Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107) - Angola (Ratification: 1976)

Other comments on C107

Direct Request

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Protection of indigenous populations in the provinces of Cunene and Kuando-Kubango. In a communication received in November 2008, the National Union of Angolan Workers (UNTA) reported the existence of a few tribal and semi-tribal nomadic groups in the southern provinces of the country, which remained isolated during the civil war. In June 2010, the Government provided information on a solidarity project concerning the province of Kuando Kubango, with the aim of assisting minority populations with a view to their social integration, to improve their environment, build schools, combat hunger, poverty and social exclusion in the province, in which the multinational enterprise BP Angola was to participate. A similar project is to be carried out in the province of Cunene. A non-governmental organization (NGO), the Association for Environmental Conservation and Integrated Rural Development (ACADIR, Associação de Conservação do Ambiente e Desenvolvimiento Integrado Rural), is to participate in the implementation of these projects in the two provinces. The Government also indicates that, as a result of the war, the province of Kuando Kubango has been mined and the regions where minority populations live have not received assistance. The authorities of the two provinces have investment projects for the development of infrastructure and the creation of schools, housing and hospitals, and to conduct a population census in the two provinces. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the development and outcome of the projects implemented in the provinces of Cunene and Kuando-Kubango, and on the measures taken to ensure that the rights and interests of the indigenous populations are fully respected and guaranteed in this framework.

Revision of Convention No. 107. The Committee recalls that, at its 270th Session (November 1997), the Governing Body invited the States parties to Convention No. 107 to contemplate ratifying the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), which would, ipso jure, involve the immediate denunciation of Convention No. 107 (see the Report of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, GB.270/LILS/3(Rev.1), paragraph 85). The Committee notes that, while awaiting a decision on ratification, the Government remains under the obligation to give effect to the provisions of Convention No. 107, which remain pertinent, and particularly those concerning questions raised in the current direct request. The Committee invites the Government to include information in its next report on any consultations held with the social partners on the possibility of ratifying the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169).

Part I of the Convention (General Policy). Article 1. In its 2009 direct request, the Committee noted that the report of the Expert Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities, adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in November 2003, addressed the situation of the San in southern Africa, a group which lived from, and sometimes still live from, hunting and gathering and which suffers from marginalization and multiple human rights violations. In Angola, the San account for 0.01 per cent of the population. The Committee invites the Government to specify in its next report the size of the San population and of other national population groups that are covered by the Convention and the regions of the country in which they live.

The Committee recalls that, in its 2009 direct request, it raised two other points, which read as follows:

Equality and non-discrimination. Special measures. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is carrying out activities aimed at changing attitudes grounded on traditional discriminatory practices which are still prevailing throughout the country and have a high incidence in some regions. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on these activities and the extent to which they contribute to ensuring that the groups covered by the Convention enjoy equality of opportunity and treatment on an equal footing with the rest of the population, including with respect to access to employment and occupation, education and health. Please also provide information on any other positive measures adopted or envisaged to promote the employment of fundamental human rights of the groups covered by the Convention.

Articles 5 and 6. Development. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Department for Rural Development has been established with a mandate to promote rural development projects and improve the living conditions of rural communities. The Committee also notes that the Institute for Agrarian Development is distributing agricultural tools in minority tribal communities, including the Khoisan, to promote their participation in productive activities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the rural development projects promoted by the Department for Rural Development and the activities carried out by the Institute for Agrarian Development in so far as they affect or are directed at the groups covered by the Convention and on their impact on improving the living conditions of these groups. Please also indicate whether the groups affected have been involved in the elaboration and implementation of the projects and programmes affecting them.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2014.]