GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1. The Republic of Angola is a democratic state governed by the rule of law and has been independent since 1975. Regular elections were held in 1992 (non-conclusive), 2008, 2012, 2017 and 2022.
2. The 2022 general elections resulted in the election for a second term of the President of the Republic, His Excellency João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço. National and international observers declared the elections to be free and fair. This electoral process reinforced the political trajectory of the Angolan State in terms of governance and the strengthening of democratic institutions, human rights and dialogue with Civil Society.
3. The drafting of this report is in line with the Angolan state's human rights commitments.
4. In accordance with Article 62 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, Angola presented its consolidated periodic report in 2016 and defended it in 2018, which was the subject of recommendations by the Commission. At the time, the Initial Report under the Maputo Protocol was also presented.
5. This report was drafted by the National Mechanism for Reporting and Follow-up of Recommendations (NMFR), the Intersectoral Commission for the Drafting of National Human Rights Reports (CIERNDH), in addition to deepening aspects related to the legislative and policy measures adopted in the corresponding period (2016-2023), it addresses the Commission's concerns, expressed in the Concluding Observations (ACHPR/SR/ANG/103/19) that the State should honor its commitments and contribute to improving and strengthening cooperation relations with the Commission, observing citizens' human rights and monitoring the implementation of the measures adopted.
6. In this report, we will also present the Initial Report under the Kampala Convention (African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa).
7. The Intersectoral Commission for Drafting the National Human Rights Reports (CIERNDH) was created by Resolution 121/09 of 26 December of the Council of Ministers, integrated at the decision-making level, it is made up of the heads of Ministerial Departments, Public Institutes and other State institutions, and at the execution level it is made up of technicians from these areas who are called upon according to the dynamics of the process. Its composition was adjusted by Presidential Order No. 29/14 of March 26th. Civil Society Organizations cooperate with CIERNDH and participate whenever consulted or requested.
8. The drafting stage was based on i) the system of monitoring and evaluation of the recommendations of the African Commission ii) collection of information from the different state and non-state partners; iii) ongoing dialogue with Civil Society working on Human Rights, including with Local Human Rights Committees.
9. During the process, a Preliminary Public Debate (in hybrid format) was also held in December 2020 with the participation of 50 representatives in person and 20 virtually (in a context of limitations due to the Covid-19 pandemic) from international institutions of Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa (PALOPS), ministerial departments and civil society organizations.
