Ramiros — Angolan government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have jointly been carrying out census at the level of the Migration and Foreigners Service since the beginning of this year, with a view to assessing the real number of refugees in the country.

This was said by national director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Luamonazo Mário Lopes Panda, on Wednesday in Luanda.

Luamonazo Mário Lopes Panda was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on Prevention and Fight Against Human Trafficking and Protection of Refugees and Migrants, designed for National Police staff.

He put at around 30, 000 the number of refugees and 16,000 asylum seekers in Angola.

According to the official, there are over 18 nationalities of refugees in the country.

They include the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guinea, Mali and Eritrea.

He pointed to the lack of documents as the main hindrance in accessing certain services since 2020, such as bank accounts and employment.

As for the treatment the Angolan government offers to refugees, Luamonazo Lopes Panda stressed that there is a joint work on the implementation of important mechanisms that give more rights to these people.

The director of the Office of Patriotic Education of the General Command of the National Police, chief commissioner António Vicente Gimbe, spoke of the protection for refugees.

Speaking at the opened ceremony, he guaranteed action programme through training plans that enable the staff at various levels to strengthen the protection of the human life of citizens, including refugees.