Africa-Press – Angola. Fifty-two thousand 659 citizens of different nationalities are in Angola, under international protection, among refugees and asylum seekers, informed, yesterday, in Geneva (Switzerland), the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Esmeralda Mendonça.
According to the official, who was speaking at the 73rd session of the UNHCR Executive Council, of this number, 22,526 are refugees and 30,133 are asylum seekers, most of whom are democratic Congolese citizens (37%), Congolese (17%), Ivorians (12%) and Mauritanians (11%).
Speaking at the first meeting of the 73rd session of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Esmeralda Mendonça also informed that, in accordance with Angolan law, citizens benefit from social protection and assistance, including access to Medical and Medication Assistance, Water and Basic Sanitation, Education, Protection of Women against Domestic Violence, among other benefits aimed at facilitating adaptation and integration into Angolan society.
The official said that, during the third quarter of 2022, the declarations of asylum seekers and passports for refugees were extended and that, for the next quarter, the start of the program for granting residence permits, local integration and of the general register of refugees and asylum seekers in the country.
For Esmeralda Mendonça, the Angolan State is engaged in the elimination of the stateless person, through the implementation of several programs that aim to universalize the legal identity and allow all citizens residing in the national territory and nationals residing abroad to have the necessary documents for the full exercise of your rights.
“Actions are being carried out aimed at registering births and attributing the Identity Card to all citizens, as well as expanding the Civil Registration, Civil and Criminal Identification services throughout the national territory. These services are already in place. in the municipalities and in some communes”, highlighted the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
As part of the materialization of this program by the Angolan Executive, he informed that, from March 2020 to September 2022, Civil Identification Points were implemented abroad that allowed the issuance and delivery of 30,302 Identity Cards to Angolans residing in the diaspora.
During the session, Esmeralda Mendonça recalled that Angola recently requested membership of the UNHCR Executive Committee and is awaiting a decision in favor of its candidacy.
He reiterated Angola’s support for the leadership of UNHCR, in the implementation of this mandate and of the essential partnership, in the context of international protection in the country of refugees, on the one hand.
On the other hand, he spoke of the joint project on border mobility, signed between Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in December 2021, which will strengthen the peaceful coexistence of populations and improve border security. between the two countries.
The 73rd session of the UNHCR Executive Board will take place in Geneva from 10 to 14 October, under the guidance of High Commissioner Filippo Grandi, who has been re-elected for a new term of two and a half years.
The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs heads the Angolan delegation to the event, which includes representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice and Human Rights, Social Action, Family and the Promotion of Women, as well as diplomats from the Permanent Mission of Angola to the Offices of the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva.
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