Africa-Press – Angola. Around a thousand refugees of different nationalities who are in the Angolan capital have received, since July this year, new identification documents, as part of the general registry of refugees in Angola.
These data were made public this Friday, on the sidelines of the II Plenary Meeting of the National Council for Refugees (CNR), which is taking place in the Angolan capital to, among others, analyze the general registration process and the attribution of new identification documents of refugees and asylum seekers in Angola, covering the period from 28 July to 7 December of this year.
Likewise, event participants will be informed about the method to be adopted to regularize the situation of asylum seekers in the country.
To journalists, the Council’s spokesperson, Domingas Mendonça, said that the assessment that can be made of the process so far is positive, as it is continuing.
He said that one of the challenges that the Council took on during the first plenary meeting is related to the national registry of refugees and asylum seekers throughout the national territory, which culminates in the attribution of the identification card that gives access to the benefit of the rights that Law 10/15 provides, in particular, access to health, training, among others.
Regarding the process, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Vito Trani, highlighted the importance of the event, not only for sharing information with partners, but also for the challenges that lie ahead for the success of the entire process.
These new challenges, he added, are related to the fact that, from January 2024, the process of granting new identification documents will also include asylum seekers.
Vito Trani also highlighted the technical support provided by this United Nations body to the Executive for the implementation of this task (Registration of Refugees), launched in August of this year.
He said that this is a very important initiative due to the large number of people in these conditions, which is why he congratulated the local authorities for the great partnership.
The President of the National Council for Refugees, João Dias, reiterated the commitment made in 2019 by the Angolan Government towards this fringe of society, at a time when we are on the eve of the II Forum on “The global pact for refugees”.
He highlighted that this year was marked by two important events towards the materialization of the commitments made in favor of refugees, namely the local integration of citizens from the communities of Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Liberia, covered by the clause on the cessation of refugee status, as well as the beginning of the general registration of refugees in Angola.
According to official data, the number of citizens seeking asylum, that is, citizens who are being analyzed and processed, is around 30 thousand, while in terms of refugees, 14 thousand.
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