Angola
chairs Security Council but refuses to release human rights defender
Angola is holding
the Presidency of the UN Security Council in New York throughout March 2016.
The Angolan authorities appear to be proud of this fact[1]
and have stressed their willingness to engage in peacebuilding and stability
around the world, particularly in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa.
Angola is also actively engaged at other UN bodies and mechanisms, such as the
Human Rights Council and the UN Treaty bodies. And yet, at home, Angola
continues to disregard the recommendations of the United Nations in relation to
its own human rights situation. It is clear Angola has leadership ambitions; however,
for these ambitions to be realised, the government must show clear commitment
to and respect for human rights.
Angola
disregards recommendations from the UN human rights bodies
On 28 September 2015, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention
(UNWGAD),
the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the
Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of
association, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of
the right to freedom of expression jointly wrote to the Government of Angola
expressing serious concern at the alleged arbitrary arrest and the charges
brought against José Marcos Mavungo.[2] The government
did not respond.
On 3 December
2015, in its Opinion No. 47/2015, the UNWGAD concluded the deprivation of
liberty of José Marcos Mavungo was arbitrary and in violation of international
law. The UNWGAD then called on the Angolan authorities to release José Marcos
Mavungo immediately and grant him compensation for the harm suffered.
José Marcos
Mavungo was arrested on 14 March 2015 and subsequently sentenced, in September
of the same year, to six years in prison for his part in organizing a peaceful demonstration
against human rights violations and bad governance in the province of Cabinda.
More than three
months have passed since the UNWGAD's findings and yet the Angolan authorities
remain silent on this matter.
Angola
must fully implement the UNWGAD’s
recommendations by immediately releasing José
Marcos Mavungo
José Marcos
Mavungo, a former member of the human rights organization Mpalabanda –banned by
the authorities in 2006 – was arrested exactly one year ago, on 14
March 2015. He was intending to peacefully demonstrate against human rights
violations and a lack of transparency in the region’s management of public
funds. The protest was banned by the governor, who felt it would show a "lack of respect and due consideration
towards the population and government institutions". José Marcos
Mavungo was initially accused of "sedition".
On 19 March 2015,
the court ruled this charge unfounded but instead of releasing him, the judge called
for further investigations and the authorities continued to detain José Marcos
Mavungo. On 27 May 2015, he was accused of the crime of "rebellion", which
is a crime against the security of the state. He did not become aware of this
until 22 June. His trial took place in August 2015 and on 14 September, despite
insufficiency of evidence, he was convicted and sentenced to six years in
prison.
On the day of his
conviction, the European Union made a statement according to which “the trial leading to the conviction failed
to provide the defendant with adequate guarantees of transparency and due legal
process.”[3]
José Marcos
Mavungo was convicted and sentenced solely for exercising his right to
freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Amnesty International
has declared him a prisoner of conscience.
He must be
immediately and unconditionally released, as recommended by the UN Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention at the beginning of December 2015.
Signatories:
ACAT France
Amnesty
International
Southern Africa
Litigation Centre
Front Line
Defenders
Action for
Southern Africa (ACTSA)
Associação
Justiça, Paz e Democracia (AJPD) (Angola)
Associação
Tratado de Simulambuco - Casa de Cabinda em Portugal
Central Angola
7311
Centre for Human Rights
and Rehabilitation (Malawi)
Centre for Human
Rights, University of Pretoria (South Africa)
CIVICUS: World
Alliance for Citizen Participation
Conectas Human
Rights (Brazil)
FIDH within the
framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Global Witness
Human Rights
Institute of South Africa (HURISA)
Lawyers for Human
Rights (South Africa)
Liberdade aos
Presos Activistas em Angola (LAPA)
MBAKITA ANGOLA
OMUNGA (Angola)
SADC Lawyers
Association
Solidariedade Imigrante
- Associação para a Defesa dos direitos dos Emigrantes (Portugal)
SOS Habitat
(Angola)
SOS Racismo
(Portugal)
Southern African
Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN)
Transparência e
Integridade, Associação Cívica (Portugal)
Women and Law in
Southern Africa (Mozambique)
Women, Law and
Development (Mozambique)
World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) within the framework of the Observatory for
the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum
Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights
Press contact:
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