Luanda - Angola has, in recent years, taken significant steps to strengthen its legal and institutional framework in matters of human rights, said this Tuesday, in Geneva, Switzerland, the secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Esmeralda Mendonça.
According to a press release, the diplomat, in the General Debate of the High Level Segment of the 55th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), reaffirmed Angola's commitment to continuing to promote and protect human rights internally and externally, in accordance with international standards.
"The ongoing State reform process has as a priority the full and effective implementation of the national human rights strategy and action plan, as a sign of commitment to the realization of human rights", highlighted the secretary of State.
Likewise, she highlighted the Executive's efforts to guarantee the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, press, access to information and security of journalists, as well as improving the approach by defense and security forces within the framework of the right to peaceful assembly and peaceful demonstrations, the functioning of the guarantee judge and the consolidation of the national reconciliation process.
From this perspective, the diplomat said that Angola understands that placing respect for human rights at the center of public policies is the best way to guarantee common well-being.
She highlighted that more participatory and inclusive governance has also contributed to the creation of an environment of greater trust in institutions, through meetings between the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, and various sectors of civil society, with emphasis on youth, religious institutions, traditional authorities, business class, minorities and vulnerable groups.
Esmeralda Mendonça, on the other hand, called for responsibility from all parties involved in ensuring human rights, because "all over the world, we have witnessed with great concern, flagrant setbacks, violations and abuses of human rights that could have been avoided”.
In this sense, she admitted that the erosion of democracies, the resurgence of conflicts, the increase in misinformation, discrimination, the spread of hatred and the persistence of social injustices, jeopardize the cohesion of societies and will continue to negatively impact the human rights.
Esmeralda Mendonça warned that this 55th session of the HRC invites all Member States to reflect on the urgency of protecting the multilateral response capacity to face global challenges in terms of human rights, without selectivity or double standards.
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