Angola: Treatment by the government of children and orphans of members of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), including treatment of those children forced to work for UNITA (1990s)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 23 September 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | AGO39150.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Angola: Treatment by the government of children and orphans of members of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), including treatment of those children forced to work for UNITA (1990s), 23 September 2002, AGO39150.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4d4d11.html [accessed 3 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on the above-mentioned topic could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate, since all sources consulted did not distinguish between children who are/were associated with UNITA or its members, and children who are/were associated with the government, or are otherwise not associated with UNITA. However, general information on children, child soldiers and orphans in Angola is available and follows.
Citing UNICEF, the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict report indicates that
...
Children likely comprise half of the displaced population in Angola, and their situation is particularly harsh. ...
...
Gender-based violence (GBV) is reportedly common among the IDP [internally displaced persons] population, including children, perpetuated by both the UNITA and FAA military personnel and civilians. (CRIN 25 Apr. 2002).
In November 1994, the Lusaka Protocol was signed between the government of Angola and UNITA, and which stipulated, among other things, that UNITA soldiers would be demobilized in centres specifically established for this purpose (UNICEF May 1996). The first camp was opened on 15 November 1995, and by March 1996, there were 15 demobilization centres (ibid.). According to one report, "[t]he demobilization of some 8,500 registered child soldiers progressed slowly after the 1994 peace agreement. When the program was halted due to the resurgence of the war in 1998, an estimated 3,000 youths had been demobilized" (CRIN 25 Apr. 2002).
The Human Rights Watch World Report 1999 stated that in August 1998 the national police targeted demobilized soldiers and burned villages in areas that were sympathetic to UNITA (HRW 1999a). In a different report, Human Rights Watch quoted one former UNITA child soldier as stating that after he and six of his school friends were captured, "UNITA just paid the [government] officials to let us through [the road block between Huambo and Bailundo] despite our complaints" (1999b).
There are several reports that UNITA forcibly conscripted male children for battle and female children for sexual servitude (ibid., AI Nov. 2001; CRIN 25 Apr. 2002, 14). One report states that Angolan women (including female refugees in Angola) between the ages of 12 and 45 years were raped and forced to marry soldiers to "cook, farm, love and dance" (HRW 1999b).
However, there are also reports that indicate that the government also engaged in forced conscription of children for the Angolan army (FAA) (ibid. 1999a; AI Nov. 2001; CRIN 25 Apr. 2002, 14). According to the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict report, "[d]isplaced people have reported indiscriminate violence and cruelty against civilians, including murder, mutilation, abduction, and rape, committed by both UNITA and the FAA" (ibid., 9). The report also states that the government conducted raids, which were used as opportunities to recruit males and females (ibid., 10).
Children most often conscripted by UNITA and the government were orphans (UNICEF May 1996). Amnesty International reported that in 2000 and 2001, there were three instances where UNITA forces attacked children's orphanages and abducted children (Nov. 2001).
In August 2001, the Angolan government launched an 18-month free registration campaign to register and identify children and teenagers, "many of them separated from their families by the civil war" (IRIN-SA 7 Aug. 2001). According to the United States Agency for International Development, "[a]n estimated 100,000 children have been orphaned, and large numbers of children separated from parents, attacked, or injured in land mine-related accidents. Nearly 10,000 children were forced to become soldiers" (n.d.).
On 4 April 2002, the government signed a cease-fire agreement with UNITA, which aims to demobilize 50,000 soldiers and armed supporters (CRIN 25 Apr. 2002). The government's role is "to provide food and shelter for UNITA forces ... and for up to 300,000 of their relatives for up to a year. Some 5,000 UNITA forces will be absorbed into the national military and approximately 40 into the national police" (ibid., 5-6). In July 2002, four quartering camps were in existence for the demobilization of former soldiers of UNITA, and according to one report, the camp at Catofe (in Kwanza Sul province) had not yet received any aid (Christian Aid July 2002). According to this report,
Last week six children died in the camp. Altogether 59 people have died since it opened in April. ...
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The children benefit from a special feeding given twice a day to severely malnourished children and their mothers. Otherwise the family survives on meagre rations of maize (ibid.).
In September 2002, the demobilization of UNITA soldiers was complete (AIW 7 Sept. 2002). However, while the government was responsible for feeding these soldiers until October, "there are claims that the ex-fighters are experiencing difficulties due to the lack of food and medicine" (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Amnesty International (AI). November 2001. The Wire. "Innocent Victims of Angola's Cruel War." Asia Intelligence Wire (AIW). 7 September 2002. "Angola: Former UNITA Fighters to Receive WFP Food." Children Rights Information Network (CRIN). 25 Aoruk 2002. Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict. Christian Aid. July 2002. Judith Melby. "Hunger and Scorched Earth: The Legacy of Angola's Long War." Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1999a. Human Rights Watch World Report 1999. _____. 1999b. Angola Unravels: The Rise and Fall of the Lusaka Peace Process. Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa (IRIN-SA). 7 August 2001. "South Africa: IRIN News Briefs, 7 August." UNICEF. May 1996. Damien Personnaz. "For Angola's Former Child Soldiers, Peace Brings Uneasy Calm." United States Agency for International Development. n.d. "Displaced Children and Orphans Fund & Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund." Additional Sources Consulted
allAfrica. BBC. BBC Children of Conflict. The Child Rights Information Network. Human Rights Watch (Child Soldiers Campaign). LEXIS/NEXIS.
Save the Children Fund UK. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. United States Committee for Refugees. WNC.
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