The draft law, approved with 180 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions, aims to regulate the legal framework that defines the terms and conditions for sending Angolan military and paramilitary contingents abroad, in humanitarian, peacekeeping and restoring peace or crisis management missions, as well as missions resulting from commitments assumed by the Angolan state in the scope of defence and security.
In presenting the bill, the Secretary of State for National Defence, José Maria de Lima, stressed that Angola is a member of the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and other sub-regional organizations, and that the country participates in processes aimed at maintaining peace and world security.
José Maria de Lima highlighted the country's experience in the internal peace process and in the resolution of some regional conflicts, as well as in humanitarian aid actions, which today constitute an international reference.
According to the governor, Angola's presence twice as a member of the UN Security Council and recently at the AU Peace Council advises the country to implement a system for peace support and humanitarian aid operations.
The Secretary of State listed the presence of Angolan military prevention missions in the kingdom of Lesotho, between 2017 and 2018, and the sending of a humanitarian and solidarity mission to Mozambique in the context of tropical cyclones (Idai) and floods, with an epicentre in the Beira region.
Meanwhile, the Angolan military mission in Lesotho was accompanied by deputies, who were part of delegations to verify the degree of readiness and psychological state of the troops to carry out the mission, said José Maria de Lima.
"This experience reinforced the idea of the need to conform the act to the norm, in order to effectively fill the vacuum that exists in our internal legal system," he said.
The humanitarian situation, with the aim of providing aid, saving lives, food support and others, should also not dispense with the legal basis, "which should guide democratic states under the rule of law," continued the leader.
Regarding the proposed law, the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) said that it voted in favor, because it augurs that in the near future it will be tacitly enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic the request for authorization by the Head of State to the National Assembly on the movement of military and paramilitary contingents abroad, whatever the nature of the mission to be carried out.
The parliamentary group of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) praised the executive for having submitted the draft law to the parliament, recalling that the Constitution of the Republic enshrines the participation of Angola in the framework of regional or international organizations in peacekeeping forces and systems of military recovery and collective security.
According to Deputy Roberto Leal Monteiro "Ngongo", on behalf of the MPLA, the effort made by Angola to ensure peace in Lesotho and aid to Mozambique, during the floods, "is a good demonstration that the Republic of Angola is a country dedicated to peace and security.
