Luanda – The protection of human rights is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Angola as a top priority, as part of the process of consolidation of the Lawful State and promotion of sustainable development.
This was said Wednesday in Hague (The Netherlands) by the Angolan secretary of State for Cooperation, Ângela Bragança.
Ângela Bragança was addressing the Annual Plenary Session on Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights taking place in Hague from March 13-14.
According to the official, being the Republic of Angola a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Conventions on Civil, Political, Economic, Cultural and Environmental Rights, its engagement in fulfilling concerned commitments at international level is a matter of State, with the involvement of all its institutions, organisations and individuals.
“The actions undertaken in this domain have to do with the elaboration of internal legislation that regulates the matter and the creation of mechanisms that enable its applicability, as well as the development of programmes of education and promotion of the culture of respect for human rights and observance of citizenship duties, directed to State organisations, civil society, technicians of the field and other institutions,” she stated.
The official added that the above actions have been complemented with the participation of Angolan representatives in concerned international lectures and seminars and assignment of local and foreign specialists to extractive zones, resulting in recommendations to improve the Executive’s policies on human rights matters to be observed by the extractive companies in their operations.
Angela Bragança explained that the country’s legislation on the oil sector contains provisions that regulate the action in the field, however subject to eventual improvements and enrichment with new elements resulting from the Exchange of experience and adoption of better concerned practices.
The official welcomed the spirit that governs the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in the activities of the extractive industry.
As she added, this matter will be studied by the Angolan Executive, with a view to a definition of future actions, taking into account the strategy and policies of the Republic of Angola in terms of security and human rights in the extractive industry.
The Annual Plenary Session on Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights is intended to, among other purposes, promote cooperation and solidarity among the States.