HRW: Angola police responsible for human rights violations during protests News
Simão Hossi, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
HRW: Angola police responsible for human rights violations during protests

Angolan authorities have unjustly killed more than 12 people since January, in addition to perpetrating other severe human rights violations, according to a recent report from Human Rights Watch (HRW). The human rights organization accused Angola’s police of cracking down on political dissent in the country, resulting in killings and arbitrary arrests.

In their Monday report, HRW detailed how they uncovered reports of persons identifying as members of the Angolan Criminal Investigation Service held a group of young men involved in anti-government protests whose bodies were discovered three days later in a morgue. In another, Angolan police detained an activist rapper without trial after anti-government flyers were discovered in his vehicle.

Senior Africa researcher at HRW Zenaida Machado commented, “The Angolan police appear to be targeting those who speak out against government policies. Angolan authorities should urgently act to end abusive police policies and practices and ensure that there is justice for victims and their family members.”

Despite the government’s efforts to strengthen law enforcement, HRW reported that criminal prosecution of rogue police officers and the commencement of disciplinary proceedings remain infrequent, especially due to the lack of “an independent body to address complaints about wrongful use of police force.” This has resulted in concerns about excessive police force remaining unresolved.

Angola’s ruling party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, denied HRW’s statement and stated that investigations into the matter were underway. The police also claimed that the use of force was essential to disperse the disruptive protestors. The opposition party however indicated that it had reported at least 130 deaths since 2017 and called for an end to police brutality.

Angola was rocked by widespread protests in June after the government decided to eliminate subsidies, resulting in high fuel prices. Protesters demanded that the government address the high cost of living. At the same time, they demanded the government address a proposed non-governmental organization (NGO) bill, which sought to establish significant government control over NGOs in the country. In response to the protests, the state deployed police officers, who were captured on X—formerly Twitter—using excessive force to disperse protesters.

But the protests in June are not Angola’s only incident of human rights violations. According to a US report on human rights practices, Angolans suffered from arbitrary arrests and executions, degrading punishment and torture by government officials, and denials of fair public trials in 2022. The report also described of how institutional weakness, corruption and impunity all contributed to a lack of accountability for human rights violators—echoing HRW’s Monday concerns.

Outside of the US government, HRW and Amnesty International have frequently chastised Angola’s government, urging police to exhibit restraint and respect human rights during the protests.

In their Monday report, HRW encouraged the government to develop standards for police conduct and monitoring to ensure that the principles of proportionality in relation to the use of force are properly reflected in police activities. It has also urged international organizations to put pressure on Angola to hold human rights violators accountable.

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