U.S. Department of State 2004 Trafficking in Persons Report - Angola

Angola (Tier 2)

Angola is a source country for women and children trafficked primarily within the country for the purposes of sexual exploitation and domestic and commercial labor. Angolan children are trafficked internally into forced labor situations, including work in commercial agriculture, as porters, and as street vendors; some children are reportedly trafficked to Namibia and South Africa to work as domestic servants and for sexual exploitation. There are anecdotal reports of Angolan women being trafficked to Europe and South Africa for sexual exploitation.

The Government of Angola does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government should increase its law enforcement efforts by vigorously investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases. It should also continue programs to reintegrate the approximately 11,000 former child soldiers that are at risk of becoming re-victimized by traffickers.

Prosecution

The Government of Angola has failed to bring traffickers to justice. There are no specific laws that prohibit trafficking in persons, but Angola's constitution and statutory laws criminalizing forced or bonded labor, prostitution, pornography, rape, and kidnapping could be used to prosecute trafficking cases. The government did not arrest or prosecute any traffickers during the year. In March 2004, government authorities opened their first trafficking investigation into the case of six girls who were lured to farms in Huila province with promises of employment and then sexually abused. To protect the rights of children and hear cases referred by police, the government established a Juvenile Court in 2003 that could be used to prosecute traffickers. To date, 354 cases have been tried in the court covering a wide variety of crimes against children, such as child abuse and kidnapping.

Protection

The government, in cooperation with the international community, is actively involved in initiatives to protect trafficking victims, particularly those resulting from the country's three decade-long civil war. In March 2003, the Ministry of Social Assistance and Reintegration (MINARS) hosted a roundtable to express the government's commitment to protect child victims who had been used as forced laborers, sex slaves and combatants during the conflict. MINARS created two separate programs to coordinate the reintegration efforts of international organizations, NGOs, and the national government. Under the National Government Special Program for Reintegration, the government is providing registration, family tracing assistance, transportation to home villages, and resettlement kits to demobilized rebel forces, including former child soldiers, "wives," and non-combatant children pressed into rebel service. A second program, the Program for Return and Resettlement of War-Affected Populations, provides similar services for escaped and freed child soldiers, "wives," and laborers who were living in internally displaced persons camps at the end of the conflict. These initiatives are partially funded with government money. Government officials work with international organizations to distribute food and other supplies to former victims. In addition, MINARS provides logistical support – transportation, customs clearance for supply shipments, and security – for a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) program that provides former child soldiers with vocational training, social support, and access to education. The teachers and health care providers involved are government employees. In coordination with an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) program to promote family reunification, the government has provided airtime on TV Angola to allow those separated as a result of the war to make appeals for family members. The hour-long program airs weekly and includes recorded messages and images of those seeking lost family members. In January 2004, government ministries, provincial authorities, and UNICEF jointly conducted an advocacy and planning workshop in Cunene Province to raise local officials' awareness of child labor and cross-border trafficking.

Prevention

Recognizing that street children are at high risk of sexual abuse and forced child labor, the Luanda Provincial Government hosted a May 2003 conference on strategies to reunite children with their families and remove homeless children from the streets. To limit the recruitment of underage children by traffickers, the government concluded a child registration campaign that registered 2,182,902 children over a two-year period. In 2003, the government trained 539 activists in 10 provinces, and identified and registered 6,315 separated or unaccompanied children. The National Children's Institute relocated more than 45,000 orphans or children living alone, including some former child soldiers, to houses and family living situations.