Africa-Press – Angola. Canada intends to strengthen cooperation with the Ombudsman’s Office, especially in promoting gender equality and defending human rights, said the manager of foreign policy and diplomacy services at the country’s embassy, Gavin Nardocchio-Jones.
Speaking to the press this Thursday, at the end of a meeting with the Ombudsman, Florbela Araújo, the Canadian diplomat said that, as his country’s national development policy is feminist, Canada intends to maintain close collaboration with the Angolan institution, in order to contribute to the significant increase in the role of women in different projects in favor of development.
“Within the scope of the Ombudsman’s Office’s priorities, especially those related to human rights and existing partnerships, such as the UNDP, Canada also intends to cooperate, which is why the meeting aimed, among other objectives, to understand the different priorities of the institution”, he highlighted.
According to the person in charge, as Canada is a bilingual country, cooperation can also extend to the area of language training, as it can help the ombudsman translate its manuals into English and French.
For her part, the Ombudsman considered the meeting very useful, as it allowed areas of cooperation to be identified.
“It was a useful meeting, as they wanted not only to find out what is being done but also to offer their support. We have a very ambitious activity plan for this year and there is a promise from Canada to support in terms of training and communication, because we have many brochures and magazines that we need to print not only in Portuguese but also in English and French, with The objective is to further publicize the role of the institution at all levels, with priority given to women”, he highlighted.
Likewise, he said, this year the institution intends to reinforce actions to defend the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens, as well as awareness campaigns about the importance of preserving the environment.
Opening of provincial delegations
He informed that the institution also plans to open delegations in the provinces of Moxico, Lunda-Sul, Bié and Uíge, in order to extend its services to other regions of the country.
“Our objective is to cover three or four provinces that are already identified, which is why we presented our planning to the Ministry of Finance, since the Ombudsman’s Office does not have a budget for infrastructure”, he added.
The Ombudsman is an independent public entity whose purpose is to defend the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens, with a view to ensuring, through informal means, justice and the legality of Public Administration activity.
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