Summary: Signatory Angola has pledged to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but its ratification has yet to be presented to parliament for consideration and approval. Angola has participated in every meeting of the convention and voted in favor of a key United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution promoting the convention in 2022.

Angola is not known to have produced or exported cluster munitions. Angola stated in September 2017 that it does not possess any stocks of cluster munitions.

Policy

The Republic of Angola signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008.

Angolan representatives have periodically promised that the government will ratify the convention, but the ratification request has not yet been presented to parliament for consideration and approval.[1] Angola last provided States Parties with an update on the status of its ratification in 2017.[2]

Angola’s constitution and Penal Code ensures its implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In September 2017, Angola stated that it regards existing laws and regulations as “sufficient to charge, prosecute and punish any national or foreign citizen who in the Angolan Territory develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone directly or indirectly, assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.”[3]

Angola has not provided a voluntary Article 7 transparency report detailing the actions it is taking to implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[4]

Angola participated extensively in the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It did not attend the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008, but signed the convention in Oslo in December 2008.[5]

Angola has attended every meeting of the convention, most recently the Tenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in August–September 2022. It has participated in regional workshops on the convention, most recently in Abuja, Nigeria in March 2022.[6]

In December 2022, Angola voted in favor of a UNGA resolution that urged states outside the Convention on Cluster Munitions to “join as soon as possible.”[7]

Angola is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Angola is not known to have produced or exported cluster munitions.

In September 2017, Angola told States Parties that it does not possess any cluster munitions as its stockpile was destroyed by 2012. It said that disposal teams from the Angolan Armed Forces and the HALO Trust destroyed a total of 7,284 submunitions from stocks in 2005–2012.[8] According to Angola’s statement, officials from the highest ranks of the Angolan Army and the Ministry of Defense confirmed the country no longer possesses cluster munitions.

Angola still must provide a transparency report for the convention to formally confirm that all its cluster munition stocks have been destroyed.

According to a major arms reference publication, Angola purchased four 220mm Uragan multi-barrel rocket launchers from Belarus in 2018.[9] The Uragan launcher can fire different types of rockets including those with 9N210 and 9N235 explosive submunitions. Angola must declare whether it acquired 9M27K-series cluster munition rockets as part of this purchase.

Use

Deminers have cleared unexploded submunitions and the remnants of air-delivered cluster munitions in at least eight of Angola’s 18 provinces, mostly in the south and southeast.[10] However, a lack of firm evidence means that it is not possible to conclusively attribute responsibility for past use of cluster munitions during fighting from 1975–2000 between government forces and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total, UNITA) rebels.

In 2017, Angola told States Parties that there was “very limited” information about past use, but said cluster munitions were used after the country became independent in November 1975 and that “the racist regime in South Africa with heavy air force and artillery… carried out a series of attacks to the southern and southeastern provinces of Angola to prevent the independence, with the excuses of following the freedom fighter of SWAPO and ANC [independence movements for Namibia and South Africa respectively] inside Angola and also to stop the government forces attacking the rebels movement UNITA supported by USA.”[11]

Angola stated that its territory “became a cold war battlefield, with the Angolan government forces supported also by Soviet Union and Cuba.” Its 2017 statement added that “The war planes from South Africa Air Force were used on a daily base [sic] to strike government forces, SWAPO and ANC positions and other areas of the country indiscriminately. In that period, the Angolan Air Force also attacked UNITA positions to retaliate their extemporaneous ground attacks. This was the time when Clusters Munitions were used in Angola.”

The types of cluster munitions cleared by deminers in Angola include Soviet-made RBK 250-series cluster bombs.[12] In 2016, the HALO Trust cleared two Alpha submunitions during survey operations in Cunene province, along with the remnants of CB470 cluster bombs. In September 2017, Angola said the Alpha bomblet was developed in Rhodesia in 1970 and later in South Africa in the 1980s.[13]

COUNTRY SUMMARY

Angola is contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a result of four decades of armed conflict, which ended with a peace agreement in 2002.[1]

Angola’s initial Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline was 1 January 2013. It has since been granted two extensions: a five-year extension until January 2018, and an extension for a further eight years until 31 December 2025.

To improve coordination of mine action activities, the National Intersectoral Commission for Demining and Humanitarian Assistance (Comissão Nacional Intersectorial de Desminagem e Assistência Humanitária, CNIDAH) was replaced by the National Agency for Action Against Mines (Agência Nacional De Acção Contra Minas, ANAM) in 2021. It operates alongside the newly-established National Demining Center (Centro Nacional de Desminagem, CND).[2]

Risk education is conducted by demining operators as an integrated part of survey, clearance, and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), but is not integrated into the school curriculum.[3]

ASSESSING THE IMPACT

Contamination

Extent of contamination[4]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war; CHA=confirmed hazardous area; SHA=suspected hazardous area; N/A=not applicable; N/R=not reported.

*Though the extent of cluster munition remnants contamination is unknown, it is believed to be small.

Landmine contamination

Angola’s landmine contamination is the result of more than four decades of internal conflict. Various foreign and national armed movements, and non-state armed groups (NSAGs), were known to have laid mines, often sporadically, without marking or mapping the minefields.

The worst affected provinces in Angola are those that witnessed prolonged fighting, including Bié, Cuando Cubango, and Moxico. Mine contamination affects both urban and rural areas.[5]

CNIDAH reported in 2017 that the continued presence of mines remained a major impediment to development projects related to economic diversification, agriculture, tourism, and mining.[6]

Minefields in Angola can contain a mixture of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines. Operators have also documented use of improvised landmines, as well as stacking of both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines. 

As of the end of 2022, Angola reported that 68km² across 16 provinces and 1,142 areas was contaminated by landmines.[7] Included in this total is 3.06km² of new antipersonnel landmine contamination, across 65 confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs), discovered in 2022.[8]

Cluster munition remnants contamination

The extent to which Angola is contaminated by cluster munition remnants is unknown. Cluster munitions were used during the conflict, yet it is unclear when or by whom. Evidence suggests that Angola has a residual threat from cluster munition remnants, though the extent of residual contamination is believed to be small. Unexploded submunitions and remnants of air-dropped cluster bombs have been cleared from eight provinces, mostly in the south and southeast.[9]

Other types of contamination

Angola has a significant problem with contamination by other types of ERW, which in some areas may pose more of a threat than mines.[10] However, the full extent of ERW contamination in the country is unknown. In 2022, 1.31km² of CHA containing ERW was recorded.[11]

Casualties

There is no national data collection or casualty surveillance system in Angola. A census held in 2014 found that 88,716 people were living with a disability as a result of mines/ERW.[12]

5-year casualties total: 2018–2022[13]

     Casualties in 2022[14]

Casualty demographics in 2022

     Casualties by civilian status in 2022[15]

Casualties by device type in 2022

Note: APM=antipersonnel mine; AVM=antivehicle mine; CMR=cluster munition remnant; ERW=explosive remnant of war; N/R=not reported.

COORDINATION

Summary table[16]

Note: ANAM=Agência Nacional De Acção Contra Minas (National Agency for Action Against Mines); IMAS=International Mine Action Standards.

ADDRESSING THE IMPACT

Clearance

Highlights from 2022

Angola reported no major progress during 2022 due to the discovery of additional minefields, particularly in the municipality of Lucala, in Cuanza Norte province.[17]

In 2022, Angola began using mine detection dogs in its technical survey operations.[18]

Management and coordination

Management and coordination overview 

The mine action sector in Angola is overseen by ANAM, which had replaced CNIDAH as the national authority in July 2021.[19] The Executive Demining Commission (Comissão Executiva de Desminagem CED), was similarly replaced by the CND.[20]

Legislation and standards

Angola reported that its national mine action standards are in line with the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS). In addition to 10 existing standards, new standards on EOD, animal detection systems, and management of residual contamination were developed in 2022, with support from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). Updated standards on risk education and victim assistance were also drafted.[21]

Strategies and policies 

Angola’s National Mine Action Strategy for 2020–2025 is aligned with the Oslo Action Plan. It covers land release, residual contamination management, risk education, victim assistance, advocacy, communication, and coordination.[22] Its development was supported by GICHD.[23]

A National Demining Workplan for 2020–2025 was developed to support implementation of the national strategy.[24]

Angola reported that its Article 5 implementation plan was updated with the aim of completing clearance of minefields listed in the database by 2025, following the creation of the CND.[25]

Information management

In 2016, Angola began using the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) Next Generation. In 2022, Angola reported that this system is outdated and has requested the help of GICHD to transition to IMSMA Core.[26]

Gender and diversity

Gender and diversity are covered in the National Mine Action Strategy 2020–2025 but are not included in Angola’s Article 5 implementation workplan. In November 2019, Angola signed the Working Paper on Gender Equality at the Mine Ban Treaty Fourth Review Conference.[27]

In 2022, Angola reported that its mine action sector had made significant strides toward gender balance. More than 30% of ANAM staff are women, with some in managerial positions.[28]

Clearance operators

The number of national and international clearance operators in Angola has decreased since 2017.[29] Several international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have ceased operations due to lack of funding, and in September 2022, ANAM reported that the CED, and all national operators working under it, had been decommissioned.[30]

In 2022, national clearance operators included the CND and the Association of Angolan Mine Action Professionals (Associação de profissionais angolanos de Acção contra as minas, APACOMINAS). International clearance operators working in Angola included APOPO, the HALO Trust, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).[31]

Land release: antipersonnel landmines

2022 land release overview: Landmines[32]

 Note: APM=antipersonnel mines.

In 2022, Angola released a total of 13.73km², destroying 3,340 antipersonnel mines in addition to two improvised mines. During demining operations, a total of 1,523 antivehicle mines and 2,695 ERW were also destroyed. Of the ERW destroyed, 1,721 were reported to be abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) while 974 were classified as unexploded ordnance (UXO).[33]

Five-year landmine clearance: 2018­–2022[34]

 Note: APM=antipersonnel mines.

In the five-year period from 2018–2022, Angola released a total area of 54.48km².

Angola has stated that the clearance of contaminated areas close to communities is prioritized. It has also reported that demining work has focused on provinces that are close to completion, so that in turn, resources can subsequently be shifted to the other affected provinces.[35] 

In 2022, ANAM reported that as several forces participated in past armed conflict, and given the atypical nature of mine-laying in Angola, many mined areas were not identified in initial surveys that acted as a contamination baseline. Given these factors, the Angolan government stipulates that technical survey and clearance must be carried out in areas selected for public and private investment projects including roads, hydroelectric dams, airports, electricity lines, industrial estates, land reserves, and agricultural projects.[36]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 clearance deadline

Summary of Article 5 clearance deadline extension request(s)

Angola’s original Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline was in January 2013. Yet given the size of the contaminated area, the complexity of mine-laying, challenges related to the climate and vegetation, and the absence of mapping, it was not possible to clear all known minefields by this deadline. In March 2012, Angola submitted a first request to extend its clearance deadline by five years, to 1 January 2018. The request was granted by States Parties.[37]

In May 2017, Angola submitted a second extension request, asking for another eight years to complete clearance under Article 5. The request was granted at the Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties, and the new deadline was agreed as 31 December 2025.[38] In November 2018, Angola submitted an updated workplan for the implementation of its Article 5 obligations.[39]

Angola has reported that it is undertaking every effort to meet its 31 December 2025 deadline, yet it is believed that it will realistically be able to complete clearance of all known minefields by 2028, with the possibility of an extension to 2030 depending on availability of funds.[40]

Land release: cluster munition remnants

Angola did not report the release of any cluster munition contaminated land during 2022.[41]

Five-year cluster munition remnant clearance[42]

Note: CMR=cluster munition remnants.

In 2021, a total of 0.55km² of cluster munition contaminated land in Angola was cleared, with 29 submunitions found and destroyed by the HALO Trust.[43] In 2019, no land was recorded as cleared, but 164 cluster munitions were found and destroyed during EOD callouts.[44]

Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 4 clearance deadline 

Angola signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008 but has not yet ratified it.[45]

Residual hazards

In 2022, Angola prepared a draft strategy on residual contamination. A draft national standard on the management of residual contamination was also prepared with assistance from GICHD. It is thought that the CND will be responsible for managing residual contamination. A forum involving all stakeholders is set to be held before the new strategy and standard are finalized.[46]

Risk education

 Highlights from 2022

Due to a lack of funding, risk education was integrated with clearance and victim assistance activities. Resources were insufficient to enable operators to conduct standalone activities.[47]

Management and coordination

Management and coordination overview

Risk education in Angola is overseen by ANAM, though it reported that it is not yet equipped to carry out technical monitoring to evaluate risk education activities by operators.[48]

Risk education is integrated with clearance and EOD tasks. It takes place in urban and rural areas, and focuses mainly on the threat from antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines, and UXO. Operators conduct risk education alongside clearance operations and collect information on suspected contamination and victims.[49]

Legislation and standards 

In 2022, Angola reported that its national risk education standards were in the process of being updated in line with IMAS 12.10 on Risk Education.[50]

Strategies and policies

Angola does not have a national risk education strategy. Activities are coordinated by ANAM and implemented by operators. However, there is no in-country technical working group, and a lack of funding was reported to have hindered risk education provision in 2022.[51]

Information management

ANAM records data gathered by risk education operators in IMSMA, which is disaggregated by gender, age, and disability. Angola uses Standard Beneficiary Definitions.[52]

Gender and diversity 

In the absence of a national risk education strategy, Angola does not have gender and diversity targets for risk education activities. International operators disaggregate their beneficiary data by gender and age, and ensure that community members are consulted on an equal basis.

Risk education operators

International operators conducting risk education in 2022 included APOPO, the HALO Trust, MAG, and NPA.[53]

Beneficiary data

Beneficiary data in 2022[54]

*ANAM reported data collected from all risk education operators.

Note: N/R=not reported.

Angola reported the disaggregated data collected from all operators conducting risk education activities in 2022, with a total of 212,113 beneficiaries reached across 18 provinces.[55]

Target groups

Communities living in areas where past conflict took place were targeted for risk education in 2022. ANAM also reported that peasants and hunters were vulnerable due to their mobility.[56]

Delivery methods

Risk education in Angola is delivered primarily through face-to-face sessions in communities, which are held in marketplaces, schools, churches, and households.[57] 

Risk education is not integrated into the primary or secondary school curriculum.[58]

Victim assistance

Highlights from 2022

Angola reported that implementation of its overarching National Employment Fund facilitates access to the labor market for mine/ERW victims.[59]

Management and coordination

ANAM is responsible for coordinating and planning victim assistance activities in Angola. It worked with operators, civil society groups, and churches during 2022 to include mine/ERW survivors in the planning of activities, through participation in thematic meetings, workshops, and reports. Angola reported facing constraints in funding for victim assistance activities.[60]

Legislation and standards

In 2022, ANAM collaborated with its partners and stakeholders to develop a national mine action standard (NMAS) in accordance with the International Mine Action Standard (IMAS) on Victim Assistance (IMAS 13.10). It is reported that this NMAS has been drafted and will be approved soon.[61]

Strategies and policies

Angola had no specific victim assistance strategy in place in 2022. However, victim assistance was included as a strategic area in the National Mine Action Strategy 2020–2025.[62]

Legal frameworks or policies on disability inclusion

Angola reported that efforts were made to ensure persons with disabilities were integrated into the employment system, with recruitment processes needing to adhere to Presidential Decree No. 12/16. This decree ensures that 4% of employees within government institutions and 2% of employees in private institutions are persons with disabilities.[63]

Angola reported that mine/ERW survivors have been included in the development of relevant national programs and policies, except in rural and remote areas, where more work is needed to ensure their participation.[64]

Victim assistance providers

Governmental victim assistance providers in 2022 included the Neves Bendinha Orthopedic Center, which provided physiotherapy. The Ministry for Assistance and Social Reintegration provided referrals for mobility devices, vocational training, income-generation projects, and subsistence items. The National Council for Social Action engaged in advocacy for victims.

National providers included the National Association of the Disabled of Angola (Associação Nacional dos deficientes de Angola, ANDA), which provided community rehabilitation and engaged in advocacy work. The Lwini Foundation provided physiotherapy and prosthetics.[65]

Medical care and rehabilitation

Few public rehabilitation centers in Angola have the capacity to produce new prosthetics and mobility devices. Rehabilitation services are available at public clinics, including the Neves Bendinha Orthopedic Center in Luanda province, but reporting on beneficiaries is limited.[66] 

Angola’s rehabilitation programs are limited to providing physical rehabilitation and repairing existing prosthetic devices, due to a lack of raw materials. In 2020, the construction of a new facility for the Lwini Foundation in Angola reportedly stalled due to a lack of funding.[67]

In 2022, Angola reported progress in the healthcare sector, with the construction of new health facilities and the improvement of existing centers set to benefit mine/ERW victims. It reported that orthopedic centers were also in operation.[68]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

The provision of inclusive and special education, as well as computer literacy and braille, were priorities listed by Angola with regard to mine/ERW victim assistance.[69] 

ANDA oversees a community-based rehabilitation program titled “Come with me,” providing training and outreach in the provinces of Bié, Cabinda, Cuanza Sul, Huila, Malange, Moxico, and Uige.[70]

Policy

The Republic of Angola signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified on 5 July 2002, becoming a State Party on 1 January 2003. Angola has not formally reported any legal measures to implement the Mine Ban Treaty.[1] Under Article 13 of Angola’s constitution, any international law approved and ratified by Angola is an integrated part of Angolan law and automatically enters into force at the national level after its publication and entry into force at the international level.[2]

Angola regularly attends meetings of the treaty, most recently the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2018, where it provided a general statement with particular emphasis on clearance progress.[3] Angola also attended the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014. It did not attend the intersessional meetings in Geneva in May 2019.

Angola hosted a National Mine Action Summit in Luanda on 9–10 August 2010. In August 2011, the Third National Meeting on Demining was held in Luanda.

Angola is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons. Angola is a signatory state to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Production, transfer, use, stockpile destruction, and retention

Angola states that it has never manufactured antipersonnel mines.[4] It is not believed to have exported the weapon in the past. There have not been any confirmed instances of use of antipersonnel mines since Angola ratified the Mine Ban Treaty in 2002.[5]

Angola completed destruction of its stockpile of antipersonnel mines on 28 December 2006, just ahead of its 1 January 2007 treaty deadline. It destroyed 81,045 mines between October and December 2006, in addition to 7,072 antipersonnel mines apparently destroyed in 2003.[6]

As of December 2018, Angola retained 1,304 antipersonnel mines for training and research.[7] Angola reported that the mines are used in training courses for detection and clearance techniques.

In 2022, Angola received almost US$12 million in mine action support from four donors.[1] This represents a 26% increase from the $9.5 million received in 2021. The United States (US) was the largest donor to Angola in 2022, providing $8.6 million (72% of the total international mine action funding received in 2022).

International contributions: 2022[2]

 Note: N/A=not applicable.

In 2022, Angola did not provide information on the annual national contribution to its mine action program, though it financially supports the National Agency for Action Against Mines (Agência Nacional de Acção contra Minas, ANAM). The government of Angola is also the largest donor to the HALO Trust program in the country, financially supporting clearance in protected areas along the Okavango Delta, in Cuando Cubango province.[3]

Five-year support for mine action

In the five-year period from 2018–2022, the government of Angola contributed almost $52.7 million to its national mine action program. Over the same period, Angola was one of the 20 largest recipients of international mine action funding, receiving more than $54.9 million in support from 2018–2022.

Summary of contributions: 2018–2022[4]

 Note: N/R=not reported.