Luanda – Canada wants to strengthen cooperation with the Angolan Ombuds Office, especially in the promotion of gender equality and the defence of human rights, said Thursday in Luanda Gavin Nardocchio-Jones, manager of foreign policy and diplomacy services at the Canadian Embassy.
Speaking to the press at the end of a meeting with the Ombudswoman, Florbela Araújo, the Canadian diplomat said that taking into account that his country's national development policy is feminist, Canada intends to maintain close collaboration with the Angolan institution, in order to contribute to a significant increase in the role of women in the different projects in favour of development.
"As part of the Ombuds' priorities, especially those related to human rights and existing partnerships, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Canada also wants to cooperate, which is why the meeting aimed, among other things, to understand the institution's different priorities," he emphasised.
According to the official, since Canada is a bilingual country, cooperation can also be extended to the area of language training, insofar as it can help the Ombuds' office translate its manuals into English and French.
Florbela Araújo considered the meeting very fruitful, as it allowed her to identify cooperation areas.
"It was a fruitful meeting because they wanted not only to find out what we do, but also to offer their support. We have a very ambitious plan of activities for this year and there is a promise from Canada to support training and communication, because we have many brochures and magazines that we need to print not only in Portuguese but also in English and French, with the aim of publicising the role of the institution to all levels, with priority for women", she said.
She also revealed that for this year the institution intends to reinforce actions in defence of citizens' rights, freedoms and guarantees, as well as awareness campaigns on the importance of preserving the environment.
The official informed that the institution plans to open offices in the provinces of Moxico, Lunda-Sul, Bié and Uíge, in order to extend its services to other regions of the country.
"Our aim is to cover three or four provinces that have already been identified, which is why we are presenting our plans to the Ministry of Finance, since the Ombuds' Office doesn't have a budget for infrastructure", she added.
The Ombuds' Office is an independent public body whose purpose is to defend the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens, with a view to ensuring, by informal means, justice and the legality of the activity of the Public Administration.
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