Angola

Victim Assistance

Last updated: 21 October 2018

Victim assistance action points

Fully support the prosthetic and orthopedic centers, including provision of materials, so survivors and persons with disabilities can obtain prosthetic and orthotic devices.
Include landmine survivor assistance in the planning of disability support services.

Victim assistance planning and coordination[1]

Government focal point	The National Intersectoral Commission for Demining and Humanitarian Assistance (Comissão Nacional Intersectorial de Desminagem e Assistência Humanitária, CNIDAH) Department of Mine Victim Assistance
Coordination mechanisms	Occasional meetings; remote communications
Coordination regularity/frequency and outcomes/effectiveness	Intermittent and infrequent, as funds allow
Plans/strategies	National Integrated Plan for Mine Victim Assistance, 2013–2017
Disability sector integration	Lacking integration. Angola has the National Council for Social Action (CNACS) that supports persons with disabilities and other vulnerable persons, but CNIDAH is not an active participant or contributor to CNACS, which is a key sustainability issue
Survivor inclusion and participation	Survivor networks participate in CNACS but not CNIDAH. CNIDAH conducted some targeted interviews with landmine survivors but did so separate to survivor networks
Reporting (Article 7 and statements)	Angola made no statements at the Mine Ban Treaty 16th Meeting of States Parties regarding victim assistance or the June 2018 Intersessional Meetings. At the June 2018 Intercessional Meetings, CNIDAH provided a formal report on the Department of Mine Victim Assistance’s activities in 2017. This information served as the core of the information on victim assistance included on form J of Angola’s Article 7 report for 2017

International commitments and obligations

Angola is one of 29 States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty reporting significant numbers of mine victims
Mine Ban Treaty	Yes
Convention on Cluster Munitions	Signatory
Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Protocol V	No
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)	Yes

Laws and policies

The Republic of Angola’s “Accessibility Law,” which was produced with participation from persons with disabilities, came into effect in October 2016.[2] The law requires buildings, transportation, and communications be changed to increase accessibility.[3]

Major Developments in 2017–2018

In 2017, activists led by the Platform for Inclusion joined a protest in Luanda on discrimination against persons with disabilities. The protest was violently disrupted by authorities on the basis of the protest not being in compliance with notification requirements.[4]

The Department of Mine Victims Assistance of CNIDAH received very little financial assistance for any activities limiting the ability of the unit to conduct monitoring and reporting beyond remote communications.[5] This continues a trend over the last several years in which the Department’s activities have become increasingly constrained by limited funds.

Needs assessment

One of the few activities the Department of Mine Victims Assistance was able to complete was a series of interviews with female mine victims to understand their particular needs. The department concluded that an association specifically of female mine victims should be formed to advocate for assistance and support,[6] but the department is not in the position to effect this recommendation.

Angola still lacks a casualty reporting mechanism. The Department of Mine Victims Assistance registration project documenting the needs of individual survivors has been suspended since 2014 due to lack of funding. Mine action operators collect and report casualty figures internally and occasionally to the media.[7]

Medical care and rehabilitation

Due to a continuing lack of raw materials in the country, Angola’s rehabilitation programs are limited to physical rehabilitation and the repair of existing prosthetic devices. Few public rehabilitation centers are able to produce new prosthetics or mobility devices. The Lwini Foundation, a privately-run and funded facility, continues to produce devices.[8]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

The Associação Nacional dos deficientes de Angola (ANDA) continues to lead its community-based rehabilitation program, “Vem Comigo” (“Come with me”), and expanded it to Malange, Huila, Bié, Moxico, Cabinda, Uige, and Cuanza Sul provinces.Due to the perolous economic situation in much of Angola, reintegration activities are limited in their effectiveness.[9]

Cross-cutting

Victim assistance providers and activities[10]

Name of organization	Type of activity
Government
Centro Ortopédico Neves Bendinha	Physiotherapy
MINARS	Referrals for mobility devices, vocational training, assistance to start income-generating projects, provision of subsistence items
CNACS, the National Council for Social Action	Advocacy and coordination
CNIDAH, Department of Mine Victim Assistance	Reporting; needs assessment
National
Associação Nacional dos deficientes de Angola	Community-based rehabilitation; advocacy; representation
Fundacion Lwini	Physiotherapy; prosthetics

Note: N/A = not applicable.

[1] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), 29 April 2018; and CNIDAH Department of Mine Victim Assistance, “Annual Report 2017,” 20 February 2018.

[2] Response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Enoque Bernardo, National Association of Persons with Disabilities of Angola (Associacao Nacional des deficientes de Angola), 4 June 2018.

[3] United States (US) Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017: Angola,” Washington, DC, 20 April 2018.

[4] Ibid.

[5] CNIDAH Department of Mine Victim Assistance, “Annual Report 2017,” 20 February 2018.

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Civil war landmines kill six in Angola,” CAJ News Africa, undated.

[8] CNIDAH Department of Mine Victim Assistance, “Annual Report 2017,” 20 February 2018.

[9] Response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Enoque Bernardo, National Association of Persons with Disabilities of Angola, 4 June 2018.

[10] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), 29 April 2018; CNIDAH Department of Mine Victim Assistance, “Annual Report 2017,” 20 February 2018; and response to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire by Enoque Bernardo, National Association of Persons with Disabilities of Angola, 4 June 2018.