Angola

Operational context

Intercommunal conflict in the Kasai region in March 2017 displaced thousands of people within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and resulting in their movement to Angola. As a result, UNHCR scaled up its presence and capacity in Angola following the influx of approximately 39,000 refugees from the Kasai region of the DRC into Lunda Norte Province.
 
At the onset of the emergency, Congolese refugees were hosted in two transit centres in the provincial capital of Dundo. In August 2017, the relocation of refugees started from Dundo area to the new refugee settlement in Lóvua. As the new settlement is located in an undeveloped area, UNHCR and its partners were required to make significant investments on building infrastructure, facilities and services for refugees.  
 
The asylum system in Angola has not been functional since 2015, due to the non-implementation of the asylum law. UNHCR continued to advocate and offer support for the implementation of the law.

Population trends

By the end of 2017, the total population of concern in Angola stood at 71,300 people, including more than 26,000 new arrivals from the Kasai region in the DRC, as well as 15,500 refugees and 30,100 asylum-seekers of different nationalities.

Key achievements

• The successful inter-agency refugee response to the DRC emergency covered areas of protection, emergency shelter, livelihoods, food security and nutrition, core relief items, water, sanitation, hygiene, health and education.

Unmet needs

• Transition to temporary shelters built with timber and plastic sheeting was halted in late 2017 due to the scarcity and high cost of timber.
• Livelihoods activities did not yet reach the entire targeted population as Lóvua settlement is still being developed.
• Towards the end of the year, a shortage of funding compelled some humanitarian organizations to reduce or re-direct their activities leaving gaps in key sectors such as WASH.

Working environment

Angola currently hosts refugees mainly in urban areas. The new asylum law, which entered into force in June 2015, has yet to be implemented. The lack of transitional provisions has created a legal vacuum and there has not been functioning asylum procedure since June 2015. Although the new law foresees the creation of a RSD body and introduces a second-instance judicial appeal, it also restricts rights previously granted to asylum-seekers and introduces a compulsory stay in a closed reception centre.

The voluntary repatriation of former Angolan refugees ended in 2015, although around 60,000 former refugees still remain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, and face challenges in integrating locally. The birth registration of children born to foreigners is suspended since 2011 and UNHCR has only been able to register some refugee children. 
  

Key Priorities

In 2017 the UNHCR operation in Angola will focus on:

•    supporting the Government in implementation of the new asylum law and restoring the asylum process in Angola;
•    promoting accession to the Statelessness Conventions and advocate for the birth registration of refugees and asylum-seekers; 
•    building national capacity in responding to the needs of refugees and asylum-seekers, particularly in a mixed-migration context;
•    promoting durable solutions for Rwandan, Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees in Angola;
•    providing appropriate support to vulnerable people of concern with specific needs.