Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

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

Article 1 of the Convention. Identification and protection of tribal and semi tribal populations. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information regarding the size, geographical location and the circumstances of the San population and other national population groups considered to be tribal or semi-tribal populations within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee also noted that the Government referred to development projects implemented in the Cunene and Kuando-Kubango provinces with the aim of facilitating the social development and improving the environment of minority populations.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the State considers indigenous populations to be an integral part of the national population. The cultural, religious and other values of these populations are recognized, respected, protected and valued by the State, as they are considered to be part of the national cultural heritage. In this regard, the Committee notes that one of the 83 programmes of action included in the National Development Plan 2018(22 covers the promotion and revitalization of historical and cultural heritage. Its priority actions include: mapping the communities and institutions with “traditional authority”; collecting statistical data to understand their geographical distribution and economic activities; conducting studies on the habits and customs of the various ethno-linguistic groups; providing assistance to traditional communities, particularly the Khoi San people and the ethnic minority groups of the Namibe, Huíla and Kuando-Kubango provinces. The Committee hopes that, as a result of the implementation of the National Development Plan 2018(22, and particularly the abovementioned priority actions linked to the promotion of historical and cultural heritage, the Government will soon be able to provide detailed information on the different population groups afforded protection under the Convention, particularly the San population. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the size of these groups, their geographical distribution and their economic activities, and to provide copies of any studies, maps or statistical data that have been produced in this regard.

Articles 2 and 6. Coordinated and systematic action for the protection and promotion of the social, economic and cultural development of the populations concerned. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the rural development projects promoted by the Department for Rural Development and the activities carried out by the Institute for Agrarian Development that affect or are directed at the groups covered by the Convention. In its report, the Government indicates that the assistance programmes or projects directed at vulnerable groups are formulated and implemented in a generic manner in order to guarantee the right to equality of opportunity and social equality. The Government adds that the actions aiming at the development of the regions inhabited by the populations concerned are implemented on the basis of the National Development Plan, given that other populations exist alongside these populations with the same level of development and the same difficulties in accessing health care, education and work.

The Committee notes the periodic reports submitted in 2017 by the Government as part of the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It notes that the Government indicated in these reports that one of its current concerns is the elimination of disparities between urban and rural areas, particularly the country’s least developed areas, which affect the regions inhabited by minority ethnic communities. The Government also referred to the adoption of assistance measures for vulnerable communities, particularly for the families of the San community. Noting the Government’s indication that measures targeting vulnerable populations fall within the general framework of the implementation of the National Development Plan, the Committee requests the Government to provide more specific information on the manner in which the measures adopted or the programmes implemented in the regions inhabited by the population groups afforded protection under the Convention improve their living and working conditions and their level of education. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the specific needs of these groups are taken into account. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate whether the populations concerned and their representatives have been involved in the formulation and development of the projects and programmes designed for them.

Article 11. Lands. The Committee notes that the Government refers to article 15 of the Constitution, under which lands are the original property of the State and may be transferred to individuals or legal entities. This article also grants local communities the use of and access to lands. The Committee notes in this regard that the Lands Act (Act No. 9/04 of 9 November 2004) recognizes and defines the concepts of “rural communities”, “rural community lands” and “required customary areas”. Rural communities are defined as communities of neighbouring families or communities that, in rural areas, have the collective rights to possess, manage, utilize and benefit from community productive assets, particularly the rural community lands that they occupy and utilize, according to the principles of self-administration and management, which they may inhabit or use to carry out their activities or for other purposes recognized by custom or legislation. Respect for the property rights of rural communities is one of the principles upon which the Act is based. Furthermore, the Act recognizes the legal personality and capacity of these communities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Lands Act has contributed or contributes in practice to ensuring the exercise of the property rights of the population groups afforded protection under the Convention with regard to the lands which they traditionally occupy. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the regions in which collective property rights have been recognized, the communities that have benefited and the difficulties faced by communities and the authorities.

Articles 21 and 23. Education. The Committee notes that, in its report on the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Government indicated that any specific programmes in areas of transhumance (migratory livestock farming) cater to the need to ensure access to social services, particularly education and health care, for the children of nomadic populations in the Namibe, Huíla and Cunene provinces. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to enable the population groups afforded protection under the Convention, including nomadic populations, to access education at all levels on an equal footing with the rest of the population and to promote education in their mother tongue.

Updated prospects of ratification of the Convention. The Committee has been informed that, at its 328th Session (November 2016), the Governing Body noted the report of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group, which discussed the follow-up to take to a number of instruments identified as outdated, including Convention No. 107. On the basis of this report, the Governing Body requested the Office to commence follow-up with the member States currently bound by the Convention: (i) encouraging them to ratify the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), as the most up to date instrument in this subject area, which would result in the automatic denunciation of Convention No. 107; and (ii) collecting information from those member States with the aim of better understanding the reasons for their non ratification of Convention No. 169 (see GB.328/LILS/2/1(Rev.)). The Committee therefore encourages the Government to act upon the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 328th Session (November 2016) and consider ratifying Convention No. 169, which is the most up-to-date instrument in this area.