Luanda - An African Union (AU) Humanitarian Assessment Mission arrives in Luanda on Wednesday, with the aim of establishing contacts with the Angolan authorities on policies and programmes related to refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons.
In a statement, the Permanent Mission of Angola to the African Union states that the delegation will remain in Angola until Saturday and have meetings with representatives from various ministerial departments on the agenda.
The delegation has planned meetings with officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice and Human Rights, and Social Action, Family and Women's Promotion, with a visit to a Refugee Centre located in the municipality of Viana , in Luanda.
The AU delegation is headed by the Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Sarah Agbor, representing the Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, unable, at the last minute, to travel to Angola.
The AU is comprised by members of the Subcommittee on Refugees, Returnees and Displaced Persons, attached to the African Union Permanent Representatives Committee, which is headed by the Gambian Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union and of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca), Jainaba Jagne.
Donation Delivery
The African Union Commission has in perspective the delivery of a donation valued at US$150,000, in aid to projects linked to refugees, carried out by the Angolan Government.
It should be noted that Angola signed, in 2013, the African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, with a view to promoting and strengthening regional and national measures to prevent or mitigate, prohibit and eliminate the main causes of internal displacement.
The same instrument is intended to provide lasting solutions and establish a legal framework to prevent internal displacement, protection and assistance to internally displaced persons.
In 1990 the country signed the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which establishes that everyone has the right to enjoy the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the Charter, without any distinction, including race, ethnicity, color, sex, language, religion, political opinion.
The document also denies the distinction of national or social origin, wealth, birth or any other situation.
The AU convention rules the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa was another diploma signed by Angola, in 1981, whose terms define that the Member States undertake to do everything within their power, within the framework of their respective legislation.
This is intended to accommodate refugees and ensure the settlement of those who, for serious reasons, are unable or unwilling to return to their countries of origin or of which they have nationality.
