African Police Resource Network

Angola

Country Background
Until 2002, Angola had been engaged in a civil war between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) – the ruling party since independence – and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) which lasted for 27 years.   By 1990 peace talks commenced between UNITA and the government of Angola culminating in the Acordos de Paz para Angola also known as the Bicesse Accords, signed in May 1991.   The Bicesse Accords provided for, amongst other things, national elections, and in 1992 legislative and presidential elections took place.  However, after UNITA’s withdrawal from the process the civil war continued.  In 1994 some manner of peace was established through the Lusaka Protocol which re-affirmed the Bicesse Accord, re-established a cease-fire and provided for a disarmament process and the completion of the electoral process which had been interrupted in 1992.   The Government of Unity and National Reconciliation (GURN) was created in mid-1997 after UNITA and other smaller opposition parties joined the MPLA.   Despite these developments, UNITA largely failed to comply with the Accord and fighting resumed by the end of 1998.   By 2002 the war had ended and the MPLA, under José Eduardo Dos Santos is currently in power.  Although no elections have taken place since 1992, a national election is scheduled for 2006.    

Angolan National Police
The Angola National Police falls under the Ministry of the Interior and, according to the Lusaka Protocol, is “responsible for the maintenance of public order and the defense of the interests, integrity and security of all persons in Angola, irrespective of their nationality, place of birth, race, religion, social origin or political party affiliation”.   The Angola National Police has an elite force component called the Polícia de Intervenção Rápida (Rapid Intervention Police) or PIR.  PIR is a paramilitary-type force which was created in 1992 and is known by the people as the ‘ninjas’.  It is responsible for maintaining internal security through, for instance, securing situations characterised by mass demonstrations.   

Extract from:

Berg, J. (2005) Overview of Plural Policing Oversight in Select Southern African Development Community (SADC) Countries. Cape Town: Institute of Criminology

Population (2005 est.): 15,500,000 from US Dept of State 2007.

Please find a list of all documents in our database relevant to Angola. Use the checkbox next to each line to expand more detail about the file, including the option to download.

Category	Date	Title	Detail
Publications	2005	From Conflict To Community: A Combatant's Return To Citizenship
Description: "This edited volume includes a collection of essays from a range of academics and practitioners, most of whom have been either directly or indirectly involved in the DDR processes in the countries on which they write. It is not meant to be academic in its orientation, but rather a first attempt at presenting a range of case studies where DDR plays an important role in ending fighting and securing peace. Each chapter seeks to map out the background which preceded DDR, the key stakeholders involved, and how each constituent phase of the DDR unfolded. Lessons learned are also included with summary remarks." Relevant to Angola is the chapter ´Sustaining the Peace in Angola: Summary Overview of Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration´ Author: Dr. Fitz-Gerald, Ann M and Maso, Hilary Publisher: Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR) Source: http://www.ssronline.org/ebooks_pages.cfm?b=7
Publications	2004	A Comparative Perspective of UN Peacekeeping in Angola and Namibia
Description: Abstract: This article examines operations in Angola and Namibia, countries that offer prime examples of UN peacekeeping, albeit with divergent outcomes. In Angola, numerous UN peace missions – namely, the verification missions UNAVEM I, II and III and the observation mission MONUA – failed to create a permanent secure and peaceful framework. In Namibia, the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG), one of the first multidimensional UN peace operations, was able to successfully carry out its mandate. The article finds that the mandates, resources and operational environments of these various peacekeeping operations powerfully influenced their performance, and isolates applicable lessons from the experiences of the two countries". Relevance to policing Insofar as peacekeeping operations often include in their mandate the establishment of a new police force/service, this article touches briefly on this aspect of the UN peace missions in Angola and Namibia. Author: Dzinesa, Gwinyayi Albert Journal: International Peacekeeping, 11(4): 644 - 663. Source: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a713947126~db=all
Publications	2001	'Combating Organised Crime in Angola' In Goredema, C.(ed) Organised Crime in Southern Africa.
Description: Although the primary purpose of this chapter is to examine the fight against organised crime in Angola, it very briefly touches on the limitations of policing in Angola. Author: Culolo, A Publisher: ISS Monograph No 56. Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies Source: http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No56/chap9.html
Publications	2007	Amnesty International Report 2007: Angola
Description: "Human rights violations committed by police continued, including the unlawful killing, torture and ill–treatment of detainees. Disciplinary measures were taken against some police officers accused of committing human rights violations during the year." Extract from article. This report also includes issues such as forced evictions from neighbourhoods by police officers. Author: Amnesty International Source: http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Africa/Angola
Publications	2007	Above the Law: Police Accountability in Angola
Description: Introduction "For many years the conduct of the police in Angola has resulted in serious human rights violations. As far as Amnesty International is aware, few cases are investigated and hardly any officers are brought to justice as perpetrators of human rights violations. On a number of occasions Amnesty International has requested information from the Angolan authorities concerning steps taken with regards to reported cases of human rights violations by the police, but with no response." Publisher: Amnesty International Source: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR120052007?open&of=ENG-AGO
Publications	2007	Allegations of human rights abuses perpetrated by police in Angola during 2006/2007 (Amnesty International)
Description: Past tendencies of police to act with impunity were, for the first time, checked by the courts through the imposition of a severe penalty on a police officer for an unlawful killing. Author: Amnesty International Publisher: Amnesty International Source: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR120072006?open&of=ENG-AGO
Publications	2003	Community and the State in Lusophone Africa.
Description: The book consists of a number of essays that were presented at a conference entitled "New Research on Lusophone Africa", held at King´s College London in May 2002. Each of the four essays on Angola and the four on Mozambique provide valuable insights into the nature of the new state in both countries. Imogen Parsons, for instance, holds that Angola should not be viewed as a failed state or as a transitional state, but an entirely different kind of state. Although the essays make no mention of policing (only the military) in these two Lusophone countries, they provide much needed contextualisation for understanding the role of the security sector in these two states. Author: Newitt, M (ed) Publisher: London: Kings College London Source: Not available online
Publications	2007	Allegations of human rights abuses perpetrated by police in Angola during 2006/2007 (Human Rights Watch)
Description: In 2006, police were at times complicit in restricting voter education for the 2007 elections by civil society organisations. Author: Human Rights Watch Publisher: Human Rights Watch Source: http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/angola14696.htm
Peace Agreements	2002	Angolan Government's Peace Plan
Description: The Government of Unity and National Reconciliation of the Republic of Angola considers that the country is experiencing a unique moment in its history to take joint action leading definitively to the end of the current armed conflict, in which the issues of peace and national reconciliation should be seen in a legal and political framework, respecting the constitution, the legal order and state institutions, and unequivocally accepting the validity of the peace accords and United Nations Security Council resolutions on Angola. Source: http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/angola/angolan-government-plan.php
Peace Agreements	1988	Bilateral Agreement
Description: Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Cuba and the Government of the People´s Republic of Angola for the Conclusions of the Internationalist Mission of the Cuban Military Contingent Author: Republic of Cuba & Republic of Angola Source: http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/angola/bilateral-agreement.php

 

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