Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/angola.txu

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TITLE:  ANGOLA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995



Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

Both the Government and UNITA impeded independent
investigations of human rights abuses in their respective
territory.  There were no actively functioning Angolan
nongovernmental human rights associations or groups.  The
Angolan Human Rights Association (ADHA) was inactive in 1994,
because its leaders, both the president and the secretary
general, were deeply embroiled in defending themselves against
spurious law suits, reportedly instigated by the Government.
ADHA published a report on Angola's prisons in January that was
the genesis of constant Interior Ministry harassment and
subsequent imprisonment of the Association's leaders.

The National Assembly Human Rights Subcommittee, which got off
to a promising start in 1993, was ineffective in 1994 owing to
MPLA opposition.  It was unable to create mechanisms to enforce
existing laws to protect the rights of Angolans, and human
rights issues received very low priority in National Assembly
debate.

While frequently harassing and limiting relief operations, the
Government and UNITA did allow a variety of international NGO's
access to much of the territory under their respective
control.  They were much less willing, however, to allow human
rights investigations.  The Government granted the ICRC only
limited access to prisons in 1994.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

Angola is a multiracial society, and the Constitution states
that all citizens are equal regardless of race, ethnic origin,
sex, religion, or social status.

     Women

The deterioration of the social and economic situation, a
consequence of the war and poor governance, has had a negative
effect on the status of women.  Although women held senior
positions in the military (primarily in the medical field),
civil service, and political parties, they held mainly
low-level positions in state-run industries and in the small
private economy.  The law proclaims equal pay for equal work,
but in practice women were not compensated equally.  Adult
women may open a bank account, accept employment, and own
property without interference from their spouse.  Women are
included in all levels of UNITA's ranks.

While little information was available on the extent of
domestic violence, a study published by a renowned journalist
indicated that spousal violence is widespread and growing.  The
study indicated that one-third of all homicides were
perpetrated against women, usually by their spouse.  The study
revealed that women are not treated as fairly as men in a court
of law, even though the Constitution provides for equality.  In
many besieged cities, women swelled the ranks of the
handicapped because, in foraging in the fields for food to feed
their families, they often set off land mines.  Due to dire
economic circumstances, increasing numbers of adult women and
girls engage in prostitution, and the clergy report that
marriages are breaking down at an alarming rate.

     Children

The Government has given only marginal attention to children's
rights and welfare.  As noted, both the Government and UNITA
have been responsible for conscripting teenagers into military
service.  A major problem in 1994 was the growing presence of
street children in Luanda and other cities, one indication of
the structural breakdown in Angola's family institutions caused
by the war and the deteriorating economy.  Young females are
often accepted into private homes as domestics while young
males roam the market places and streets.  The living
conditions in government youth hostels are deplorable, and the
majority of the homeless children prefer to sleep on city
streets.

The government-sponsored National Institute for Children,
viewed as an MPLA organ, has not seriously addressed the
problems children face and has been indifferent toward efforts
by international NGO's to assist dispossessed youth.  However,
the Government cooperated with international NGO's in
establishing a camp for young Angolans on the outskirts of
Luanda.  The project was only partially successful in keeping
children from returning to the city streets and crime.  There
were no active private children's rights advocacy groups.

It cannot be verified whether female genital mutilation is
practiced in Angola.  However, medical authorities say that it
may have occurred in limited fashion in remote areas of Moxico
province, bordering Zaire and Zambia.

     Indigenous People

Angola's population includes 1 to 2 percent of preliterate
tribes.  Mostly hunters and gatherers, these Khoisan and other
linguistically distinct groups are scattered throughout the
southern provinces of Namibe, Cunene, and Cuando Cubango.
There is no evidence that they suffer from official
discrimination or harassment, but they do not participate
actively in the political or economic life of the country and
have a marginal ability to influence government decisions
concerning their interests.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

The long civil conflict has deep ethnic and urban versus rural
roots.  The MPLA is heavily supported by the Mbundu ethnic
group, which makes up an estimated 25 percent of the
population, and by many city dwellers, notably in Luanda.  It
also has strong backing among the small number of white and
mixed-race Angolans who occupy technical and governmental
positions.  Election results indicated a high level of support
among other ethnic groups apart from the Ovimbundu.  UNITA has
its principal backing among the country's largest single ethnic
group, the Ovimbundu, who make up an estimated 37 percent of
the population and are concentrated in the central and southern
parts of Angola.  The Government continued to claim that
inflammatory UNITA rhetoric exacerbated ethnic tensions by
dwelling on the perceived colonial ties of white and mixed-race
Angolans.

The Government cracked down on Lebanese businessmen in 1994,
allegedly for illegal business activities.  The Government
arbitrarily deported an Angolan/Portuguese businessman, born in
Malange, during a sweep of mostly Lebanese businessmen in
Luanda in December 1993-January 1994.  He has not been
permitted to return, although in a recent press interview in
Lisbon he expressed a desire to do so.

     People with Disabilities

There are many physically disabled persons throughout Angola,
the majority of whom are casualties of land mines and other
civil war-related injuries.  While there is no obvious
discrimination against them, the Government has done little to
ameliorate their physical, financial, or social distress and
has not legislated accessibility to public buildings or any
other benefit specifically for the disabled.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

The 1991 Constitution recognizes the right of Angolans to form
trade unions and to bargain collectively.  However, the
implementing law governing unions has yet to be passed, and in
practice the Government dominates the labor movement through
the National Union of Angolan Workers (UNTA), the official
labor union of the ruling MPLA, which remained the principal
workers' organization.  Two other groups without affiliation to
a political party, the National Confederation of Free Trade
Unions of Angola and the Democratic Confederation of Angolan
Workers, waited yet another year for peace and a new labor
union law.  The war, the Government's long association with and
preference for UNTA, and the lack of necessary legislation
effectively stifled the development of these two organizations.

Organized labor is concentrated in the cities.  There is no
organized labor in agriculture, traditionally the main source
of income for the vast majority of Angolans.

The Constitution provides for the right to strike, and
legislation passed in 1991 provides the legal framework to
strike.  The law prohibits lockouts and worker occupation of
places of employment and provides some protection for
nonstriking workers.  It prohibits strikes by military and
police personnel, prison workers, and firemen.  It does not
prohibit retribution against strikers.

There were strikes against the Government in August by air
traffic controllers and in September by Luanda province public
school teachers.  The Government negotiated the air traffic
controllers' demands expeditiously, and it met with a 5-member
teachers' commission, representing Luanda province's 11,000
teachers.  The Government harassed commission members until
they capitulated to the Government's demand that the strike be
postponed until the end of the academic year in October in
exchange for an extra month's salary.  The Government did not
provide a salary increase or pay the extra month's salary as
promised, and consequently the teachers remained on strike at
the end of 1994.

By year's end, the Government and the MPLA-controlled National
Assembly had still not enacted laws to allow labor
organizations to affiliate with international labor bodies.
UNTA, the MPLA labor union, is affiliated with the Organization
of African Trade Union Unity and the formerly Soviet-controlled
World Federation of Trade Unions.  The two planned Angolan
trade union federations will not be able to apply for
membership in the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions until relevant domestic legislation is enacted.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Angolan workers have the constitutional right to organize and
bargain collectively.  However, in practice there has been
almost no collective bargaining, and the Government dominates
the economy through state-run enterprises.  The Ministry of
Public Administration, Labor, and Social Security continued to
set wages and benefits on an annual basis.  The Council of
Ministers approved the Ministry's proposal to increase salaries
100 percent for all public sector employees in 1994.  The
Council based salaries of employees of state-owned enterprises
on profits of the previous year, the availability of loans from
the national bank, and the percentage of government ownership.
In Angola's small private sector, wages are based on multiples
of the minimum salary set by the Government.

The 1991 legislation prohibits discrimination against union
members.  Union members' complaints are adjudicated in the
regular civil courts.  Employers found guilty of antiunion
discrimination are required to reinstate workers fired for
union activities.

Angola has no export processing zones.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

In 1993 the Government indicated that in mid-1994 it would
introduce legislation to prohibit forced labor, reversing laws
and provisions which had been cited by the International Labor
Organization (ILO) as a violation of ILO Convention 105 on
Forced Labor.  The outdated legislation authorizes forced labor
for breaches of worker discipline and participation in
strikes.  While new legislation was proposed in 1994, it had
not been enacted by year's end or even debated by the National
Assembly.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The legal minimum age for employment is 14.  The Inspector
General of the Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing
labor laws.  The Labor Ministry maintains employment centers
where prospective employees register.  These centers screen out
applicants under the age of 14.  However, children at a much
younger age work on family farms and in the informal economy;
the survival of Angola's growing number of street children
underscores the role of child labor in the informal urban
economy.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

The minimum wage is set by the Government and was increased by
100 percent in 1994.  However, the Government does not enforce
the wage standard.  In real terms, the minimum wage of just
over $1 per month (1 million kwanzas) is insufficient to
support a worker and family.  As a result, many wage-earning
workers depended on the thriving informal sector (night jobs,
subsistence farming, theft, corruption, or support from abroad)
to maintain an acceptable standard of living.

The normal workweek, established by a 1994 government decree,
is 37 hours.  There was no information available on the
adequacy of work safety conditions or health standards, but
they presumably were adversely affected by the weakness of the
Angolan economy, the lack of enforcement mechanisms, and the
war.