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

Other comments on C107

Direct Request

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Article 1 of the Convention. Identification and protection of tribal and semi-tribal populations. For a number of years, the Committee has been requesting the Government to specify the groups covered by the Convention, including information on their economic activities and geographical distribution. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication in its report that the populations covered by the Convention include: (i) the Mukuando/Mukuisse, who are seasonally nomadic, located in Namibe province (municipalities of Virei and Camucuio) and Huila province (municipality of Quilengues); (ii) Mucubal, who are sedentary, living in the provinces of Namibe (municipality of Virei) and Cunene (municipality of Curoca); (iii) Mumuila, who have both sedentary and seasonally nomadic characteristics, located in the provinces of Huíla and Namible; and (iv) the San, who are sedentary and live in small groups, located in the province of Cuando Cubango (municipalities of Cuito Cuanavale, Fulai Mit and Mukovongo) and Cunene province (district of Ombadja and Chivemba). The Committee encourages the Government to continue taking measures to collect data on the size and socioeconomic conditions of the populations covered by the Convention, and to provide information in this regard.

Articles 2 and 5. Coordinated and systematic action. Collaboration. The Committee notes with interest the establishment by the Executive Decree No. 289/20 of the National Directorate for Communities and Institutions of Traditional Power (DNCIPT), within the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment, whose function is to act as the executive body responsible for formulating the national policy on communities and institutions of traditional power. The DNCIPT also has among its tasks: (i) developing studies on traditional power in Angola; keeping an up-to-date register of the communities and institutions of traditional power as well as of their geographical distribution and main economic activities; (ii) carry out, on a regular basis, consultations and reflection meetings with the institutions of the traditional power with a view to rescuing their role, place and symbolism, both in communities and in society; and (iii) ensure the respect and inclusion of local cultures and traditions in the planning and execution of projects and activities of public utility associations, private entities, NGOs or individuals, as well as beneficiaries of public support programs. The Committee further notes that the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment, through the DNCIPT and the Legal Office, has prepared and submitted to the National Assembly a draft legislation on the institutions of traditional power.

The Committee welcomes the establishment of theNational Directorate for Communities and Institutions of Traditional Power (DNCIPT), which provides a good basis for an effective coordinated and systematic action for the protection of the groups covered by the Convention, and requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to allocate resources and strengthen the capacities of the DNCIPT to discharge its functions. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities undertaken by the DNCIPT under its different areas of action mentioned in the Executive Decree No. 289/20. Please also indicate how the populations covered by the Convention and their representatives collaborate with the DNCIPT in its different activities, including in the formulation of a national policy on communities and institutions of traditional power. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made towards the adoption of a law on institutions of traditional power, and to provide a copy of that law once adopted.

Article 6. Improvement of living and working conditions. The Committee previously noted that the National Development Plan 2018-2022 envisaged specific actions for traditional communities and ethnic minority groups. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that the National Development Plan (2018-2022) gives priority to action in the area of cultural policy, more specifically to support traditional communities, particularly the Khoisan and the ethnic and minority groups in the provinces of Namibe, Huila and Cuando Cubango. The Government adds that the DNCIPT is a member of the National Social Action Council, which operates programmes and projects benefiting minority communities. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken, including under its national development policy, to improve the living and working conditions of the groups covered by the Convention. Please include information on the progress achieved in this regard, including examples, as well on the difficulties encountered.

Article 11. Land. The Committee previously noted that Act No. 9 of 2004 recognizes the right of rural communities to collectively possess, manage, utilize, and benefit from rural community lands, and provides the basis for a legal regime governing the property of those lands. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the provinces of Cunene, Huíla, Namibe and Cuando Cubango are the regions where collective land ownership by rural communities predominate. The Government emphasizes that, pursuant to section 23(2) of the Act, the demarcation of rural land is preceded by consultations with rural families and with the institutions of the traditional authorities in the area in which the land in question is located. The Committee notes that in its 2019 concluding observations, the United Nations Human Rights Committee noted that the members of the San continue to encounter impediments in maintaining access to their lands, faced exclusion from accessing grazing lands and encountered problems of expropriation of land (CCPR/C/AGO/CO/2 para. 49). The Committee requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the groups covered by this Convention enjoy the right of ownership and use of the lands they have traditionally occupied. Please provide specific information on the size and location of lands that have been titled in favour of indigenous and tribal communities under Act. 9 of 2004.

Perspectives of ratification of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169). In its previous comment, the Committee encouraged the Government to consider ratifying Convention No.169, which is the most up-to-date instrument in this area, in line with the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 328th Session (November 2016). Taking into account that the recent measures taken by the Government strengthen the legal and institutional framework for the realization of the rights of indigenous and tribal populations, the Committee once again encourages the Government to continue considering the ratification of Convention No. 169. It recalls that the Government can avail itself of ILO technical assistance in this regard.