The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Angola.
Brief description of the situation:
According to the information received, on September 4, 2008, the Association for Justice Peace and Democracy was informed by the Constitutional Court in Angola that a legal action had been initiated by the General Prosecutor in order to ban it. The legal basis of the action is that the founding documents of the organisation would "contain articles that are in contravention of the Angola Law of Associations". AJPD has been given until September 19, 2008 to prepare its defence.
This legal procedure intervenes in a context in which, on September 5, 2008, Angola held its first elections in 16 years. In June 2008, AJPD had called on the Angolan authorities not to unilaterally change the electoral law and extend the elections over two days, rather than one. Prior to the elections, AJPD had also put out statements condemning alleged electoral irregularities and vote-buying.
Moreover, the action against AJPD comes three months after the authorities officially closed the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Angola and almost two years after they banned the only human rights organisation operating in the Angolan Province of Cabinda at the time, Mpalabanda[1].
The Observatory expresses its deep concern about this attempt to ban AJPD, and recalls that in the run-up to the elections at the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006, Angola had declared that it will "promote and protect human rights at the national level by: 1. Mainstreaming human rights throughout the society; 2. Promoting the rule of law, access to justice and reconciliation; […] 4. Promoting legislative measures in order to better harmonize the domestic legal order with Angolan international obligations in the field of human rights; 5. Continuing to support a constructive dialogue and increased cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights in Angola; […]"[2].
Accordingly, the Observatory urges the Angolan authorities to "take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of his or her rights", in conformity with Article 12.2 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December, 9, 1998.
Background information:
In 2007, the Director of the Angolan Government’s Technical Unit for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (UTCAH) had announced in a meeting with national and international NGOs based in Angola that the Government would soon cease the activities of NGOs without a social impact for the population or for the executive. He later accused four prominent human rights organisations - namely the AJPD, Mãos Livres, the Angolan branch of the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa, and the Open Society Foundation -, as well as the local housing rights organisation SOS-Habitat, of alleging human rights violations to justify their activities while actually carrying out actions contrary to the law. He had also accused them of inciting people to react, even violently at times, against governmental institutions and authorities and threatened to ban them.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in Angola, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all Angolan human rights defenders;
ii. Ensure in all circumstances that AJPD members as well as all Angolan human rights defenders are able to carry out their work freely without any hindrances;
iii. Put an end to the harassment against all human rights defenders in Angola;
iv. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", and the above-mentioned Article 12.2;
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Angola.
Addresses:
* Minister of Justice, H.E. Manuel Aragão, Ministro da Justiça, Ministério da Justiça, Rua 17 Setembro, Luanda, República de Angola, Fax: +244 222 330 327 / +244 222 338 175
* Procurator General of the Republic, Dr. Augusto da Costa Carneiro, Procurador Geral da República, Procuradoria Geral da República, Rua 17 Setembro, Luanda, República de Angola. Fax: + 244 222 333 170 / + 244 222 333 172
* Dr Paulo Tjipilica, Provedor de Justiça, Provedoria de Justiça, Rua 1º Congresso do MPLA, Bairro Mutamba, Luanda - Angola. Fax: +244 222 359 488
* H.E. Mr. Arcanjo Maria Do Nascimento, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Angola to the United Nations in Geneva, 45-47 rue de Lausanne, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: + 41 22 732 30 72 / + 41 22 732 46 77 / + 41 22 738 00 32. Email: ambmission.angola@bluewin.ch
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Angola in your respective country.
***
Geneva - Paris, September 8, 2008
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29