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Children's hunger and police brutality in Angola worry Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlighted, this Thursday, as critical points in Angola the hunger that affects one in four children, police brutality and laws that violate human rights, conclusions that are included in its report for 2024.

: Facebook UNICEF Angola
Facebook UNICEF Angola  

In the document to which Lusa had access, the human rights Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) highlights that children continued to be the main victims of the drought and food crisis, with 38 percent of Angolan children suffering from chronic malnutrition.

As of May last year, at least 1.5 million people including thousands of children from low-income families faced acute food insecurity in southern Angola and at least 22 children had died from acute malnutrition.

The report cites several examples of the situation of children, including the repatriation of dozens of minors from Namibia who were trying to escape the effects of drought in the provinces of Cunene, Huíla and Namibe, looking for work and food on the other side of the border.

In May, health authorities announced an investigation into the deaths of more than 30 children in Luanda, with symptoms of fever and stomach pain, after consuming cloudy, yellowish water, but as of last November they had not shown any results.

The NGO also says that in the 2024 General State Budget the government reduced by 50 percent financial support for the SOS Criança helpline, the only national line for reporting cases of violence, abuse or neglect.

HRW also criticizes the laws that President João Lourenço signed, as they do not comply with international human rights and restrict freedom of the press, expression and association.

Among them, they highlight the Law on Vandalism Crimes, which provides for a sentence of up to 25 years in prison for people who participate in demonstrations that result in acts of vandalism, or the National Security Law that allows the government to interrupt radio broadcasts or services telecommunications "in exceptional circumstances" without a court order.

Last year, police officers were linked to homicides, sexual violence, excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions and acts of torture against activists and protesters in Angola.

HRW points to examples such as the use of live ammunition in Lunda Norte province to disperse a demonstration in March, street vendors' complaints about police abuse, and six cases of citizens being tortured to extract confessions.

The overcrowding of Angolan prisons is another highlight of the HRW report.

The country's 43 prisons have capacity for 22,554 prisoners, but the prison population reaches 24,068 people, half of whom are in preventive detention or awaiting trial.

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