U.S. Department of State 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Angola

Angola (Tier 2)

Angola is a source country for a small but significant number of women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Angolan women and girls are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. In an attempt to avoid fees for the importation of goods across the border between Namibia and Angola, children are forced to be couriers by truck drivers to hand-carry goods across that border, for example at remote border crossings such as Katwitwi, in Kuando Kubango Province. Anecdotal reports point to South Africa as a destination point for trafficked Angolan women.

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. Government media increased attention to the issue of human trafficking over the reporting period. To further its efforts against trafficking, the government should strengthen its legal and victim support frameworks by drafting and enacting comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, increasing the capacity of law enforcement officials to recognize and respond to instances of trafficking, and increasing awareness of human trafficking at the provincial and community levels.

Prosecution

The government's anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts were modest during the reporting period. Angolan law does not prohibit trafficking in persons, although elements of its constitution and statutory laws, including those criminalizing forced and bonded labor, could be used to prosecute trafficking cases. The government did not report trafficking investigations or prosecutions other than through articles in government print media. During the year, there were no publicly reported convictions, but the National Department of Criminal Investigation reported three arrests of suspected traffickers. The first case resulted from the trafficking of a woman from Cabinda to Lunda Sul for commercial sexual exploitation, while the other two cases involved international trafficking of Angolans to Portugal and Zimbabwe. The Immigration Service operated checkpoints at the international airport, border posts, and select internal locations, such as the trafficking hotspot of Santa Clara in Cunene Province, which screened well over 1,000 minors for proper travel documentation in 2006.

Protection

During the reporting period, the government's focus shifted from caring for former child soldiers and other war-affected children to protecting victims of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. The National Institute for the Child's (INAC) six mobile provincial teams conducted spot checks of suspected child trafficking routes by stopping vehicles containing children to check for identity cards and proof of relationship to the children and parental permission for the child to travel; data obtained from these spot checks were unavailable. INAC and UNICEF continued their joint development of Child Protection Networks that bring together government and civil society at the municipal and provincial levels to coordinate social policy and protective assistance to children. Active in six provinces, these networks served as "SOS Centers" through which crime victims between the ages of 9 and 16, including trafficking victims, accessed a variety of services provided by various government ministries. Victims over 16 were referred to shelters and social services provided by a quasi-governmental organization. Local police reportedly transferred five Ivorian and Nigerian women found in forced prostitution to an NGO shelter after detaining them in Luanda. During the reporting period, INAC and UNICEF began development of an assistance strategy for child victims.

Prevention

Angola made limited progress in 2006 in preventing new incidents of trafficking. The government's Inter-Ministerial Commission to Combat Kidnapping, Child Labor, Abuse, Sexual Exploitation, and Trafficking of Children met quarterly to coordinate and plan the government's ongoing efforts to fight child exploitation. The commission drafted a national action plan assigning anti-trafficking responsibilities to each ministry, but it has yet to be publicly released. Members of the commission also participated in conferences and news interviews on the subject of child trafficking throughout the year; government statements against child prostitution appeared frequently in the media. Angola has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.