Luanda - The secretary of State for Social Action, Dina Emiliana Mayimona, reiterated Friday, in Luanda, Angola's commitment and dedication to guaranteeing, respecting and protecting human rights voluntarily.
The official represented the minister of Social Action, Family andPromotion of Women, Ana Paula do Sacramento da Silva Neto, in the public debate on the combined reports on the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa.
The session was attended by the secretary of State for Human Rights and Citizenship, Ana Celeste Januário.
According to Dina Emiliana Mayimona, in its reports, Angola recognizes the existence of challenges in the implementation of human rights. "I would like to reaffirm that we are open to dialogue and we will continue to implement actions aimed at improving, promoting and protecting human rights", she stressed.
In her speech, she considered it to be of great value and a good practice adopted by Angola a few years ago to hold a public debate with different partners, including civil society organisations, to address the implementation of the legal instruments in question.
“Today, we are here to hold a preliminary public debate on the three reports from Angola submitted to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which will be defended through an interactive dialogue between Angola and the aforementioned commission”, she explained.
According to the secretary of State, the public debate aims to strengthen the technical capacity of institutions working to promote and protect human rights, particularly in the collection and sharing of information to strengthen interactive dialogue and promote mechanisms for defending human rights.
She reiterated that the interactive dialogue arises from the Angolan State’s commitments on Human Rights and harmonises the implementation of the National Human Rights Strategy and its Action Plan, aligned with the different bodies of the International Treaties in general and with the African human rights system.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is the principal human rights body of the African Union, established under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. It plays a crucial role in defending human rights and advancing the well-being of people on the continent.
The Organization of African Unity (OAU) created the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights in 1981, which is the African system for the defence and promotion of human rights, and has been in force since 21 October 1986.
Today, all 54 member states of the African Union have ratified the Charter, which follows the approach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Angola ratified the Charter in 1990, through National Assembly Resolution No. 1/90 of 19 January.
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