I.
INTRODUCTION
1. The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
(ACERWC/the Committee) extends its compliments to the Government of the
Republic of Angola and wishes to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the initial
report on the status of the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child (the African Children’s Charter/the Charter) which was
submitted in accordance with the State Party’s obligation under article 43 of the
Charter. The ACERWC considered the initial report of the Republic of Angola during
its 30th Ordinary Session, which was held from 06 to 16 December 2017 in
Khartoum, The Sudan.
2. The Committee also congratulates and appreciates the Government of Angola for
sending its Delegation led by H.E. Ruth Madalena Mixinge, Secretary of State of
Family and Gender Promotion, with whom the Members of the ACERWC had a
productive discussion with. The dialogue indeed helped the Committee to better
understand the measures that the State Party has undertaken towards the
implementation of the Charter as well as the challenges it is facing. After a careful
consideration of the facts in the Report and the information provided during the
constructive dialogue, the Committee has developed and adopted the following
concluding observations and recommendations which, in the Committee’s view,
provide guidance to better enhance the implementation of the Charter.
II.
PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHARTER
3. The Committee commends the State Party for the measures it has taken to improve
the situation of children’s rights in the country including:
a. Domestic funding of most projects and programmes;
b. The ratification of various international instruments such as the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
c. Increased enrolment rate of children in schools;
d. Undertaking legislative measures including the adoption of the new
Constitution and the 11 Commitments;
e. Efforts undertaken towards increasing birth registration including the adoption
of a decree to exempt birth registration fees during the campaign; and
f. Institutional measures undertaken including the restructuring of the Ministry of
Justice to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the establishment of the
National Council for Children and the Ombudsman.
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