressively.

5.6Children deprived of a family environment (Article 20)

83.The coverage of Law 25/12 includes the items that Article 20 of the CDC requires of the State, which has adopted specific, special and adequate measures that are mainly administrative, social and educational, to protect and meet the needs of children who are temporarily or permanently deprived of the family environment, or who have been victims of an act that placed them in a situation of risk or vulnerability, such as abduction, sexual abuse, negligence, mistreatment, orphan status, physical or psychological abandonment, etc.

84.For providing the service, there is a series of linked activities between dedicated public entities and private institutions that are duly authorized to provide guidance and family and educational social support in an open regime, as well as family integration and in foster homes for protection when all alternatives have been exhausted, with guarantees of educational, cultural and recreational activities. The State is also implementing Law No. 1/06 of 18 January, which contains, among other components, measures to integrate and reintegrate children who are of an age permitted by the law to be employed. The purpose is to develop and promote jobs for youth through integrated policies that meet the needs of youths looking for their first job. This is done at all stages of their search for occupational integration while stimulating and improving the diversity of choice and their contribution to the overall development of Angola.

5.7Periodic review of placement in residences or integration into alternate families (Article 25)

85.The National Family Location and Reunification Program (PNLRF) has reintegrated the majority of children who were outside the family environment into biological or alternate families, with guardian mothers or homes for cases in which it was proven that there was no family, with no possibility of reintegration or placement in an alternative family. This program is still being implemented in some provinces where the problems that are at the root of the situation have yet to be completely solved.

86.Other activities being carried out include more than just building the organizational capacities of institutions. There is also skills training of existing personnel and integration of others with specific training in public and private institutions where they work basically with and for children. There is professional training for employees of the monitoring institutions, namely the National Institute of the Child, the National and Provincial Councils of the Child, and the provincial, municipal and local networks to protect and promote the rights of the child. This is done to ensure that there are inspections of compliance with standards for placement in residences. This is done in sessions prepared in advance in programs based on the rights of the child, even because the councils and networks include persons from different public and civil society institutions that work in different areas that are subject to on-going substitution.

5.8Adoption by nationals and aliens (Article 21)

87.The constitutional precept according to which the State regulates the adoption of children, fosters their integration into a sound family environment and oversees their whole development faithfully reflects the Bantu culture that is predominant in Angola, which prohibits the abandonment and forsaking of children, regardless of the social or family condition at the time. Children that for any reason are deprived of their father or mother continue to be under the custody and care of one of the parents. In the case of both parents, the child is received by the extended family, as the community does not accept the expression “abandoned or orphaned children” because it is there to replace parents of abandoned or orphaned children. This cultural value, which provides greater protection to children, was disparaged by the situation experienced from 1975 to 2002. It forced the State to find alternatives to fostering and meeting the needs of this group of children, whose numbers grew as time passed.

88.The initial report from Angola (CRC/C/3/Add. 66), in referring to the legislation on adoption, paid special attention to Law No. 7/80 of 27 August, the first Angolan law on the subject, and the one that repealed the Civil Code (CC), Law 9/96 on the Court for Minors (JM) and the Family Code (CF) in effect, which used the principles that were enshrined in the previous law.

89.The CF is one of a set of statutes that is being revised. Article 204 requires prior authorization from the National Assembly (AN) before an Angolan minor is adopted by a citizen of another nationality. This rule has a two-fold purpose:

(a)To protect minors so that, through adoption, they could lose their nationality of origin by becoming a national of the adopting person;

(b)To protect minors against possible international trafficking of children with financial benefit for the persons involved in the process.

90.In addition to the other procedures to be observed in adoption by citizens of Angola or other nationalities, we note the following:

(a)For abandoned children, the judgment must declare that the status of abandonment has been verified;

(b)For children with progenitors, consent for adoption by them is personal in nature and is given before the court or in an authentic document, in which the adopting person is identified;

(c)If the minor has no progenitor, consent must be given before the court, in order of preference by the minor’s grandparents, adult siblings or uncles. If the circumstances are the same, the relative that has custody of the minor is preferred;

(d)In the event of great difficulty in obtaining authorization for adoption or if considered convenient, the judge may rule or may waive parental consent and justify the reason for doing so in the records.

5.9Illegal travel or travel with no return (Article 11)

91.Any citizen who resides legally in Angola may freely establish residence, move about and remain in anywhere in the country, except in cases provided for in the Constitution and when the law establishes restrictions, namely for access and residence, to protect the environment or vital national interests. Furthermore, all citizens are free to emigrate and leave Angola and return, notwithstanding limitations in terms of compliance with statutory duties under Article 46 of the CRA.

92.The current statutory framework, strengthened with new laws as a result of the current reform process, promotes prevention and in second place fights potential criminal acts, given the vulnerability of the borders and restless populations who are still living in poverty. This makes them easy prey for militants, and hence there is Law 3/14 on Crimes Underlying Money Laundering, which makes it a serious crime to commit a series of acts generally associated with trafficking in human beings, such as: fraud, kidnapping, abduction, sexual trafficking of persons, hostage-taking, pandering, sexual trafficking of minors and others mentioned in Article 15 et seq. In addition to this statute, Articles 159 to 196 of the current Penal Code establish a criminal framework with prison terms of up to 15 years.

93.The national authorities have been making prevention efforts and efforts to ensure that potential trafficking victims have access to assistance and protection. To this end, in partnership with UNICEF and other institutions, INAC operates the Networks for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of the Child. They have been established at the provincial, municipal, communal and local levels, where they work in partnership with the Provincial Human Rights Committees under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, both of which are members. In addition to other public institutions and institutions from civil society that have representatives on the National Police Force (areas that deal with the same subject matter at those levels), there is namely the Department to Fight Violence against Women and Children and the Migration and Alien Service.

94.These prevention and protection mechanisms carry out their information activities to increase knowledge and raise awareness in the communities, so that institutions and individuals embrace the cause and report cases so that the authorities are able to take measures in accordance with their assigned duties. Their contribution is to help families and the authorities grasp the danger that this phenomenon represents for children throughout the country, and especially in the most at-risk border provinces such as Zaire, Uíge, Cabinda and Cunene and their activities, which are framed in policies to guarantee the rights of the whole child and are included in the 2013-2017 PND.

5.10Protection against abuse and negligence (Article 19)

95.Providing ample protection against all forms of abandonment, discrimination, oppression, exploitation and the abusive exercise of authority in the family and other institutions is a constitutional precept (Article 80) that establishes that public policies in the area of the family, education and health must safeguard the principle of the supreme interest of the child as a way of ensuring their whole physical, mental and cultural development. This precept of the Constitution of Angola is supported on a statutory basis by Law 25/12 on the Protection and Development of the Child and in Articles 140 (negligent homicide) and 152 (offence against physical integrity due to negligence) of the Penal Code.

96.The Executive Branch carries out programs based on the above-mentioned statutory provisions. They are crosscutting and support efforts to protect children from abuse and negligence. There are also programs carried out as part of the National Strategy to Prevent and Fight Violence against Children. They include specialized programs and systems, such as SOS for reporting, the National Observatory for the on-going monitoring and collection of information and data, psycho-social treatment for victims of violence, family counselling, and the Information and Awareness Program among others.

Physical and psychological treatment and social reintegration

97.An average of 10,000 children per year that have suffered acts of physical or psychological abuse in the family have been treated and reintegrated through family counselling, including adolescent couples, in the period from 2012 to 2014. The system that monitors families that receive counselling has reported positive results. In the same period, literacy training was provided and 1,221,297 people were integrated into the standard education system as follows: 578,267 in 2012; 584,050 in 2013; and 589,890 in 2014. There are plans to provide literacy training for 1,817,335 more citizens by 2017. It should be noted that illiteracy is caused by several social factors, including negligence by parents, guardians or the person who has custody and takes care of the child.

VI.Basic health and well-being (Articles 6 and 18, 3; 23, 24, 26, 27 and 33)

98.For the well being of the people in general and of the children of Angola in particular, the Executive Branch has been strategically carrying out the health policy under the 2013-2017 PND. This is done through a series of health sector programs, with emphasis on those that directly impact the life of the child as shown in the table below, excerpted from the annual allocations of the General State Budget:

Table 5

Change in amounts allocated to the health sector (2013/2015)

Source of funds	2013	2014	2015
Community Health Program. Promotion for Health	367 244 790.00	367 244 790.00	153 173 250.00
Nutrition Program	185 497 554.00	815 750 000.00	85 497 554.00
Immunization Program	4 873 501 799.00	4 873 501 799.00	1 873 946 534.00
Paediatric and Neonatal Pathology Services	2 042 188 793.00	2 339 740 090.00	3 001 128 047.00
Program to Develop Health Services	220 248 150.00	46 533 748 714.00	50 295 106 803.00
Program to Improve Social Assistance	764 392 000.00	371 977 755.00	2 378 455 085.00
Program to Improve Mother-Child Health	4 799 443 624.00	7 433 083 424.00	8 033 895 394.00
Total	13 252 516 710.00	62 735 046 572.00	65 821 202 667.00

Source : MIFIN — OGE .

99.Despite the lower amounts, since other social sector programs such as the health services municipalisation program are competing for the same result, improvements have been observed in the health indicators. A study is now being performed that may demonstrate the level and degree of the indicators.

100.From another standpoint, it can be emphasized that the government’s efforts focus essentially on the management and development of human resources; this assumes that Angolan workers will be trained in the most varied areas of health in order to gradually lower the shortfall in terms of ratio. The quality of services to be provided will also be improved. Technicians will be diversified, and financial resources that include foreign cooperation contracts in the health sector will be increased to improve the quality of services, management, to expand the health network and to ensure the development of the institutional framework which, in general, requires considerable financial resources as shown below:

Table 6

Amounts allocated by the OGE to various programs in the period from 2013 to 2015

Program	Amount allocated by the OGE ( Akz )
2013	2014	2015
Development of the National Public Health School	361 696 169.00	361 696 169.00	211 696 169.00
Training of health personnel	72 458 554.00	114 744 000.00	114 744 000.00
Hospital humanization	00	72 458 554.00	72 458 554.00
Payment of foreign cooperation contracts in the health sector	6 398 350 087.00	00	6 398 349 347.00
Strategic Program to Develop Human Capital in Health	114 744 000.00	324 320 215.00	324 320 215.00
Total	6 947 248 810.00	873 218 938.00	7 121 568 285.00 *

Source : 2013-2015 OGE.

* The total amount allocated to the programs in 2015 decreased by roughly 1/3 due to the revision .

6.1Child survival and development (Article 6 No. 2)

101.Even with the advances made up to 2007 in child survival and development, the Executive Branch continues to be concerned over the high rates of low birth weight children, low rates of exclusive maternal breastfeeding, high maternal death rates and of new born babies and children under 5 years old. These negative indicators are the focuses of attention for the health sector and are reflected in the 2013-2017 indicators as follows:

Table 7

Changes in child survival

Indicators	Goals achieved
2012	2013	2014
Death rate for minors 5 years old (per thousand live births)	161	150	140
Infant mortality rate (per thousand live births)	98	90	85
Morbidity rate due to malaria, all ages (per thousand)	21	20	18
Incidence of trypanosomiasis, new cases reported (per thousand)	154	130	90

Source : PND 2013 — 2017 .

102.In this context clear objectives were proposed for which integrated activities are being carried out in the following sub-programs: (a) “Special Attention to Age Groups of the Population” to ensure that integrated care is provided to reduce maternal death rates; provision of integrated health care for infant and infant-child survival; development of promotional and preventive health care and tracking of adolescents and adults; (b) “Promotion of Healthy Life Habits and Lifestyles” to prevent and fight alcoholism, tobacco abuse, drugs and accidents. The main purposes of these sub-programs are to: increase life expectancy at birth; improve the human development index and meet the Millennium Development Goals; reduce maternal, infant and infant-child mortality, as well as morbidity and mortality in the national nosological context. Positive results were achieved in the 2012-2014 period and were used to project goals for the 2015-2017 period to achieve the results according to the table below.

Table 8

Projection of child survival and development

Indicators	Projections
2015	2016	2017
Mortality rate for minors 5 years old (per thousand live births)	130	120	110
Infant mortality rate (per thousand live births)	80	75	60
Morbidity rate due to malaria (all ages)	17	15	12
$ of incidence of trypanosomiasis	75	35	25
% of deliveries assisted by health care personnel	60	65	70
% of physicians per 10,000 inhabitants	2	3	3
% of immunized children under 1 year old	95	95	95
% of children 1 year old immunized for measles	90	90	95
% of Vitamin A coverage for children from 6 to 59 months	90	95	95
% of pregnant women receiving malaria ITP	55	65	75
% receiving three or more ante-natal consultations	80	85	95
% of institutional deliveries	50	55	60

Source : 2013-2017 PND .

6.2Health and health services, and primary care in particular (Article 24)

103.In this section there are the sub-programs that are in the midst of development, namely:

(a)“Special Attention to Age Groups of the Population” to ensure that integrated care is provided to reduce maternal death rates; provision of integrated health care for infant and infant-child survival;

(b)“Provision of Care at Each Level of the National Health Service” to ensure the municipalisation of primary attention (primary care); making secondary and tertiary care operational at the regional and national levels; making on-going and palliative care operational; private and informal medicine; traditional medicine; revitalization of the National Blood Service; management and development of the national laboratory network; pre-hospital assistance; and physical rehabilitation.

6.3Efforts to solve the most common problems in the area of health and the promotion of health and the physical and mental well-being of children and to prevent and fight transmissible and non-transmissible diseases

104.This section presents the activities being carried out in the “Prevention and Fight against Priority Diseases” Sub-program to prevent and control immune-preventable diseases, with emphasis on eradicating polio, eliminating malaria, controlling HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and tuberculosis; eradicating trypanosomiasis and neglected diseases; responding to epidemics and other public health events and chemical, biological and physical disasters; treating chronic diseases (cardiovascular, kidney, respiratory, diabetes mellitus and haemoglobin disorders); diagnosing and treating cancer, mental illnesses, nutrition disorders and bucco-oral pathologies.

With the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol in December 2012, the legal instruments that were already in effect on this subject were strengthened. They ensure equal protection of circumstances for persons with disabilities and others without disabilities, and especially Law No. 21/12 of 30 June on Persons with Disabilities, the Strategy to Protect Persons with Disabilities and the respective national policy that establishes the legal regime applicable to the prevention, habilitation, rehabilitation and participation of persons with disabilities in social activities.

105.With the implementation of these activities, 88,504 persons in this target group have been supported through Programs to Provide Means of Movement to 73,730 persons with disabilities and the same number of devices and means of movement as follows: 6,290 wheelchairs for adults, 200 wheelchairs for children, 2,004 manual tricycles, 16,560 guides for the blind, 3,698 pairs of crutches, 32,531 pairs of braces for adults, 8,254 pairs of braces for children, 2,155 canes for the blind, 1,370 walkers, 428 motorized cargo tricycles and 240 motorized passenger tricycles.

106.There are other crosscutting policies being carried out besides the activities listed. The State has definitely made efforts to provide the following in accessible formats to persons with disabilities: (Braille), large characters, audio, sign language or appropriate computer hardware, and information on services, resources and benefits that are intended for them.

107.Regarding the Community-Based Rehabilitation Program, it was possible to provide services to 14,774 persons with disabilities in the various specialized services such as involvement in socioeconomic projects.

6.4Rights of reproductive health, of children and measures to promote healthy lifestyles

108.The actions described in Section 6.1 are addressed here. They are carried out as part of the “Promotion of Health Habits and Lifestyles” sub-program to prevent and fight alcoholism, tobacco abuse, drugs and accidents.

6.5Measures to prohibit and eliminate all harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation and early and forced marriage (Article 24, No. 3)

109.This section addresses policies implemented in the field: scientific research on health to determine the status quo, recent advances and priorities; vocational training incentives for health professionals in scientific research; development of the institutional framework; strengthening the office of the health inspector general; and updating and revamping the legal framework for the sector.

110.Female genital mutilation is not practiced in Angola. However, efforts need to be made to control it since Angola has received a high influx of immigrants and persons from other countries and cultures where female genital mutilation is practiced.

6.6Protection of the child against the use of harmful substances (Article 33)

111.In this section, the Executive Branch carries out activities as part of the National Plan to Fight Drugs. Its purpose is to achieve the ideal of building a society protected from illegal drug use and the improper use of legal drugs. This involves developing planning and evaluation strategies in policies for education, social assistance, health and public security in all fields related to drugs; programs to reduce the supply of drugs by coordinated and integrated actions of the entities responsible for criminal prosecution at the national and local levels for enforcement purposes and to bring criminal actions against those who produce and traffic prohibited substances.

6.7Protection of children living in prison with their mothers

112.The guarantee of the free exercise of the rights and freedoms established in Article 56 of the CRA is broader as it pertains to pregnant mothers, mothers of new-borns and youths children who have been found guilty(children) that have been tried and convicted. The law reserves special treatment for this group of citizens.(Article 30) Those who are pregnant while in prison are given the same treatment as pregnant women who are not in prison in terms of antenatal consultations, counselling and testing for sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS and others.

113.Under the law, a mother should not be imprisoned with her child. However, those who are in this situation with minor children are permitted to remain with them until they reach 3 years of age. Under the law, care is provided so that mothers can care for children within universally accepted parameters (day care, child care, meals and parental visits) regardless of the type of crime they committed. The objective of prison sentences is social rehabilitation, recovery and the mother’s integration in the family.

114.In this chapter and according to the narrative report of the degree of meeting the 11 commitments on the child in National Forum VI on the Child, for the 2011-2013 period, the management of the Viana Prison, in the province of Luanda, during 2012 and the first quarter of 2013, admitted and imprisoned women with a child under three years old. There were 99 minors: 49 boys and 50 girls. According to Law 8/08, they are required to remain with their mothers, even in prison situations.

6.8Social security, services and child care facilities (child care from pregnancy to 18 years of age) (Articles 26 and 18, No. 3)

115.In 2010 the Executive Branch began to implement the Integrated Municipal Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation Program (PMIDRCP). Its purpose is to lower levels of extreme policy, in particular in rural areas, to further access for the entire population to basic services and boost growth and local development.

116.The PMIDRCP is being implemented as part of sanitation and local development, access to food and primary health care, strengthening family agriculture and entrepreneurship, increasing and promoting basic public services, access to schooling, institution-building, drinking water for all, rural energy, social equipment, means of communication, and completing projects.

117.A result of decentralizing the budget for the municipal administrations of the 18 provinces of Angola, to which funds annual funds of more than 80 thousand million kwanzas are allocated directly, which for example, in 2014 were distributed in the following amounts by program: Integrated Municipal Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation Program (PMIDRCP) Akz. 39,565,576,777.88; Primary Health Program (CPS) 33,292,272,264.26; Water for All Program (PAT) 2,340,000,000.00; School Meal Program (PME) Akz. 5,324,237,691.00; and other Strategies and Projects (EP) Akz. 3,980,116,012.83, for a total of Akz. 84,502,202,745.97.

6.9Standard of living and measures (including the provision of assistance and material support programs in the fields of nutrition, clothing and housing for the physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development of the child and to reduce poverty and inequality (Article 27 No. 1 to 3)

118.To increase and improve the supply of drinking water for the people, for using the productive sector, and for promoting adequate treatment services for wastewater, programs in urban, suburban and rural areas were prioritized. Small water supply and community sanitation systems are being built. System operations are being efficiently managed, entities continue to be created for this purpose and there is institutional development in the sector. Through the use of an appropriate pricing system, operating costs are being covered and the most vulnerable segments of the population are being protected with a guarantee of sustainable public service. Another important factor is the integrated management of water resources and the creation of entities to manage basic priorities continues, and the respective master plans are being prepared.

In more general terms, programs intended to deal with everything related to the situation of the people with regard to nutrition, clothing, housing and the physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development of the child are in the 2013-2014 PND. Its objectives were described in Chapter I, Section 1.2.2. of this report and they give an overview of its implementation based on economic growth sustained by public and private investments in long-term public-sector projects.

Table 9

Indicators and goals of objectives

Indicators of objectives	Indicator goals
2010/11	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Poverty index	36.6	35.0	34.0	33.0	31.0	28.0
Life expectancy at birth	51.1	52.0	52.5	53.0	54.0	55.0
Net enrolment ratio	77.2	79.0	80.0	82.0	84.0	85.0
Rate of access to drinking water	42.0	45.0	47.0	50.0	52.0	55.0
Rate of access to basic appropriate sanitation	59.6	62.0	63.0	65.0	67.0	70.0
Rate of access to electricity	40.2	42.0	45.0	48.0	52.0	55.0
Rate of access to the mobile telephone network	32.6	40.0	45.0	50.0	60.0	75.0
Internet access rate	0.3	0.7	1.0	1.5	2.0	2.5

Source : 2013-2017 PND .

119.Fundamental policy measures were laid out to achieve different goals.

6.10 HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child

120.The key outcomes of social impact achieved in the health sector during the 2009-2011 period show high numbers in Table 9 and the performance of all the programs and sub-programs mentioned in Sections 6.1 to 6.9 of this report.

Table 10

Results of social impact in the health sector

Annual actions	Assisted population
2009	2010	2011
Personnel trained for:	42 901	46 850	34 227
Malaria	2 896 871	3 687 574	3 501 953
Acute respiratory disease	786 147	987 421	598 296
Acute diarrheal disease	434 388	540 554	141 130
Typhoid fever	101 544	155 346	198 078
Tuberculosis	18 119	42 210	44 503
AIDS	6 883	12 871	15 655
Cholera	1 990	1 955	2 296

Source

VII.Education, recreation and cultural activities (Articles 28, 29, 30 and 31)

7.1Right to education, including training and guidance (Article 28)

121.Angola implemented the education policy through medium and long-term plans to achieve the objectives and goals of each education sub-system in the period from 2008 to 2012 and guaranteed the exercise of the right to education. School and teaching activities were carried out at the primary education levels, which is where the largest number of students were found, secondary education cycles 1 and 2, the special education sub-system, and literacy, based on the objectives of Education for All. Moreover, the School Meal Program, Private Education and government-subsidized schools were taken into consideration.

122.To monitor and evaluate school and educational activities in the public and private sector, the National Program to Evaluate Learning was developed in the subjects of Portuguese language, mathematics and environmental studies. At the same time as this program, the Comprehensive Program to Evaluate Education Reform was financed by the OGE in a partnership with the World Bank.

123.Through the above-mentioned support and evaluation mechanisms, the situation was determined and in 2008 the indicators showed the following:

(a)A decrease in the number of pre-schoolers of roughly 19.8%. This is of major concern and was the reason that decision-making was accelerated to raise the rate to 100%. The following percentages were recorded for the other levels: 30.4% in primary education; 29.6% in special education; 75.8% in the first cycle and 52.5% in the second cycle of secondary education. In summary, these indicators show an improvement in access of students to the education system compared to the previous system, although they do not yet meet the nation’s interests;

(b)Literacy rate of 65.6% for the population 15 years and older;

(c)The literacy process on the national scale has been improved further;

(d)The number of students in the special education system has increased, and its aim is to be more inclusive: the number of students with hearing, learning, visual, multiple, motor, behavioural and development disabilities rose from 18,439 in 2008 to 23,888 in 2012;

(e)The allocation of funding by the OGE to the programs: school meals, removing parasites from students in schools with praziquantel and albendazole; school health (HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and STDs) in partnership with the WHO and UNICEF to prevent and develop healthy habits and reduce the health problems that jeopardize the school experience; raise awareness of the use of salt with iodine and in partnership with the WHO and UNICEF to ensure the physical and mental development of school-age children.

An increase in the pass rate from 47% before to 80% after the reform, and a decrease in the repeat rate from 27% to 13% and the dropout rate from 27% to 7% (MED — 2013).

(g)The development of a partnership with private and subsidized schools, which play an extremely important role in developing broader access, expansion and growth of students in these schools for improving the student/teacher ratio and in strengthening the system.

(f)In 2014 more than 38,426,699 books were produced at the national level, for a total of 87% of requirements.

7.2Education objectives (Article 29), including the quality of education

124.The education objectives are based on the following five pillars:

(a)Develop physical, intellectual, moral, civic, aesthetic and work capabilities of the young generation on an on-going, systematic and harmonious basis, and raise their scientific, technical and technological level to contribute to the socioeconomic development of Angola;

(b)Train individuals to be capable of understanding national, regional and international issues critically and constructively so that they participate actively in social life based on democratic principles (Article 3 of Law No. 13/01);

(c)Promote the development of personal and social conscience of individuals in general and the young generation in particular, respect for national values and symbols, human dignity, tolerance and a culture of peace, national unity, preservation of the environment and consequently, a better quality of life;

(d)Foster respect for other individuals and in the supreme interest of the Angolan nation, and promote the right and respect to life, freedom and personal integrity;

(e)Develop the spirit of solidarity among peoples with an attitude of respect for differences of others for a healthy integration into the world.

125.The effort of the Executive Branch is to achieve the general objectives of education in an attempt to develop the young generation harmoniously. This has made it possible: (a) to train individuals committed to the on-going effort of attempting to understand national, regional and international issues, which in turn has allowed them to participate actively in social life critically and constructively based on democratic principles; (b) to promote the development of the personal and social conscience of individuals in general and of the young generation in particular, and respect for national values and symbols, human dignity, tolerance and a culture of peace through national unity, preservation of the environment and a better quality of life. These are virtues that the young generation has acquired; and (c) develop the spirit of solidarity among the people, respect for differences among citizens, and promote a healthy integration into the world. These are qualities characteristic of the people of Angola.

126.Extracurricular education is part of activities that include vocational training, school and professional orientation, the rational use of leisure time and recreational and school sports activities. The importance of these activities explains why the objective of promoting human and educational development was included in the 2013-2017 PND.

127.Develop respect for differences between citizens and promote the integration of everyone into the country and into the global world: these are tasks required of any State that seeks to forge ahead and fully develop its citizens. This includes: Braille, large characters, audio devices, sign language or adequate computer hardware, information on services, and resources and benefits intended for them.

128.The indicators for the results of programs carried out are as follows:

Table 11

Results of program implementation

Indicators	Goals achieved
2012	2013	2014
Number of students registered by level of education	7 156 600	7 185 902	7 201 575
Literacy	578 267	584 050	589 890
Special education	23 888	24 605	25 343
Preschool	570 079	594 170	618 261
Primary education	5 022 144	4 869 035	4 702 219
Secondary education, first cycle	638 436	706 791	775 146
Secondary education, second cycle	323 786	407 251	490 716

Source : 2013-2017 PND .

Table 12

Net enrolment rate (%)

Indicators	Goals achieved
2012	2013	2014
Preschool	93.8	94.9	95.9
Primary education	155.7	146.6	137.4
Secondary education. first cycle	45.3	48.7	51.8
Secondary education. second cycle	26.3	32.2	37.6
Pass rate (%)	70.8	72.8	74.7
Failure rate (%)	13.3	12.3	11.4
Dropout rate (%)	15.9	14.9	13.9
Student/classroom ratio	112	106	99
Student/teacher ratio	40	40	40

Source : 2013-2017 PND .

129.The school-age population in years 2012, 2013 and 2014 was 6,471,460, 6,665,603 and 6,865,572 respectively, with numbers broken down by levels as shown in Annex 6.

130.The implementation of the sub-programs listed proposes to achieve the following goals for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 with regard to literacy, special education, preschool, primary school and secondary school (first and second cycles): total student body of 7,202,938, 7,189,279 and 7,171,888 respectively. Details are provided in the table in Annex 6.

131.The estimated school-age population by level of schooling for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 is 7,071,539, 7,283,686 and 7,502,195. The breakdown is found in the table in Annex 7. Table 12 indicates the projection of the gross rate in percentages.

Table 13

Projection of the net enrolment ratio (%)

Indicators	Goals
2015	2016	2017
Preschool	96.7	97.4	98.0
Primary education	128.3	119.1	110.0
Secondary education. first cycle	54.8	57.5	60.0
Secondary education. second cycle	42.7	47.5	52.0
Pass rate (%)	76.6	78.5	80.5
Failure rate (%)	10.4	9.5	8.5
Dropout rate (%)	13.0	12.0	11.0
Student/classroom ratio	93	86	80
Student/teacher ratio	40	40	40

Source : 2013-2017 PND .

7.3Cultural rights of children that belong to indigenous groups and minorities (Article 30)

132.Issues related to the preservation of identity were addressed in Chapter IV, and specifically in Section 4.2 of this report, from the standpoint of its concept and contextual framework. It can be stated that based on the set of characteristics of the people of Angola, there is an understanding that the people are comprised of several ethnic-linguistic groups. Separately, they can be considered minority groups compared to all the inhabitants of Angola. This makes it difficult to conduct a circumstantial analysis of each of them.

133.In terms of numbers and the size of Angola, in the country there are some smaller groups compared to others, and at the same time their local culture has strong roots. In many cases they live outside the development policies of Angola, even though they are included. Under the circumstances, other than the policies and strategies in the 2013-2017 PND for economic, social and cultural matters, activities are carried out to preserve the cultural identity of the peoples, in harmony with the Constitution and the law and with the current international legal instruments in effect in Angola, and the CDC in particular.

Table 14

Breakdown of native language by areas of residence and regions

Language	Area of residence	Region of Angola
Urban	Rural	Capital	North	East	West	South	Center South	Total
Umbundu	19.9	36.8	3.7	0.9	3.3	48.8	31.4	72.6	29.8
Portuguese	46.4	11.9	53.7	12.2	1.8	29	19.5	14.9	26.2
Kimbundu	18.2	13.5	31.4	40.8	0.8	6.8	0.8	0.4	15.4
Kikongo	3.8	11.8	6.3	42.6	1.7	0.9	0.4	0.1	8.5
Chockw	6.5	5.5	0.5	0.6	73	0	0.8	1.8	5.9
Cuanhama Cuanhama	0.2	4.9	0	0	0	0	21.6	0	3.0
Ngangela	3.8	1.9	0	0	0.8	0.1	3.4	10.1	2.6
Fiote	0.1	1.6	3.8	0	0	0	0	0	0.9
Others	1.2	12.2	0.5	2.9	18.5	14.4	22.2	0.1	7.6
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Source : MICS I (1996) .

134.The planned policies and strategies of Angola have an impact on the category of children. They aim to protect children from discrimination based on ethnicity, language, region, culture, etc., which are prohibited by law and international treaties on the rights of the child, with goals laid out until 2017 to achieve significant results.

135.Even under different circumstances, children in Angola enjoy equal rights, and in particular the opportunity. to access basic essential social services.

136.The development of physical, intellectual, moral, civic, aesthetic and labour capabilities of the young generation on an on-going, systematic and harmonious basis and to improve their scientific, technical and technological level to contribute to the socioeconomic development of Angola have contributed significantly to promoting equality among children that belong to the presumed minority groups, and consequently, to eliminating regional asymmetries.

137.The basis of activities to raise citizen awareness as to the necessity of promoting equality among all and eliminating all factors of discrimination as a way of strengthening peace, harmony, tolerance, respect for national values and symbols, human dignity and national union is extending basic services to the most remote areas and transhumance areas inhabited by nomads consisting of persons considered minorities.

7.4Education in human rights and civic education

138.The programmatic content of school curricula is developed in observance of the Constitution and the law. This includes the international legal human rights instruments in effect in the country, namely the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter of the Rights and Well Being of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and others.

139.With this in mind, the Teacher Training Manual was prepared. It is arranged thematically and inclusively, focusing on understanding the discipline of personal, social, and ethical training based on human rights principles and oriented to education in ethics, the meaning of moral issues, rational moral bases, moral behaviour, moral conscience, values and moral norms and judgements. In this way, civic education subjects are strengthened and content on the rights of the child is included.

140.With support from the African Studies Group of the Autonomous University of Madrid, the National Strategy for Education in Human Rights was prepared.

7.5Recreation, games, sports, and artistic and cultural activities (Article 31)

141.The PND proclaims the necessity of promoting a more widespread practice of sports among the different categories of the population, and youths and women in particular, with special attention given to sports in schools and supporting youth. It recognizes them as having the greatest potential for developing and rebuilding Angola. In particular, it makes the following proposals: (a) promote searches and retention of new talents in sports, increase organizational efficiency in the association and sports movement and awareness activities for practicing sports, including the disabled segment; (b) provide the provinces with infrastructure and equipment for practicing recreational sports and game activities; and (c) strengthen mechanisms for linking sports in school and high-level competition.

142.There is also a proposal to promote the access of the different segments of the population to the benefits of culture and strengthen their personality and respect for habits and customs favourable for development. This will contribute to strengthening the national identity of Angolans, characterized by cultural diversity. Access to learning and using the national languages of Angola should be promoted. Policy and other measures should be implemented to put in place national museum systems, historical archives, cultural centers, libraries, municipal cultural programs and ethnic research.

7.6Right to participate in cultural and artistic activities (Article 12, 2)

143.Since State policy is participative and inclusive, other entities and institutions of the government and civil society are called upon to carry out an entire process of implementing a series of individual and collective initiatives. This creates more opportunities and spaces for children to enjoy rights. Through its National Directorate for School Social Action, the MED is organizing and developing, in partnership with the MINCULT, MINJUD and other institutions of civil society and the Lwini Fund and OPA, programs of cultural and recreational activities in the schools, including visits to historical venues and museums, with olympics in several school disciplines.

144.Other annual activities of the Executive Branch include: the “Carnaval,” which in its editions includes a segment for the participation of the child (Children’s Carnaval). As a rule, this precedes the adult Carnaval, with thousands of child revellers that take part in the preparatory, run-off and final competitions; there is the Holiday Program, with participation of children between 8 and 14 years old; the Christmas Workshop, with participation of children between age 3 and 12; Film Week on the Natural Sciences, with participation of children between age 8 and 14; and temporary exhibits of Angolan fauna, etc.

VIII.Special protection measures (Articles 22, 30, 32 (a), 36 and 37 (b), (c) and (d), 38, 39 and 40)

145.Children are entitled to protection from all situations that violate any of their rights, including the lack of parental care, separation from their parents, illegal travel or travel with no return, abuse and negligence, use of harmful substances, and especially when they are outside their country seeking protection. They may be in refugee situations, unaccompanied and seeking asylum inside the country or migrants. They may be subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, including child labour, use, illegal production and trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances, or they may be abducted, sold, trafficked or in situations of homelessness.

146.Some of these situations are addressed in the broader concept of violence against children and there have been occurrences in Angola. The rates are cause for concern, as follows:: in 2010, 374; in 2011, 978; in 2012, 1,896; in 2013, 1,777; and in 2014, 1,601. These data are disaggregated in Annex 5.

8.1Children outside their country of origin and seeking protection (Article 22)

147.To pursue the objectives of the population policy, and in particular to assist children outside their country of origin and seeking protection, the following policy priorities were established and the National Population Council was set up. The purpose is to link and involve civil society and the various public departments to take part in establishing, monitoring and evaluating the National Population Policy (PNP).

148.They form an effective agenda for defending the rights of the child and incorporate domestic and foreign migratory movements into the National Development Strategy and the National Population Policy.

149.In order to include specifically domestic and foreign migratory movements in the National Development Strategy and National Population Policy, the policy measures are: (i) support and stimulate the settlement and mobility of the people to the more sparsely populated areas of Angola; (ii) strengthen the local communities and promote balanced relationships between the city and the countryside; iii) throughout the country, provide equal access to information, knowledge, markets, public services, means of social communication and media, and establish territorial priorities for installing public services, education and health facilities, and build social housing; iv) implement a special system of mobility incentives for civil servants; v) promote the return of Angolans from the diaspora and skilled personnel in particular, while also fostering family reunification; vi) include immigrants in the strategy and process of developing Angola, and in the medium and long terms, promote obtaining the skilled human resources that are lacking in Angola; and vii) fight illegal immigration, with emphasis on the larger movements on the northern and north-eastern borders and movements associated with illegal and/or criminal economic activities, namely in the provinces with the greatest demographic and economic concentration.

8.1.1Refugees

150.In compliance with Article 25 of the CRA, the Executive Branch of Angola is preparing a migration policy that will identify the mechanisms immigrants are to observe for settling in Angola legally so that they can participate in the current national reconstruction process and obtain income that ensures their well-being.

8.1.2Unaccompanied persons and asylum seekers

151.The rights and duties of refugees in Angola are enshrined in Law 8/90 of 26 May. Along with the international conventions to which Angola has acceded, these fundamental rights and guarantees they have can be duly protected.

152.In the partnerships with different institutions, the “Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)” Project, an international humanitarian organization of the Catholic Church, provides free legal and social assistance to refugees and asylum seekers with support from the UN agencies and national and international organizations. Active in Angola since 1996 in Luanda, with a representative office in the province of Lunda Norte, the goals of the JRS Project are as follows: find lasting solutions for integrating refugees and asylum seekers into Angolan society so that they lead a dignified and just life, promote the rights and duties recognized by the international and national instruments when they remain in Angola; provide guidance, support and legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees and defend them in carrying out the procedures, obtaining various documents, detentions without charges, and represent them in the courts, police stations, prisons and in the different public or private departments.

8.1.3Displaced persons in Angola

153.The intensity used to protect, assist and reintegrate domestic displaced persons up to 2006 fell off sharply in the 2010-2012 period, with significant changes in all categories as indicated in the attached table.

154.According to the table, it was found that assistance increased significantly to: persons in situations of vulnerability (488.7%); repatriated Angolan refugees (510.8%); and refugees in Angola (461.7%).

8.1.4Children of migrants

155.Migration in Angola is not unrelated to world events, but it has been very intense and complex in the recent years of its history. From the early days of its existence, Angola has been the preferred destination for some emigrants, and this movement intensified with the end of the hostilities.

156.In addition to this presidential measure and in the area of Assistance and Social Reintegration, one of the main strategic objectives of the 2013-2017 PND was laid out: developing assistance programs for the most vulnerable groups for their social and productive reintegration and mitigating social risk in an effort to prepare individuals, households and communities to deal with the occurrence of social risk situations. In order to achieve the objectives, an evaluation of activities was performed in 2012 and it produced the following indicators: (a) of the 209,362 individual immigrants in 2010, 161,946 were repatriated, or 77.4%; (b) 47,416 immigrants remained in 2011, and that figure increased to 231,731, amounting to 448.7%, for a total in 2012 of 279,144; (c) by 2012, 23,991 emigrants and assisted persons had returned to Angola; and; (d) as part of the Social Support Program, 956,000 needy persons and their dependents received assistance.

8.1.5Persons affected by migration

157.According to data in the table in Section 8.1.3. (displaced persons inside Angola), it was found that assistance to persons in situations of vulnerability increased considerably, with 23,991 repatriated Angolans and 4,673 refugees in Angola. These indicators, when crossed with the age breakdown of the population of Angola, indicated by the 2008-2009 IBEP, showed that 48% of the persons were less than 15 years old, and that one in three persons were of school age (6-17 years), with an age pyramid configuration that shows a relatively wide base that declines with more advanced age (only 2.4% age 64 and older). This shows how complex and difficult the task was and has been of providing services to such a high number of children affected by migration.

158.Although this is a major challenge, the government of Angola continues: (a) to make land available to returning migrants and their families to be used for housing and for them to carry out socioeconomic activities, including agriculture; (b) to carry out reintegration programs and projects based on fair programs for the general population, without losing sight of the importance of meeting the needs, concerns and specific potential of returning migrants; (c) to map the academic and occupational skills of returning migrants in order to mobilize them for public and private institutions for the process of rebuilding and developing Angola; and; (d) expanding and revitalizing awareness campaigns so that returning migrants can be seen as agents of human development, etc.

8.2Children in armed conflict (Article 38)

159.The State’s commitment to observe and enforce the international humanitarian rights rules for children in armed conflicts is covered in measures in the laws of Angola, and in particular in the General Military Service Law. Articles 10 and 11 provide guarantees to protect children under age 18, as opposed to 15 years according to Article 38 of the CRC. All Angolan and foreign children under age 18 that are on Angolan soil are protected by the law and they receive assistance if they are affected by armed conflict.

8.2.1Measures for the physical and psychological treatment of children involved in armed conflict and their social reintegration (Art. 39)

160.The treatment and reintegration of children who suffered acts of physical or psychological abuse in society are addressed by the implementation of the National Strategy to Prevent and Fight Violence against the Child (ENPCVC) and Law 25/12. Angola is adopting specific and appropriate protection and service measures in order to integrate every child, without exception, in an inclusive manner. Tables in Annexes 5 and 6 indicate cases reported or identified by the institutions in which services are provided within the system in which the rights of the child are fully observed.

8.3Children in situations of commercial sexual exploitation, including child labour (Article 32)

161.The matter of children in situations of commercial sexual exploitation is addressed in the report on the Implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, in accordance with Article 12, No. 1, and the policies were reviewed based on the initial reports of the States Parties.

8.3.1Physical and psychological treatment and social reintegration measures

162.Children with physical and mental disabilities deal with difficulties of movement, social exclusion and groups of other children, limitations due to disability or discrimination in playing and sports, exclusion or limitation from access to schools and stigmatization. For this group of vulnerable children, the Executive Branch is implementing its social policy that promotes service programs, social integration and monitoring in accordance with the Constitution and the law that regulates monetary benefits for citizens in this condition.

163.With the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol in December 2012, Angola further strengthened the legal instruments that were already in effect on this subject. They ensure equal protection of circumstances for persons with disabilities and others without disabilities, and especially Law No. 21/12 of 30 June on Persons with Disabilities, based on the CRA, which enshrines the principle of equality under the Constitution and the Law.

164.The statute establishes the legal system applicable to the prevention, habilitation, rehabilitation and participation of disabled persons in social activities and involves all individuals and public and private entities in its implementation. It defines the concept of a person with disabilities and its objectives that assist in developing a comprehensive, integrated and crosscutting policy for the prevention, habilitation, rehabilitation and participation of persons with disabilities. This should be done by fostering:

(a)Equal opportunities so that disabled persons have the conditions they need to participate fully in society;

(b)Opportunities for education, training and work throughout their lifetime;

(c)Access to support services; and

(d)A society for all, by eliminating barriers and adopting measures to ensure the full participation of persons with disabilities.

Based on a check by the Ministerial Department of Social Assistance and Reintegration, it is estimated that Angola has roughly 90,000 persons with disabilities.

8.3.2Use of children in the illegal production and trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances (Article 33)

See table in the annex.

8.3.3Exploitation and sexual abuse (Article 34)

165.The policies were revised compared to initial reports and are updated according to No. 1 of Article 12 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

166.Law No. 25/12 of 22 August on the Protection and Development of the Child in Angola is the legal instrument which, in harmony with the CRA, CAC and CRC, advocates precepts applicable to the child, regardless of colour, race, sex, ethnic origin, place of birth, religion, degree of education, social position, marital status of the parents, physical and mental condition or any other objective or subjective special feature of children, their ancestors or their legal representatives. It is the responsibility of the State through its dedicated entities to consider all discriminatory practices as crimes and to adopt mechanisms that aim to minimize damage that occurs as a result of crimes.

8.3.4Child labour

167.Reports and additional findings for other cases that occur in the family setting, in which children are used for domestic chores that are inconsistent with their age, in communities where they are also used in work that is not recommended. In this regard, the Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security (MAPTSS), together with other public institutions and the International Labour Organization (ILO), is seeking new strategies to strengthen the activities that are being carried out to reverse the situation, namely:

(a)Information, education and awareness campaigns for families and society in general that the National Institute of the Child (INAC) carries out throughout Angola with a broader vision to prevent and fight these occurrences;

(b)The framework for the list of types of violence against children as part of the Strategy to Prevent and Fight Violence against the Child;

(c)The vision of the Ministry of Education with regard to including some programs in the education system that will be enlarged and expanded to cover all children without distinction.

8.3.5Abduction, sale and trafficking (Article 35)

168.Abduction, sales and trafficking are occurrences that are seldom reported in a criminal context. They take place in secret and traffickers in human beings first target people in extreme poverty with various types of needs. They find easy targets for their criminal activities or defenceless children who are easily enticed. Angola is no exception, and for this reason preventive measures have been taken, including legislative and administrative measures.

169.Regarding legislation, in addition to ratifying the United Nations Convention against Organized Transnational Crime and the Additional Protocol to Prevent, Supress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, or simply the Palermo Protocol, Angola enacted Law 3/14 on the Criminalization of Offenses Underlying Money Laundering. Article 19 No. 1 provides: “Anyone who offers, delivers, entices, accepts, transports, houses or hosts a person for purposes of labour exploitation or extraction of organs, by means of violence, abduction or grave threat, by trickery or fraudulent manoeuvre, with abuse of authority resulting from a relation of hierarchical, economic, labour or family dependency, takes advantage of the mental incapacity or situation of special vulnerability of the victim or by obtaining the consent of the person who has control over the victim, is punished by a prison term of 8 to 12 years.”

170.The law makes it a serious crime to commit a series of acts generally associated with human trafficking, such as cases of crimes of criminal association, fraud, kidnapping, abduction, sexual trafficking of persons, hostage-taking, pandering, sexual trafficking of minors, and other references contained therein. For the implementation of prevention measures and punishing human trafficking, especially women and children, the 2015 OGE approved the amount of Akz. 21,268,607.00.

171.Administrative measures in addition to establishing mechanisms such as the Networks for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of the Child, Serviço SOS — Criança (Call Center), contribute to prevention and the effort being made to resolve social issues, to continue programs that are part of the national strategy to fight poverty, to reform the migration policy, and to continue professional training of agencies that fight organized crime, taking into consideration respect for the civil and political rights of the child.

172.The treatment and reintegration of children who are victims of abduction, sale and trafficking fall under Law 25/12. It is incumbent on the State to adopt concrete measures to protect and meet special and appropriate needs, particularly administrative, social and educational needs concretely for children who are temporarily or permanently deprived of the family environment or who have been victims of an act that placed them at risk or made them vulnerable, such as abduction, sexual abuse, negligence, mistreatment, physical or psychological abandonment, etc.

8.3.6Information as subscriber to the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

173.The revised guidelines on the form and content of the periodic reports (CRC/C/58/Rev. 2) are provided for information on this topic in the specific report on the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC).

(a)Follow-up on final observations regarding the protocol

174.The follow-up on the recommendations, the information for which will be detailed in the respective report, is part of the national policy included in the 2013-2017 PND, which proposes to reduce the incidence of poverty and social inequalities, to substantially improve the standard of living of families, promote improvements in the level of well-being and the economic independence of the senior population, as well as other impact goals.

8.4Street children

175.The problem of street children has improved with a decrease in their numbers, especially in the group that makes the street their habitat. Efforts from the Executive Branch are needed to pursue the objectives that have had a major impact on reducing poverty in Angola by assisting the most vulnerable groups for social and productive reintegration. In this context, we underscore some priorities of the specific objectives that will have contributed to achieving significant goals: ending the mine threat throughout the country to ensure the process of reconstruction and development through which people have been able to gradually return to their places of origin; and establishing the mechanism to connect basic social protection and mandatory social protection.

8.5Children in conflict with the law and children who are victims or witnesses to crimes

176.The programs adopted to mitigate the factors that contribute to the prevalence of evidence that provide indications of the situation of children in conflict with the law have not been effective. However, there have been some reductions in behaviour in children, especially in the 12-15 year age group, in which offences have been committed. In the narrative report on the degree of compliance with the 11 commitments for the child in 2010, 2011 and 2012, cases were recorded that involved 758 and 675 respectively. Despite the fact that in general terms they show considerable decreases, they continue to be a major concern. Some illustrative data by type and offense are in the table in Annex 8.

177.The government has adopted measures whose precepts reflect aspects that cover especially the necessity to protect, care for and educate the child for a better future. Therefore, the rights of the child are associated with the political, economic and social background of which they are part. There are still large numbers of victims of instrumentalization by adults to commit crimes, some of which are considered heinous. The greatest difficulty lies in the fact that a minor that has committed an offense has to return to his daily environment, and this makes it easier to resume the practice of committing other offenses.

178.However, projects are in the pipeline to build re-education centers that will house children in conflict with the law so that their childhood is not interrupted and so that they may proceed with their reintegration into society in a sound environment.

8.6Administration of justice to minors (Article 40)

179.Justice for children is administered by guaranteeing rights. The government has sought to provide special and specialized treatment for matters related to legislation and other measures applicable to children in conflict with the law, perpetrators of offenses, or when they become perpetrators of victims, giving them guarantees of their rights as part of the implementation of the norms of justice for children in accordance with Article 40 of the CRC.

180.The Court for Minors provides judicial protection for children under its jurisdiction. It also provides for defending their rights and interest and legal protection to which they are entitled under the law, with protective measures for vigilance, assistance and education. The Law on the Court for Minors (Law No. 9/96) has other similar entities and additional services to make them more effective in protecting the rights of the child.

181.To make the above-mentioned commitment operational in light of Law No. 9/96 on the Court for Minors, activities were carried out in the period from 2011 to 2013 to implement socioeducational measures for providing services to the community and probation, as stated in subparagraphs (d) and (f) of Article 17, of the above-mentioned law, regulated by Joint Executive Decrees No. 17/08 and No. 18/08 of the Ministers and Justice and the Interior, and the Ministers of Justice and Assistance and Social Reintegration respectively.

182.Some of the noteworthy items in the series of administrative actions that were implemented are: (i) the dissemination of the Law on the Court for Minors (Law No. 9/96) and the importance of implementation and compliance by offending children, measures of probation and the provision of community service; (ii) awareness of the social partners in collaborating in implementing the announced measures. As a result, they receive children in their institution to comply with the measures decreed that apply to them.

183.There are some issues that have occurred throughout the country with this process. From 2008 to the first half of 2013, there were many cases of trials, with an average of 366 per province, and a total of about 6,583 children were tried in the period for committing offenses. Measures determined by the law were ordered.

Table 15

Cases processed in the Court for Minors

Year	No. of cases
2010	1 594
2011	1 143
2012	937
2013	857
Total	6 583

Source : INAC .

Table No.16

Cases of children tried

Measures ordered

Number of children by gender

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Total

Age group

M

F

M

F

M

F

M

F

M

F

M

F

M/F

Social Protection

0 - 11 years

Criminal Prevention

12 - 16 years

Total

8.6.1Separate specialized court

184.In terms of the organization of the administration of justice, the State of Angola is attentive to and has sections of the Court for Minors that are set up in the provincial courts so that minors are not subject to trials in the regular sections of the courts and so that their rights are not violated.

185.However, at the national level the PND plans to increase justice on a municipal basis with non-judicial entities such as local courts centers for the protection of children and youth in danger, conflict arbitration centers or “community courts.”

8.6.2Current minimum age of legal liability

186.Article 17 of the Penal Code of Angola establishes liability in respect of age. The text is repeated verbatim as follows: (1) persons under 14 years old cannot be held criminally liable; (2) the statutory measure of the penalty is reduced by half or two-thirds of its maximum or minimum limit if the perpetrator is under age 18 and 16 respectively; (3) the court determination of the penalty to be applied to minors as regards No. 2 above must take into consideration in particular the necessities of the perpetrator’s rehabilitation and social reintegration; (4) a person under 16 years old cannot be sentenced to a prison term longer than 3 years; (5) a prison term for a person under 16 years old must be replaced by a suitable penalty that does not involve imprisonment, except if imprisonment is absolutely necessary for social defence and crime prevention; (6) the regime applicable to procedural promotion and prosecution for crimes committed by persons under 18 years old and the respective judgement is established by a special law; (7) whenever possible, persons under 18 years old are tried for the crimes they committed by courts with specialized jurisdiction and they serve prison terms in their own establishments for detention, education and training; and (8) Young adults under age 21 should have their penalty reduced, especially according to Article 71, unless there are strong grounds for social defence and crime prevention that advise against reducing the penalty.

187.In an attempt to optimize the prevention of juvenile delinquency as established by Article 47 of Law 25/12, the Executive Branch carries out activities in partnership with civil society organizations that aim to: (a) disseminate the legislation on the Court for Minors and related instruments and recommend improvements whenever ineffectiveness or disconnects with reality are demonstrated; (b) conduct studies to determine the causes and consequences of juvenile delinquency; (c) programs to support families to combat poverty as a joint strategy with the 2013-2017 PND; (d) programs to occupy free time, such as municipal, provincial and national camps for children and school games in which children practice sports, recreational and cultural activities and on other occasions, especially during weekends and in periods when there are no classes; and (e) support the operation of social referral centers to the Court for Minors system.

8.6.3Children in prison

188.In compliance with their duty to provide court protection to minors in conflict with the law, the government has adopted measures to defend the rights and interests of the child and to legally protect them. This takes into account the fact that in all phases of investigation of an offense that involves children, alternative corrective measures must be considered in the first place. Imprisonment should be a measure of last result. This is established in Law No. 25/12 on the Protection and Development of the Child.

8.6.4Conviction of children, in particular the ban on capital punishment and life in prison Article 37 (a)

189.The purpose of convicting children accused of committing acts that place them in conflict with the law is to re-educate, treat and reintegrate them into society as citizens, subject to rights and in their supreme interest. These precepts are found in Article 48 of Law 25/12 and in Law 9/96. Both are consistent with Articles 37, (b), 39 and 40 of the CDC, the Beijing Rules, the Riyadh Guidelines and the Havana Rules. To ensure compliance, the Executive Branch and its social partners are carrying out activities, including: (a) psycho-pedagogical support programs and projects for the social and civic adjustment of the child in conflict with the law; (b) raising the awareness of families to fight rejection by parents of children with anti-social behaviour; and (c) self-construction and vocational training programs for the social reintegration and self-sustainability of perpetrators of offenses when they are separated from their family members.

190.The sentencing referred to here rules out any assumption of capital punishment or life in prison. This monstrosity was abolished long ago in Angola and was reinforced by Articles 30, 31 and 59 of the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, which provide respectively: the State shall respect and protect human life, which is inviolable; the moral, intellectual and physical integrity of individuals shall be inviolable, the State shall respect and protect the human person and human dignity; the death penalty shall be prohibited.

(a)Alternative sanctions based on justice in physical and psychological treatment and social reintegration (Art. 39)

191.Angola has 2 re-education centers for children in prison. This makes it difficult to fully implement the law in judicial reality. Based on the socio-pedagogical component inherent in the application of any measure to prevent crime by children in conflict with the law, measures for placement in residences should be applied as a measure of last resort. For cases in which the application of a more serious measure of crime prevention is justified, two measures, alternatives to the imprisonment of convicted children, have been prescribed by Articles 17: subparagraph (d) of Law No. 9/96 Measure to Provide Community Service; and subparagraph (e) Probation Measure.

192.To support the implementation of these measures, the government created by law the Minor Guardianship Commission, which also has its own regulation to improve its performance. There is also the National Department for the Prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency, which supports the execution of probation and semi-internment measures ordered by judges through police vigilance of specialized officers from this department.

(b)Training of professionals involved in the juvenile justice system, including judges and magistrates, district attorneys, lawyers, representatives of law and order, migration officers and social workers

193.To strengthen the numbers, quality and functionality of human capital in the administration of justice, the government has made efforts to increase the number of employees assigned to the MINJUS by 70% to 80%, to restructure the selection, admission and hiring process based on qualification and academic graduation criteria, technical and vocational skills, excellence in education, minimum required knowledge and the general and personal skills of applicants. This is done to hire those that are most skilled, to increase training days, cycles and conferences for study, training seminars, specialization courses and other training activities.

8.7Children that belong to a minority or indigenous group (Article 30)

194.Noting that the Constitution of the Republic of Angola is part of and fits in directly with the construction of a democratic state with the rule of law and a just society, Article 23 of the CRA on the principle of equality establishes that everyone shall be equal under the Constitution and by law, and that no-one may be discriminated against, privileged, deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on the basis of ancestry, sex, race, ethnicity, colour, disability, language, place of birth, religion, political, ideological or philosophical beliefs, level of education or economic, social or professional status.

195.The current vision of the Executive Branch of Angola is essentially to guarantee the whole protection of the rights of the child, with the goal of the whole, effective and on-going enjoyment of the principles recognized in the national legislation and the international treaties that Angola has signed. This is an effective agenda for defending the rights of the child. It implements policy measures to: support the expansion of the public and private education system, and pre-school in particular, which is essential for educating children up to age 5 in every dimension, including the establishment of mobile teams in transhumance areas; and promote the balanced development of the country for areas in which there is less potential and opportunity, with a recommendation to develop a network of balance centers linked by corridors that promote greater national equity for areas in which effects will be produced only over the long run.

8.8Use of Drugs

196.Drug consumption is on the rise in Angola, with the consequence of an extremely worrisome situation that was the reason for allocating technical and human resources to the National Police to fight narcotics trafficking. The Criminal Investigation Police found that Brazil, South Africa, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the countries traffickers use most to bring narcotics into Angola, and especially cocaine.

197.The consequences are visible, since laboratory tests (multi-drugs) and reports from actual users indicate that alcoholic beverages, marijuana and libanga are the drugs that addicts consume most. This situation is growing worse because drug use is increasing, mainly among young people. The causes of drug use are family conflicts, social difficulties, bad influences, genetic/biological cases, as well as other situations. Many start to use drugs to identify themselves with a given environment, and others due to influence by family members. Some are due to unemployment and other social problems. Use is widespread, from the wealthiest to the poorest.

198.Faced with this situation, the National Strategy to Fight Drugs was adopted and the Commission to Fight Drugs was established for the following purposes:

(a)Prevention, focused on preventive actions that preferably have impact on the end of childhood (9/10 years) and the beginning of adolescence (12/13 years);

(b)Treatment, damage control and resocialization, involving the entire health system and not just the Drug Dependency Prevention and Treatment Service (SPTT); authorize family doctors to play a role on the front lines;

(c)The statutory framework and international perspective creates incentives to develop networks of clubs and recreational and cultural groups; develop the network of day centers; develop the network of residential reintegration units; support the development of self-help groups and vocational training initiatives; create grants for occupational internships and support programs for seeking and maintaining jobs;

(d)Investigation and training as an area of scientific priority, interdisciplinary studies that facilitate the construction of theoretical models to incorporate data from the different disciplines; as well as subjects of priority studies, studies described in the current dimension of the drug phenomenon.

9.Challenges

199.For the development of the whole child, the State of Angola plans to strengthen some measures in the area of education and health and to continue policies for the support and development of the whole child. Efforts to comply with the 11 commitments for the child will continue to ensure a healthy and harmonious standard of living for all children that live in Angola.

200.The data from the General Census of the Population and specific research will help provide an accurate idea of the actual circumstances of the child in Angola.