Mr. President,

Human Rights Watch welcomes Angola's engagement with the UPR process and its acceptance of a significant number of recommendations, especially those related to education, justice, and legislative reform.

However, we regret that Angola failed to support several key recommendations concerning civic space, freedom of expression, and the prevention of arbitrary arrests and detentions, areas where serious abuses continue to occur.

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We remain deeply concerned by the growing repression of civil society and the use of excessive and unnecessary force, including extrajudicial killings and police brutality, to suppress dissent and crackdown on peaceful protests.

Since the last UPR, authorities have enforced a series of restrictive laws that further shrink civic space, including the National Security Law, the Anti-Vandalism Law, the 2023 NGO Law, and Article 333 of the Penal Code. These provisions are routinely used to harass civil society actors, criminalize protests, and stifle independent voices.

Arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture and lack of accountability continue to be a significant issue in Angola.

We are also alarmed by the proposed Law on Disinformation, which threatens online freedoms and legitimizes government surveillance.

Mr. President,

We call on Angola to ensure national security laws are drafted in line with international law, including safeguards against misuse by government officials, and implemented in ways that respect and protect human rights. Angola should further end politically motivated prosecutions, and take concrete steps to protect civic space and fundamental freedoms, including increasing efforts to prevent, investigate, and appropriately prosecute extrajudicial executions and other serious violations by the police.

Thank you.