Africa-Press – Angola. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Esmeralda Mendonça, met this Wednesday in Luanda with the Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Angola, Emanuelle Mitte. According to a statement, the two entities discussed strengthening cooperation between the Government of Angola and UNHCR, focusing on issues related to refugees and stateless persons, as well as humanitarian assistance and protection for beneficiaries of this United Nations agency.
Emanuelle Mitte expressed the organization’s willingness to continue providing technical and institutional assistance, to support monitoring mechanisms, train national staff and ensure safe and continuous access to essential services for refugees and asylum seekers.
During the meeting, Esmeralda Mendonça highlighted that the issue of refugees and stateless people are among the priorities on the agenda of the Angolan Presidency of the African Union, as well as the defense of human rights and the promotion of lasting solutions for these vulnerable populations.The statement stresses that relations between Angola and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) demonstrate the country’s commitment to the protection and integration of refugees and stateless people.
Angola currently hosts around 57,000 refugees and asylum seekers, a population made up mostly of refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of whom 17% arrived during the 2017 mass influx from Greater Kasai, the document states.
Other nationalities such as Guineans, Ivorians, Mauritanians, Somalis, Sudanese and Eritreans, totalling around 50,000, who live mainly in urban areas, also make up the population of concern for UNHCR throughout Angola.
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