3025th Meeting, 93rd Session, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Human Rights Treaty Bodies
Date: 15 October 2026
Language: English
Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/cedaw/3025
Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations.

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CEDAW · Chair [0:01]:

I hope you had a good lunch break. I call to order the 3,025th meeting of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The Committee will continue with agenda item 4. The floor is once again open to the delegation to answer the questions that were posed just before the lunch break by the expert on articles 7 and 8 and article 9. Madam, you have the floor, please.


Angola · Head of Delegation [0:37]:

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, distinguished committee members, and also greetings to the delegation here with me. So, before the lunch break, you asked us questions about women's participation in public and political life. So I would like to refer first of all to the Angolan Constitution, Article 23. Now, we've already mentioned this article during the course of the morning. It establishes the principle of equality and non-discrimination. It is the state's duty to promote a balanced participation between women and men in public and political life. So this principle of equality and non-discrimination. Regardless of gender. Means that. Women and men can run for public office and public posts. without any discrimination, they can get the necessary training, and this has contributed to increasing the number of women in decision-making posts. We are trying to invert the current imbalance, though, and this has been done through a number of different laws which we have adopted. I've already referred to the Constitution, but we also have the National Development Plan covering the period 2023 to 2027. We also have the Gender Equality Programme and the National Strategy for Gender Equity and Equality. Act 25/11 to combat domestic violence. We also have the second generation plan of action on Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, as well as the general labor law. So in my opening remarks this morning, I referred to some statistics concerning women in decision making posts. So I'd like to take this opportunity now to request a change in the data I presented on the number of women in Parliament. They now account for 41% of Members of Parliament. When it comes to the number of women in director-level posts in the public sector, They account for over 40%. So those were the responses that I wanted to provide to you. And I would like to pass the floor on to the Ministry of Home Affairs in order to provide you with some statistics on women in the national police force, and notably the number of women holding management level positions in the national police force.


Angola · Representative, Ministry of Home Affairs [3:57]:

Thank you very much, Madam Head of Delegation. Excellencies, I'd like to thank you for once again giving me the floor. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, firstly, I'd like to refer to the approach we're going to follow. We're going to follow what the State Secretary was saying about The Angolan government's concern with regard to the number of women in public office. International organizations have made recommendations. To Angola, notably with regard to the national police force. The principle of equality and access to public posts. Are. Ways of ensuring. Equal opportunities. This is something which is enshrined in the Constitution as well. Now, when it comes to. The security forces. I'd like to highlight that. There are opportunities to join the forces for training, for promotion to. Directorships and commando ship. They can also join the internal inspection. Women's organizations can also discuss and defend their rights. Visa V police commanders and management teams. We also have an association for supporting women police officers and Rempa, which is a regional organization on the same matter covering the whole of the territory of the Southern African Development Community, SADC. So the aim is to provide transparent criteria for promotion to commander level posts and to provide both women and men with experience in leadership, and there is protection of motherhood or maternity. So this means to say that there are special conditions for women police forces, officers in this condition, and there are measures to combat discrimination in recruitment and to check on equal opportunities and outcomes. I would like to highlight that in 2020. 2175 women were working in the security forces in 2026. There are 36,367. So this means to say that women account for 20% of the security forces. Of particular note is the fact that in December 2025, undertook the most recent recruitment operation, 1,606 women were recruited, representing 59% of the total. So I mentioned those 36,367 female police officers a few moments ago. 52 of them are commanders. That means to say that they're the very top rank of the police force. There were just 15 in 2017. When it comes to command and leadership, in 2026, we had 2,974 representing 8% of the total number of women in the security forces in 2017. There are only 2157. I would also like to point out that 10% of men have reached the same level. Managerial posts that's compared to 8% of women now. I would also like to highlight the fact that we have three national directors who are women, four provincial sub-commanders, and 30 or so municipal sub-commanders or deputy commanders at municipal level, and there are also a number of female chiefs of police stations. So I think that we have made considerable progress in this area. Thank you, head of delegation.


Angola · Head of Delegation [8:58]:

I'd now like to give the floor to the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs.


Angola · State Secretary for Foreign Affairs [9:06]:

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Angola has made progress in promoting gender equality in diplomacy. We see a growing number of women holding leading diplomatic posts. and decision-making posts. In order to increase the number of female diplomats and Angolan women in international organizations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has designed certain strategies. These strategies ensure equal opportunities in recruitment, career development, and access to decision-making posts. These strategies are based on improving training and skills building, notably in negotiation, leadership and multilateral diplomacy. We also ensure transparency in the appointment and promotion of our staff, and we pay particular attention to female applicants. We also Pay special attention to women who are applying to post in international organizations. Our aim is to guarantee that more women play an effective role in defining our foreign policy in negotiations and international decisions. We realize that there are outstanding challenges facing us. in order to ensure that there is more balanced gender representation. I would just like to read some of the data now concerning the progress that women have achieved in the area of diplomacy. So we have 47 ambassadors, and that's 26.1% of the total, so 47 female ambassadors. 27 heads of consular missions out of a total of 89. So this means to see, say, 22.5% of the total are women. Three deputy heads of diplomatic mission. We have. One woman. So that's a third of the total then. And. There are. four ambassadors at international organisations, two of whom are women, so exactly half of the total. Angola also has four women playing leading roles in international organisations in the following posts: fourth vice-president of the Pan-African Parliament; Ambassador of the African Union to the United States, Executive Secretary of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, CPLP, and African Union Commissioner for Prisons, Detention Conditions and Police Action in Africa. So in this regard, Angola is committed to supporting Josefa Seco's application to the post of Director General of the FAO. If she is elected, she will be the first woman to be the director of the FAO. So that would be a milestone in women's leadership in international organizations. I would also like to underscore our efforts to ensure equal opportunities in recruitment and promotion and appointments and to enable women to have access to a broad range of posts. I would like to say that Angola is one of the African countries with the highest female number of diplomats. When it comes to ambassadors, we've got a really significant number of female ambassadors. Obviously, there is more to be done, but this is part of a process, and we are on the right track. Thank you very much.


Angola · Head of Delegation [13:28]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. With your permission, Madam Chair, I'd like to give the floor to the State Secretary for Human Rights.


Angola · State Secretary for Human Rights [13:39]:

Madam Chair, I'd like to add the following: when it comes to women's participation in public life, There are various boards of directors playing a strategic role in the productive economy that are chaired by women. So, for example, we have the board of directors of the National Civil Aviation Authority. We also have the board of directors of the Maritime Safety Agency, and there are many women on the board of son and gold the state oil company and they also on the boards of other public corporations and private companies including in the banking sector I'd like to move on to the next questions I'd like to distinguish between birth registration and nationality both of them are part of the civil registration system, but birth registration is different to having an identity card. This is because birth certificates prove the legal existence of a person. This means to say one can publicize birth of a person. The identity document is an official document which is attributed to people and which ensures them to fully exercise their citizenship. So this means to say that when you have an identity card, you are a full Angolan citizen. In Angola today, we have a number of different mechanisms for ensuring that children receive birth certificates. I'd like to highlight the national campaign Born with Registration. This means to say that. In the first few days of their lives, even in the maternity wards, babies can be registered. Throughout the main maternity wards in the country, we have. Birth registration counters. These. Counters also exist in other hospitals. If we look at the statistics, then we can see that. This is a service which is well used and covers the majority of newborns. At the same time as that campaign, we have. Been. Conducting others. I would like to point out the birth registration is free, not just for the under fives, but for all those who are obtaining an identity card for the first time. So it doesn't cover those who've lost or it or had it stolen. So it's free of charge if it's the first identity document. I'd also like to say that. You've asked a question and so we should answer. So we've got a plan to universalize birth registration, which has enabled us to increase the number of birth registrations in our country. There was a question about nationality as well, and I'd like to respond by saying that. Nationality rights are the same for both women and men. There's no distinction. And we have been providing nationality documents to the spouses of Angolan citizens, be they men or women. The only reason why you may lose your nationality is when you express the wish to lose it.


CEDAW · Chair [17:55]:

much. I just want to remind ourselves, as we said in the morning, that reply should be preferably short, precise, and to the question, and not elaborate, because we have an agenda, and we have still many, many articles before us, and we have mentioned before lunch that we'll try to be very brief in the answer, but to the point as well. So I don't think I can take follow-up question immediately, because I really, we need to move, and I don't usually do that between part two three, but I'm mindful of the time, so if you can keep your follow-up question pending, when we take follow-up question after 10, we can maybe entertain your question. So I'm moving now to part three, and we'll start with Article 10, for which I would like to give the floor to Ms. Patziri Toledo-Vasquez for four minutes.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [18:51]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm honoured to take part in this constructive dialogue with Angola. I'm going to focus on Article 10 of the Convention on the right to education. We acknowledge the policy progress made by Angola in this area, but we're worried that there continue to be structural barriers which prevent women and girls from fully exercising their right to education without discrimination. Firstly, we're worried about inequalities between different regions and between different economic backgrounds. Access to education in rural areas is limited. There are few schools. People have to cover greater distances. There's not so much infrastructure. There's shortage of teachers and there are indirect costs of education. So this contributes to absenteeism and dropout, particularly during the teenage years. And furthermore, physical and sexual abuse affect one quarter of girls aged between 15 and 19. Adult women in rural areas also have lower levels of literacy when compared to men. Appropriate sanitation facilities are a prerequisite for retaining girls at school. There continues to be massive shortfall in this facilities in rural areas. There are many schools that don't have running water in the toilets. They don't have menstrual hygiene products. This could stigma during the periods and is an obstacle to access to education. Refugee, migrant children, LBT girls and girls with albinism need reasonable accommodation, they need supported teaching, individual transport and they need to be in schools free from violence and stigma. So how is the school going to tackle all these shortfalls bearing in mind that the education budget fell between 2023 and 2024 and is now far removed from the 15% target. Teenage pregnancy is one of the main reason for girls dropping out of school. 27% of adolescents aged between 15 and 19 fall pregnant during this age bracket and it's particularly high in the province of Kwanza Soul. So How do you ensure that pregnant teenager mothers can stay in school and return to school after delivery? Normally it's down to each school to take the decision on readmitting these girls. Are you going to set a legally binding standard which is applicable throughout the country so that teenager girls who fall pregnant or are mothers can go back to school without requiring a decision from the school. What measures are you going to take to promote school retention of this group, even though you have had an education plan on teacher training in 2018? There is resistance to this plan, particularly contents on menstrual health and family planning. How are you going to ensure that you have full access to sexual reproductive health education, which is? appropriate, accessible, confidential? And how do you ensure that teacher training in these areas is guaranteed? Now, girls are nearly half the pupils in schools, but women are still underrepresented in STEM, science, technology, engineering and maths, particularly in exact science and engineering. What measures are you going to take to promote girls' participation in non-traditional areas and ensure that they have access to vocational and technical education? Thank you very much.


CEDAW · Chair [22:48]:

Thank you very much, Mr. Lero Vasquez. I give the floor to the delegation now, please.


Angola · Head of Delegation [22:59]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to give the floor to the State Secretary for Education to answer these questions. Please be as concise as possible, Your Excellency, because of the time.


Angola · State Secretary for Education [23:19]:

Madam Chair, greetings everybody.


CEDAW · Chair [23:22]:

Can we ask the speaker to speak into the microphone, otherwise the interpreters cannot hear. Can you turn the microphone stem towards you, sir? Thank you very much.


Angola · State Secretary for Education [23:30]:

Thank you for giving me the floor. Now with regard to the questions on barriers in accessing education for girls. The first thing I'd like to say is that the Angolan Constitution enshrines the principle of promoting equality in education. So the state ensures that women and girls have access to education and can remain in school and achieve success at school. I'd like to give you some examples of The number of pupils enrolled in certain periods in the academic year 2024-2025, we had 8.6 million children enrolled and 4.5 million of them were girls. In 2025-2026, 9.24 million children were enrolled and 4.45 million were girls. That's this academic year then. 9.8 million enrollments. And. 4.59 million were girls. That's true that we've seen an increase in the number of. enrollments at schools, we still face challenges concerning retention of girls at school, particularly in rural areas, because of poverty, pregnancy and early marriage. There's also the issue of domestic work. Conflicting with education and the long distances between homes and schools. Nevertheless, the government has implemented measures to try and tackle these barriers. One of them is to ensure that primary education is free of charge and that school equipment is free of charge. We've also been rolling out the school feeding program to boost retention at school. This was a program which came into force last academic year, 2025 to 2026. There's also the issue of awareness raising campaigns about sexual and reproductive health. It's difficult because there is a deep-seated social pattern, but we are trying to avoid early pregnancies. What we have seen in recent times is that there are certain classrooms with more girls than boys. So, it may surprise you, but this is absolutely true. Now, bearing in mind the birth rate in our country, we face the challenge of expanding the number of schools. We've been working on this and we've really been fighting to ensure that we have schools that are close to communities so that children don't have to travel so far to get to school. And at the same time, the government is rolling out a program on data collection. What we're trying to do is find where we can group children together and provide school transport. The idea would be to bring children together in a certain meeting point and then take the bus together to school in the rural areas. What we've also seen in recent times is that pregnant girls can stay at school and they only drop out of school when they're about to have their child and but then after childbirth they can go back to school no one's excluded because they're pregnant there are some bad examples from time to time but we're making every effort to ensure that no one's left behind the Ministry of Education also been deploying efforts to guarantee that materials are available on comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education. There are materials for the fifth and sixth grade, that's in primary school, and in the lower cycle, the first cycle of secondary education. We're also aware of the need to deploy efforts So that girls can enroll in science technology engineering and math courses stem courses. Just last week. We had a visit from ngos and. This week we have a team of girls who are taking part in a STEM competition in South Africa. There was a myth that this was an area for men, but we're laying the myth to waste and we see that girls are neck and neck in this race with boys now. Thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [29:36]:

I would like to take a follow-up question on 7 and 8 and 9, if there were any follow-up question, and 10 together. I know it's not the usual thing, but this is how we can catch up on time management. So follow-up question on 7 and 8, Mrs. Barreto, you have the floor, followed by Mrs. Wu for a question on 9, and then Mrs. Toledo-Vasquez on 10.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [30:01]:

Thanks, Chair. More a question of clarity. And I thought I was very clear that we had congratulated the state party for the 41% of women in Parliament. The concern was with representation at the middle management level and at the grassroots level. And still that is unclear because at those levels, especially rural women and women in Shanti tongues, the intersecting of disadvantages prevent even though they have a right under the Constitution there are things that prevent their access to political participation but my real area of concern and I don't know if I heard the distinguished member of the delegation clearly when he was speaking about the police force and he mentioned motherhood and maternity and I don't know if I understood clearly but it almost sounded as if it was a handicap to promotion and I would hope for some clarity in response to that. Also in the reply, he had mentioned 10% of men at the senior managerial level and women at 8%. then who come from the other 72%? I welcome the knowledge on the 22.5% of women in the diplomatic service and the efforts to increase, to provide equal opportunities and recruitment and promotion. And it is clear that the state party is working hard. All the questions are, how are we going to implement the quest to gender equality? And certainly as it relates to the police force, We want to be assured of the equal opportunity for recruitment and promotion and to be assured that maternity and motherhood is not seen as a barrier to promotion, even though it's a police force. Thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [31:52]:

Thank you very much, Mrs. Barreto. Mrs. Mu, please, you have the floor.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [32:00]:

Thank you, Chair. This morning, I mentioned the question about undocumented refugee women. I didn't hear the answer. I said that those women what measures have been taken to ensure that the refugees and the asylum seekers and the girls can obtain IDs to obtain protection. And also, in September 2025, Angola's Ministry of Interior launched the Operation Connection at large-scale clearance of undocumented migrants. Many women and children were detained. And we also heard that at the borders, there is a shortage of food and drinking, and human trafficking, and sexual assault, and physical abuse. So my question is, how will the State Party properly handle the issue of refugees at the border? the border, what measures will be taken to provide humanitarian aid to these women and girls, especially pregnant women, and to crack down crimes such as sexual exploitation and human trafficking against the refugee women and children to protect their legitimate rights and interests? Thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [33:37]:

Thank you very much, Mrs. Mu. I give the floor to Mr. Lero Vasquez, please.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [34:00]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to thank you, delegation, for your answers. I have two follow-up questions. What measures are being implemented to ensure that all schools have running water and appropriate sanitary installations, and that sexual education also reaches teenagers who are not actually in school or enrolled. Is there any sexual education which is given in, let's say, youth centers or other centers that are not linked to school? Thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [34:45]:

Very much. I give the floor now to the delegation and hope that we can answer the three follow-up questions. as briefly as possible to move to article 11 on employment. Madam, you have the floor.


Angola · Head of Delegation [35:03]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. I will start by giving this last question to the Secretary of State for Education. You have the floor. Three minutes.


Angola · Secretary of State for Education [35:22]:

Thank you. As I said earlier on, we have a concern in that regard. One of the concerns is having water in these premises. It's not as easy as it may look. We have many children in school because and there might not be running water or proper toilets or bathrooms we might not have mains water running but we're doing all we can to get Wells or reservoirs so that we can solve the problem that way of course it's not just for girls we also I mean, we need to get the message across that schooling is good for you. So this is something that is one of our concerns. It's very important that we get water for everyone because some of the schools, as I said, are trying to get mains water, but failing that, they've got small reservoirs or tanks. But I should say that nowadays we don't build any schools unless there's some sort of fountain or source of water. That's been something that's been done, not necessarily mains water, but at least some sort of access to water. Without that, you can't build a school. So the municipal administrations have been trying to do this. It's been a concern. Sexual education, as such needs to cover other communities that are not necessarily within school. And we are trying to cover that population. It may well be that people went to school but didn't benefit from that education. So it's very important that we carry out talks, conferences, to raise the awareness of the community more broadly about this. Thank you.


Angola [37:38]:

I just wanted to supplement something that was said earlier on children who are outside the educational system and the information that they get regarding sexual and reproductive health. Within our ministry, we have two programmes that are linked to the empowerment of women and, sorry, empowerment of girls, sexual and reproductive health programme. one of the programmes, which is the SIP programme for young people. We get support from the UN agencies in the Netherlands on this. This is something that is addressed in the community itself, where the topic of sexual and reproductive health is discussed, preventing teenage pregnancy. So we have been working also on menstrual hygiene and how to manage that, so that girls in school can actually deal with their menstrual hygiene and their menstruation at that time, so that they don't skip school. In addition, we have created girls cooperatives within the rural areas to identify the needs that they have to produce sanitary towels and make sanitary towels themselves in order to deal with the menstrual issues because in the far-flung regions, the remote regions, it's difficult to get the disposable sanitary towels. So they are doing that so that they can carry on in school. We have the Jiru program in place. on sexual and reproductive health. And these programs have been implemented in a range of our provinces.


Angola · Head of Delegation [39:46]:

I'd now like to give the floor to the representative of the Ministry of the Interior.


Angola · Representative of the Ministry of the Interior [39:55]:

Again, thank you for your questions. Let me specify some of the information that I gave you earlier. We were trying to say that 8 per cent of women are in command positions and 10 per cent of men are in leadership positions. We were trying to compare the ratio between men and women at that level in the security forces. When I referred to protection of maternity here, the message that I was trying to get across was that within the Ministry of the Interior, we have two associations that support the female police agents or officers, and One of the things is that they can improve the appropriate conditions for service, and that includes what we call maternity protection. For us, that is a priority within the Ministry of the Interior itself, so that women can flourish and thrive and carry out their functions properly. Do you want me to address the question of refugees now, or do you want me to address the question of refugees later on? Now, on refugees, it's true there have been some allegations made, but the activities of the Ministry of the Interior regarding refugees are supervised by UNHCR. So it's ongoing, permanent work that we do with UNHCR, protection and guaranteeing the rights of refugees. is a constant in our work. Refugees have access to information, ID, education, health services, employment, preserving the family unit, travel documents, freedom of movement, accommodation, access also to international protection mechanisms. Now, the operation you're referring to, This is actually still ongoing. It's not just in the past, but it's not against refugees. This connection was to deal with the vandalism against property, public property. And if a refugee somehow ended up in the justice system because of this, well, he has to be dealt with or she has to be dealt with like any other citizen before the courts. I don't know if that's sufficient by way of an answer. Thank you.


Angola [42:54]:

Chair, just to complement these points, I wanted to say something on the participation of women in decision-making at local level. We have really been working on training women so locally they can also rise in the ranks and get to proper decision-making positions. Starting with education, we really set great store by education, particularly literacy, particularly for those women who weren't able to be schooled. In addition to that, we have been carrying out consciousness-raising exercises targeting women to access such training that's available to them. When it comes to women in local administration, of the 326 municipalities in our country, 101 are administered by women. Two of them have now moved up to being provincial governors. So you see this is ongoing work and we will continue with this work. We will press on with this, particularly in the area of proper training for women. Thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [44:28]:

Thank you. Thank you very much, Madam Head of Delegation, and thanks to the delegation for their answers. I would like now to move to Article 11 on employment, and I want to give the floor to Mrs. Brenda Akia for four minutes. You have the floor, please.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [44:46]:

Chair, this esteemed country delegation of Angola, I too join my colleagues in welcoming you to this constructive dialogue, and we do commend the government for the progress it has taken. It continues to adjust in relation to protecting the right of women and girls in employment. Excellencies, data shows that unemployment is higher among women than men, and that more men are employed in the formal sector, 68% compared to 32% of women. Over 80% of employment in Angola is informal, and informal employment is higher among women than in men, in, of course, sectors like agriculture, fishing, domestic work, small-scale mining. This means that the informal sector is an important contributor to the state party's sustainable development. However, your excellencies, the high rates of informal employment and unemployment among women means that they are highly vulnerable to poverty, social risks, sexual work, irregular pay, abuse, sexual harassment, exposure to pollution or dangerous chemicals, unsafe working conditions, patriarchy, and exclusion from labor protections and social security that's linked to formal work. The questions, Excellencies, what concrete steps is a State Party taking to, one, address the high rates of unemployment among women? Two, to empower women and girls into technical and technological fields? Three, to provide in-kind and business kits for women with limited employment opportunities? To ensure parity in private and public employment sectors and ensure that the private sector, including the fishing sector, adheres to protection of women's rights in employment. And lastly, that the national, regional, and international legal frameworks are felt in the day-to-day lives of women and girls in relation to employment. Excellencies, this week, African energy ministers are meeting in Cape Town for the Africa Energy Week, and it ends tomorrow. They are discussing investment in oil and gas, energy finance, and ending energy poverty in Africa. Renewable energy accounted for 73.7% of electricity generated in Angola, and Angola is the second highest oil producer in the continent in Africa. Electricity access in Angola is estimated at 55.5%. Excellencies, we all know that electricity powers production, industrialization, irrigation for agriculture, technology, artificial intelligence, and increased internet access that all play critical roles in the employment sector. The question, what concrete steps is the state party taking to increase universal access to reliable and adequate electricity to support all women and girls, including those in rural areas, in order to support their employment? Could the State Party please provide data disaggregated by age, sex, disability, and geographical location of the workers in science, technology, engineering, and math employment fields, and in C-suite executives in the private and public sector? What concrete measures is the State Party taking to ensure that women play a significant role in the technical and technological employment sectors? And lastly, noting what was mentioned by the head of delegation that over 13,000 domestic workers are enrolled in the social protection scheme. Excellencies, we have also received alternative reports that indicate that many continue to be excluded from the scheme and also that social protection coverage remains low in the state party. What concrete steps is the state party taking to increase social protection coverage to domestic workers, unemployed women and those in the informal workforce? Thank you, your excellencies.


CEDAW · Chair [48:45]:

Thank you, Mrs. Akia. I give the floor back to the delegation on Article 11, please.


Angola · Head of Delegation [48:58]:

Thank you. I'd now like to hand over to the Deputy Attorney General.


Angola · Deputy Attorney General [49:15]:

Good afternoon. Thank you for giving me the floor. Questions on employment. Actually, my colleague Marinella will answer those questions.


Angola [49:40]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. A very good afternoon to you all, as well as to the Chair, and good afternoon to experts in the room. I'll be very tangible. I'm just going to read out, to make the very best use of the time available, the measures that we have to support the informal or para-formal market to cover in gender issues and gender equality. The Angolan government has launched programs which are as follows. First of all, we have the reconversion program into the formal economy. It's a program which has measures to support the shift from informal to formal as a business. And we know that 51% in the informal sector are women. So it is very much targeting women so that they can simplify registration of their business and have access to microcredit. We also have a credit programme, a loans programme, that is going to help women access funding. It will mean that they have microcredit lines available to them, access also to financial institutions, because we also recognise the level of literacy of our women, because there is still illiteracy in the country. After the war, a lot of them came to the major provincial or the capital itself, and it is very important that they are able to access the formal market. We have support from Inapeng. Inapeng is the institute to support small and medium-sized enterprises, which will be providing support to our business community, including training, management training and certifying SMEs. So those women who, let's say, have, I don't know, a bench in the local market or just a counter there or a small space where they sell their produce, we don't want them just be going up and down the streets all day. We want those women to have access to the institute so that they have proper certification and are in one fixed space. We also have a credit guarantee fund. What does the credit guarantee fund do? It is an instrument that also supports small and medium enterprises. The Government provides the incentive to provide coverage, and 80% in fact is guaranteed so that these small projects can actually flourish and become robust projects. A fifth program that we have is vocational training and promoting employment. Our national fund for employment, for MEIA, looks at funding initiatives that will actually promote employability and also income generation. Of course, all of us recognize that most of the beneficiaries of this vocational training are women, young women who perhaps coming into the labor market for the very first time formally and want to grow their businesses. The sixth program that the Angolan government has is a cooperation program with the United Nations, be it the UNDP, That works on what we call inclusive transition from the informal to the formal economy. The slogan being, of course, that nobody is left behind. Madam Chair, these measures are all taken nationally, and these programs are monitored by the Ministry of Administration, that is the ministry that's responsible for employment, also monitored by our planning ministry, and it is also monitored by the Ministry of Finance. And we work at the lowest level, the local level, the communes, the municipal level, to ensure that we cover those low-income women and cover all the rural areas that are priority areas. Another concern that was expressed was that I will try to cover very briefly one of the concerns that was expressed.


CEDAW · Chair [55:10]:

I am sorry to interrupt, but I do not think that we have sufficient time, as the head of delegation said.


Speaker 35 [55:19]:

Disculpa.

The minute about social protection, I ask for your excuse.


CEDAW · Chair [55:42]:

Yes, you have the floor.


Angola [55:44]:

On social protection. In short and long term, we're trying to simplify the registration for self-employed people as well as micro businesses. And this has to do with the contribution that has been made and the rates and taxes paid so that it is. Ties in with the needs of the informal sector. We want to have a more simplified regime. So it doesn't follow the kind of very rigid, it's a simplified regime so that they can start making contributions and thereby get benefits, for instance, for maternity leave or be able to take time off after birth. so that they have some time available to spend with their children or their baby, rather than having to go straight back to the labor market. So these are some of the programs that we have in the employment sector. Thank you.

Just very quickly to answer one of the questions. We make any distinction between resources given to women and men or girls and boys. And increasingly, women are moving into this sector as professionals.


CEDAW · Chair [57:43]:

Question, please, Mrs. Aguiar.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [57:53]:

Chair, maybe the data, the information in terms of the data on women in science, technology, engineering and math employment fields and C-suite executives in private and public sector can be sent in writing, if that's okay, Chair. And then lastly, also the one in regards to electricity access for especially women and girls. Thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [58:15]:

Thank you very much. I think that is very valid in writing and also on the share of electricity. Thank you very much. With this now, I would like to move to article 12 on health and would like to give the floor to Ms. Patricio Toledo Vazquez for five minutes. We still have four major articles, so we have to really be very disciplined. Please, Madam Vazquez.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [58:40]:

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I'm going to refer to the implementation of article 12 on the right to health for women and girls. The Committee recognizes progress made by Angola in the area of women's health, in particular the reduction of maternal mortality, the increase of the coverage of antiretroviral treatment. of pregnant women and the recent amendments to the law on HIV. Nevertheless, women face barriers to fully exercise their right to health, decide upon reproduction and have access to affordable services without discrimination, particularly in rural areas for adolescent mothers, for women with disabilities, in other groups affected by intersecting discrimination. Nevertheless, I'd like to say that we concerned that abortion is still criminalised outside three reasons. Not having access to abortion means that women are exposed to unsafe procedures. These are avoidable risks which put their lives at risk. Furthermore, there is discrimination against women because these are laws which punish women, if not exclusively, at least disproportionately. When will you adopt the necessary health strategies in order to ensure that there are safe abortions and post-abortion treatment through the appropriate referral mechanisms, funding and trained staff? Are you going to reform the criminal code and work towards decriminalisation of abortion beyond the current premises which are admitted? Even though maternal mortality has fallen, it continues to be well above the so sustainable development goals target. There are particular shortfalls in professional care in rural and remote areas. There's a lack of antenatal care, trained midwives, emergency obstetrics, health transport, diagnoses, and essential medicines, as well as blood transfusions. How are you going to extend antenatal coverage? How are you going to extend emergency obstetrics and neonatal care? How do you register maternal deaths? Will you take corrective and accountability measures based on your evaluation? Over a third of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 need family planning services, which are not covered. there is a lack of contraception available in public facilities, particularly in rural areas, and there is no support for taking decisions on reproduction. How are you going to ensure that contraception is available in rural areas? How are you going to guarantee that women and girls have access to family planning services that are affordable, confidential and free from coercion and discrimination? As we have already pointed out, teenage pregnancy continues to be very frequent. The national integrated adolescent health strategy running up to 2031 has been adopted and should lead to affordable services and quantifiable achievements. What measures are you going to take to cut teenage pregnancy in the most affected provinces? How are you going to guarantee that teenagers have access to sexual and reproductive education programmes with a view to cutting early pregnancy? Women and girls with disabilities face structural and systemic barriers in accessing reproductive health services, and there are barriers at national level to providing inclusive services. Women with HIV and marginalised women face stigma. So what are you going to ensure that there is going to be free, prior and informed consent on sterilisation for women with disabilities and that new health facilities will be universally designed following the recent reform on the HIV laws? What measures are you taking to apply the provisions so as to combat stigma and discrimination against women with HIV and ensure that there is sustainable funding of strategies to combat vertical transmission? And how are you going to make sure that health care in all these areas have sustained funding so that they can continue to provide community services and what proportion of the health budget will be allocated to all of them. Thank you very much.


CEDAW · Chair [1:03:42]:

Thank you very much, Mrs. Toledo-Vasquez. I give back the floor to the delegation on Article 12 on health.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:03:51]:

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I'd like to give the floor to the State Secretary for Public Health.


Angola · State Secretary for Public Health [1:04:02]:

Good afternoon. Thank you very much. I'd like to begin by thanking our coordinator, and I would like to extend my greetings to the committee chair and members. For the Angolan government, health is a fundamental right. It is the backbone of sustainable development in our country. This is based on the constitution on the one hand, and on the new basic health law and national health policy on the other. Indicators on health have already been presented. They reflect an improvement in maternal and child health care. This shift is based on various components One component is strengthening national health system. This strives to improve the performance of primary health care units, including municipal hospitals. There is a budget of $110 million coming from the World Bank, which has produced results in this area. Furthermore, I should also mention health coverage in our country. Since 2017, we've seen an increase from around 2,700 health units to 3,248 health centers now. And with the majority of them being primary health care units. The second component is the integrated health package for mothers and children. This component covers various sectors. The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Action, the Ministry of the Media, and we also have partnerships with the World Bank, UNDP and UNICEF. The aim is to provide antenatal checkups, attended delivery, post delivery, neonatal health care and emergency and non-emergency obstetric care. The next component is human resources training. In this regard, I would like to refer to our programming running up to 2028. This will mean that we will cover over 38,000 health practitioners with training. This includes doctors, nurses, technicians and all ancillary staff. Hitherto. Training has been provided to around 22,000 health practitioners, 13,240 or so of them were. Women. With regard now to. The. Issue of abortion. I'd like to point out first of all that abortion is a crime in Angola and thus is covered by the criminal code. There are three admitted situations though in which an abortion can be carried out. They are medical grounds. Now with regard to family planning, we are investing to strengthen family planning services through primary healthcare facilities. We are extending the network to over 300 primary healthcare centers and all of these centers will have family planning services and thereby enable women to have access to these services. They will have access to easy to understand services. Now, healthcare for persons with disabilities. We are investing considerable sums to improve persons with disabilities access to healthcare. The most recently built healthcare facilities. Take into consideration the accessibility requirements of persons with disabilities, such as ramps and barrier free access with appropriate doors and corridors to enable circulation of wheelchairs, accessible bathrooms and. We are also making sure that there is accessible signage for persons with disabilities and there is a brochure for on maternal and child health care in Braille. I'd now like to respond to the question on HIV/AIDS. This is one of our concerns. We have a adopted two legal instruments, Law 8/04 on HIV and AIDS. This was recently adopted by Parliament, and we have Decree 43/03 on HIV/AIDS employment and vocational training. We have improved our indicators. We have reduced mother to child transmission. It's gone down from 26 to 14% of infected mothers. With regard to the 95, 95, 95 goal. which is to eradicate HIV as a public health problem by 2030. Angola has made progress in this area. We are providing antiretroviral treatment at a number of over 800 healthcare facilities. This is up from 300 a few years ago. We are offering molecular biological exams in order to assess the effectiveness of the treatment. And there was also screening for children who are infected with HIV. That's the first set of answers I can provide you. Thank you.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:11:24]:

Madam Chair, with your permission, I'd like to call on Elizabeth to provide us with more answers on the decriminalization of abortion. This is Elizabeth Davi Koshy, Deputy Attorney General.


Angola · Deputy Attorney General [1:11:44]:

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. With regard to the decriminalization of abortion, this is a matter which is linked to our legal framework, which seeks to preserve life. So how can I describe this? The right to life prevails. So. Lawmakers have hence chosen to criminalize abortion. Nevertheless, as His Excellency, the State Secretary of Public Health said, quite correctly, the legal framework on abortion is governed by the Criminal Code. Abortion is a crime except in three specific situations in which we decriminalize it. For example, if the pregnancy is the result of an illegal act, according to Article 157 of the Criminal Code, abortion is not a crime if performed by a doctor in a health establishment when there is a risk to the mother's life if the pregnancy continues and so if abortion is the only way to avoid the death or a constant physical or psychological danger secondly, if there is an incurable disease in the fetus or there is a serious congenital malformation, and thirdly, if there has been a crime against the sexual self-determination, for example, if the pregnancy is a result of incest or rape, then abortion can be carried out within the first 16 weeks of pregnancy. And that's what we would like to add with regard to the question of criminalization or decriminalization of abortion. Thank you very much.


CEDAW · Chair [1:14:00]:

I see a follow-up question from Mrs. Toledo-Vasquez. Please go ahead.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [1:14:11]:

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I'd like to thank you for the answers provided. We realize that abortion is a crime and we know that in many countries when abortion is criminalized women and girls are forced to undergo backstreet abortions which are risky and there are some very serious consequences for their health and lives in many cases. Rarely do we see that criminalizing abortion guarantees rights regrettably if you criminalize women and girls then in many countries they will end up dead or have their health seriously compromised there's another issue which you haven't answered on when There is insufficient access to contraceptive methods. Including if you don't have modern contraceptive methods in rural areas, then it's. When there is incest or sexual violence against girls, the 16 week limit. is too short because girls only realise they've fallen pregnant much later than that. So I would like to encourage you to think very carefully about whether it is appropriate to continue criminalising abortion. But in any case, I'd like to thank you if you could provide me with information about access to contraceptive methods.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:16:26]:

Secretary, on contraceptive methods.


Angola · State Secretary for Public Health [1:16:29]:

Thank you very much. I'd like to clarify that the distribution of contraceptives is free of charge in Angola. Contraceptive methods are made available in all health centres which are part of the national health system. Periodically, that means to say every three months, we supply the entire health network with contraceptives. But there is a problem. Our population all too often doesn't accept using contraceptive methods. This is a cultural barrier, but we're working on it. The problem is not the lack of contraceptives. What we have been working on is to raise awareness alongside distributing contraceptives because we provide them free of charge throughout the health network. Obviously, there could be ups and downs in the stocks that we have, but distribution is free of charge. Now there is this holistic package of health care for mothers and children. We have coverage in rural areas. It's financed by the World Bank and topped up by the state because what we are trying to do is we're trying to extend the coverage of health care for both women and children. The results can be seen. If you look at the latest set of indicators, then you'll see the progress which has been made in the health sector since 2015 and running up to 2025, 2026. This is thanks to our investment in network, in training and other strategic areas as well. Thank you very much.


CEDAW · Chair [1:18:48]:

Follow-up question from Mrs. Ego Bamian, and I'm resisting to put my own follow-up question, but I won't go ahead because of the time.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [1:18:55]:

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you to the delegation for the array of responses, very rich. I have just two quick questions, Madam Chair. The first is on labor and employment. There's a practice that from other sources we learned is a manifestation in the state party where task forces, because in my country we call them task forces, police confiscate goods of vendors, particularly women, petty traders and street traders, and then they are forced to either pay for them, sometimes sextortion, where they have to trade in sex to get the goods back, or they lose the goods outrightly. The other is the issue of there is a lot of obstetric violence in in the in the hospitals where women, you know, are not given sufficient care and degrading treatment is meted to them at the point of labour. Uh there's actually a survey on it and and that had very high numbers of over 45% women witnessing or experiencing harassment at the in the theatre. I would just want to like the the response from the state party inclusive health, and it's not a good health practice. Thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [1:20:22]:

If I may, I can't resist because the topic is extremely important. On the issue of abortion, I heard that there is a decriminalization in three scenarios. When we say decriminalization in three scenarios, are we saying we are legalizing abortion in this scenario so that we can decriminalize beyond these scenarios? Because I would like us to reflect, we use in the committee in the past in helping country to address the problem of unsafe abortion and many girl who have and women to resort to very difficult context with very serious consequences. We accompanied country by asking them to legalize abortion in those chosen context that were described, which are also the same for many other countries, but also to decriminalize for all the other contexts. So I just want to leave this thought with you, and maybe we will come back to that when we come to the concluding observation. It's just a comment, not really a question. But I think someone can answer maybe Mrs. Ego-Banyan follow-up question, and after that, we really have to move to Article 13. She will have to address it as well at any rate. So please, is there any answer on her question on the violence in the theater and on the issue of employment? Do you care? Okay. We move then. We have to move. It is already 16:20. We move to article 13. Mrs Ego-Bamian, you have the floor for five minutes, please.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [1:22:05]:

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I'm grateful for all that we've heard, um, for the depth that the state party and the delegation has, um, given us in terms of responses, and I think some issues already raised about credit guarantees and credit schemes for women, which is very encouraging and, and very progressive. I'm also aware of your informal economy conversion program which over 253,000 economic agents have benefited from and you have the Quenda cash transfer program as well as the Kaixa Comunitaria pilot that's the financial inclusion for rural women I heard that come from one of the officials I'm also aware that some work is being done on women's football team and advocacy those are very progressive you launched the readiness assessment methodology in March to assess capacity for responsible AI adoption. The question that I have is how are these progressing? I'm also concerned about Angola being reportedly placed on the FATF grey list due to strategic deficiencies in your anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework. Illicit financial flows that are driven by oil, gas, and mining sector, some level of corruption, tax Tax fraud and cash-intensive activities undermine public revenues and worsen poverty and inequality. They divert resources from social protection, which you have a limited fund for, and the economic empowerment of women and girls. Full compensation for land lost to mining and diamond companies are not enjoyed by community people, despite the provisions that you have in the land use law. My question then is, how is the state party ensuring transparency and gender responsiveness of its macroeconomic policies and what regulatory provisions exist to reduce exploitation and dispossession of land by private investors in the extractive resources industry and protect community land ownership among women? I'm also curious as to how FIFA solidarity contributions for women's football are being utilized and women's participation in sports at different level. What measures are the state party taking to address illicit financial flows and corruption and strengthen the recovery of assets derived from illegal activities and specifically target proceeds to financial to financing essential public interventions benefiting women and girls to reduce feminized poverty? In the area of social protection, I heard you said you are making efforts to expand enrollment by the informal workers, but the question is, what kind of innovation are you introducing there to ensure that contributory social security schemes boost protection for informal sector workers and those in rural areas? On the Kijaza, the Kijaza Comunitaria, the pilots that you've run very well, what's the plan to expand that program to other rural areas and how are you monitoring it? Do you have data on those who are benefiting, disaggregated across the country and by sex? And please, can you tell us how you are ensuring women equal participation and benefit from the economic digital transformation, because that's a sector that you are putting a lot of money, including through skills adaptation. investment in oil and gas, and also how women NGOs are being consulted in the development of this private sector investment so that they can actually see areas where that's our priority need for women and girls in the development plan. Thank you very much.


CEDAW · Chair [1:26:10]:

Thank you, Mrs. Egobangyan. Madam Head of Delegation, would like us to really answer these very important question as precisely and shortly as possible. because we still have a very important article, article 14, with many aspects, and then article 15 and 16. So I'm in your hands for time management.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:26:37]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to give the floor to the State Secretary for Human Rights.


Angola · State Secretary for Human Rights [1:26:44]:

I'm not going to answer, but I'd like to correct a comment made by the rapporteur. Angola was placed on the grey list of the FATF for enhanced monitoring. This is not because of corruption, it's because they identified certain NGOs in Angola which were facilitating money laundering and financing of terrorism as well as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Please make that clear. Thank you.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:27:18]:

I'd now like to give the floor to the Deputy Attorney General.


Angola · Deputy Attorney General [1:27:35]:

Excellency, I think that these questions could be answered in writing because it's really from the area of the economy and they'll be very long and detailed answers


CEDAW · Chair [1:27:51]:

what about combating corruption


Angola · Deputy Attorney General [1:27:57]:

the issue of combating corruption is a process the government is fiercely committed to it as is the judicial system. Investigations are underway and there are cases which have been brought before the courts for trial, but these are long and sensitive proceedings, so I think that these are issues which really fall under the purview of the legislative and political authorities. It takes a long time to resolve them, and obviously it depends on our capacity to process them. Thank you.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:28:52]:

I'd now like to give the floor to the representative of the Ministry of Planning.


Angola · Representative of the Ministry of Planning [1:29:05]:

Thank you, Excellency. With regard to conversion from the formal to the informal economy,


Interpreter [1:29:14]:

can the speaker please speak into the microphone? The interpreters can barely hear. The microphone stem needs to be closer to the speaker.


Angola · Representative of the Ministry of Planning [1:29:22]:

This is something which is part of the National Development Plan. It is,


Interpreter [1:29:32]:

yes, that's a little better, thank you.


Angola · Representative of the Ministry of Planning [1:29:36]:

This is for small businesses and directly contributes to Angola's economic development. So, micro businesses are supported. We particularly focus on women-led businesses. Now, with regard to the progress that we have achieved, through this program, we would like to underscore three fundamental components. Firstly, this program was launched in 2021. Since then, there have been three milestones. The PRE 1.0, the PRE 1.2, and the PRE 2.1. Now, with regard to the first, the PRE 1.0, I'd like to tell you the following. It represented the starting point for the program It was launched on the 16th of November in 2021 in a market in Luanda. So there were roving operations across the markets in Luanda and then it was gradually rolled out to all the other provinces. There was a holistic and sequential approach which meant that eight services were then brought together in a one-stop shop. So The program seeks to provide responses for women who, to a certain extent, had been moved off the streets. They were female traders who were being pushed out. But the program seeks to provide a range of services in a one-stop shop such as civil registration, issuing identity documents, tax identification numbers, salesperson card, enrollment in social security with a view to protecting these people because we consider them a vulnerable group, these female traders, and the process to create a business through a simplified procedure and vocational training. So over 250,000 female traders or sellers were moved into the formal economy through this program. Now, in view of the progress achieved last year, we restructured the program. On converting people from the informal economy to the formal economy, this was done through presidential decree 148/25 of the 30th of July, which established a new model This is a decentralized model with the aim of reaching all Angolan families.


CEDAW · Chair [1:33:21]:

Thank you. Thank you very much. I'd like now to move to article 14 and I would like to give the floor to Mrs. Hong Mu for five minutes. You have the floor, please, Mrs. Mu.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [1:33:36]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. Dear delegation, dear friends, we're pleased to note that the State Party has taken measures to create enabling conditions for the development of rural women. In particular, the National Rural Women Support Program and the My Land Program on land titles have played a positive role in protecting rural women. Yet, we've also noticed that gender, yet the rural women and indigenous women are still subject to discrimination. And we have some concerns. First of all, granting of land titles for short of targets. The target is to grant 3,600 land titles. Today, 1,024 have been granted, among which 43% are to women. Yet, this remains well below the target and has not reached a 50-50 parity. In many regions, the law enforcement is still very weak in terms of women's land rights. So I'd like to ask, how was the target of 3,600 land titles determined? What measures are put in place when granting land titles to protect the land rights of women, in particular indigenous people, indigenous women and women with disabilities? Secondly, rural women face multiple pressures. Around 500 million women live in rural area, accounting for 17% of the population, constrained by the social norms and gender roles. They have limited access to productive assets such as capital, livestock, water, and land, and they bear the burden of unpaid domestic and agricultural labors, especially when men emigrate elsewhere. Furthermore, they are far less well-educated than women in urban areas. The secondary school enrollment rate in rural area is 15.8% compared to 53% in urban areas. The literacy rate for girls aged 12 to 18 in rural areas is 38.5% versus 88.8% in urban areas. So my question is, what measures will be taken to improve the living conditions of rural women? How do you ensure women, uh, rural women's equal access to productive assets and participation in the development of local socioeconomic plans, and how do you guarantee rural women and girls' right to education? Thirdly, the impact of climate change. Climate change induced droughts and floods disproportionately impact on the food security and personal safety of rural and indigenous women, leading to large-scale displacement and loss of food, water, housing, and their traditional livelihoods. So I'd like to ask, In the design and implementation of national plans on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, how to ensure the effective participation of rural and indigenous women, particularly how to enhance their resilience to disasters and protect their rights. Fourthly, indigenous women face multiple discriminations. They are highly vulnerable to discrimination by other communities and government officials. Due to geographic isolation and other reasons, they often don't have birth certificate or political representation and have very limited access to public services such as education, healthcare, water, housing and food. young indigenous people who have moved to urban areas are often exposed to discrimination and economic exploitation. So I'd like to ask what measures will be taken to protect the rights of indigenous women, including eliminating the public discrimination against them, expanding the political and economic participation, and providing administrative and linguistic support to enable them to access their rights. I thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [1:37:53]:

Thank you very much, Mrs. Mu. I give the floor to the delegation to answer questions under Article 14, please.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:38:07]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. Given the late hour and since we've already covered and mentioned programs which have to do with rural women, I think we'd like to give you the answers in writing. Thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [1:38:47]:

Yes. All of them. No? Okay. Any follow-up question orally? No. Okay. So we will take... I hope that it's not the time management that is forcing you to go that way. No, you can give, provide, I mean, as I said, answer in writing should be the exception and not, you know, the rule. You can start answering some element, give some element of answer if you have them now and complete them with others. And besides, as I mentioned to you, your limitation is 1,500 words. So you cannot answer everything that you are not even, sorry.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:39:34]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, in that case, we'll try to cover some of the questions regarding women in the rural environment. And I'd like to pass on now to the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture. And be very quick, please, given the time constraints.


Angola · Representative of the Ministry of Agriculture [1:39:59]:

Good afternoon. The whole issue of access to land is under our law 9/4 of the 9th of November. It is the land law. And the data available says that 279,882 women have access to land through associations and these associations account for 53.7 women's as a speaker we have 171 392 women corresponding to 80 48 speaker corrects himself 48% during the 2025 2026 farming year our agrarian development institute helped 12,444,763 farmers in family holdings, about 26% of that being women. Of this figure, 284,750 women are part of cooperatives or associations. 138 of that figure are in farming cooperatives. 1,444 women are covered by what we call the farming schools. 23,697 benefit from training. 43, 40,230 have benefit of land deeds. Women who are organized in associations or cooperatives are able to benefit from land rights and credit. So the whole issue of access to land for women is covered by our legislation and in the provincial


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:42:25]:

Thank you, colleagues. As the head of delegation, it was just to say something about the programs that we have. Thank you.


CEDAW · Chair [1:42:37]:

I would like now to give the floor for Article 15 and 16 to Mrs. Yamila Gonzalez Ferrer for four minutes, please. You have the floor. Thank you.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [1:42:48]:

I'd like to thank the delegation for the information they've provided. I will be talking about 15 and 16 of the Convention on child marriage as well as teenage pregnancies. We take note of the reform of your code, however, you have marriage, which is allowed as of 15 for girls and 16 for boys. According to the IMS survey, 30 per cent of women between 25 and 49 years of age married under 18. There are also many unions, according to traditional practices, outside the formal system. Sometimes it is to regularise the situation after sexual abuse. Seventy per cent of women say that their husbands have other wives. What is the timetable to approve the reform of your family code, which establishes 18 as the minimum age for both men and women, without any exception, also covering your customary law? What results have you seen with your national campaign? How do you identify and prevent traditional child unions? What protection do women have in polygamous unions in terms of property, inheritance and alimony? I would now like to say something about inheritance, land and widows. The State Party recognises that, for cultural reasons, Widows suffer discrimination in terms of their inheritance and access to land. That was a concern that the committee expressed in 2019. Quite apart from your consciousness-raising campaigns, what legal assistance and implementation mechanisms are in place to ensure that widows and rural women can ensure that their inheritance rights prevail when they are talking about customary practices? How many cases have got to the courts, and what is the outcome of those? We welcome the fact that domestic violence needs to be taken into account in decisions regarding custody, alimony and visits, and that there is free legal assistance in those areas. However, the state recognises that it does not have disaggregated data on those cases or their results. In what cases are you able to restrict custody or visits from the perpetrator? How does the law guarantee the division of property after divorce and recognise the non-monetary contributions of women, including domestic and care work? What about disaggregated data on divorce, inheritance, custody and maintenance? Legal capacity of women with disabilities. In 2019, the committee recommended that you guarantee the legal capacity of women with disabilities. Civil society has said that women with albinism may be excluded ruled out of inheritance, subject to unwanted unions or discriminated against in terms of custody of their children because of prejudice. There does not seem to be a procedure for trans women to change their name or their gender in official documents. What reforms are in place to ensure that women with disabilities have full access exercise rather their legal capacity, including decisions on property, marriage and family. What safeguards protect women with albinism in terms of inheritance, marriage, custody and parental rights? Does the State party intend to establish clear and accessible procedures for legal recognition of gender identity? Many thanks.


CEDAW · Chair [1:46:20]:

Thank you very much, Mrs. Gonzalez-Ferrer. I give the floor back to the delegation, and I hope it's not going to be in writing this time.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:46:33]:

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for giving us this time and space to answer these questions. I'd like to give the floor now to the Deputy Attorney General to answer these questions related to the family. Thank you.


Angola · Deputy Attorney General [1:46:55]:

Thank you. head of delegation. I was not able to keep up with all the questions as they were read out, but I will try to clarify some points. The family code, which regulates family holdings, has not yet been revised. It is currently being amended. It is a piece of legislation that was approved in 1988. Since it was proved back then, it is still in force. It is 40 years old as a piece of legislation, and I think that many of the norms that are provided for in the family code are, to some extent, lapsing. Obviously, they do not actually address the legal situations now. that perhaps was relevant back in 1988 when the law was created. On Article 24, Article 24 is part and parcel of the family code. However, it's an article that isn't used. It is simply not used. There's no case in our courts that authorize marriages of 14 or 15 year olds, be they boys or girls. That if there's lack of authorization of the parents, there needs to be a court to authorize that. But simply that doesn't exist in Angola, in our courts. I think there was a question as to whether it can be done in the local registry offices and whether the parents can do that there. That is not the case. We have not seen any requests in that regard. That sort of marriage may be more common in the rural areas and far-flung regions, where you still have the practice of almost forcing or obliging children to marry for cultural reasons, a range of cultural reasons. Angola protects children, the family, our constitution says that an absolute priority is childhood. The principle of protection of children is a priority in our constitution and it defines as a guiding principle in everything that has to do with children the best interest of the child. This means that, although this norm is still in the Family Code, the principles coming from the Constitution and the Family Code itself ensure that courts will not rule on any of those issues. When we have Any information contrary to that, I can say that such a case is deemed to be a contra legem custom, against our laws. We only accept customary law if it dovetails with our legislation. On other questions on our legislation, We're not here and now able to say exactly what the time frame is going to be for the reform of our family code, because it is a legislative process which has its nuances, and it is still before our parliament. And how you protect women in polygamous situations, Angolan legislation, if Let me just make it clear. Monogamy is the principle under our law, but sometimes there are parallel relations, and a woman who lives in a polygamous situation, although legally speaking that union cannot be recognised, but at least it should be covered in terms of inheritance and property between the people party to this polygamous union. That is the legal response that we have under our legislation. What mechanisms are in place to ensure that such unions, even if it is polygamy, get some form of legal recognition? Our legislation allows for some sort of recognition, so that there can be a proper division of property if necessary as a result of such a union. On domestic violence, we do not have disaggregated data. That is true. I did not actually understand the specific question on domestic violence. I apologise for that, but I really did not understand the question. You talked about disaggregated data. But I think practice has shown, how should I put this, that there is discrimination because they are women who have albinism. No, we don't really have that. For us, we base ourselves on Article 23 of our constitution, so we We do not say, for example, that yesterday we had to deal with six women with albinism, because our starting point is that all women are the same and that the violence is what is important. When there is divorce, inheritance and property, it needs to respect the legal criteria, which depend on the type of marriage. The same applies to divorce. If it was separation of property, then it's governed by the separation of property contract, et cetera. If it was what they call community of acquired property or goods, it will be governed by that as of the date when the marriage was first held. identity and gender. This is an emerging issue for us. It's something that needs to be analyzed and studied carefully. Because this means there needs to be a constitutional change. Because it all has to do with the notion of identity and all the issues that stem from this notion of identity. Hence, the same answer on recognition of gender identity. There was a question on that. On inheritance, we know that there is customary practice that rules women out of inheritance to the benefit of the husband. As I said earlier, that is against our traditional law and it absolutely has to tie in with legislation and we would object so we wouldn't therefore support that practice. Even if they're not married they have the same protected rights just as the same as a married woman even if they're unmarried in terms of inheritance. de facto union half-half, and the children inherit in the light of the marriage contract. They're also able to access legal aid. There needs to be a court-appointed officer, and we also have our law on legal aid and legal assistance so that they are able to access justice if they need that and once they prove that they don't have sufficient economic resources. I hope I covered most of the questions. Thank you.


CEDAW · Committee Expert [1:55:59]:

Thank you. If possible, It does not necessarily have to be done orally now, as I know that we do not have much time left. I would like to know how all this is happening in practice. As you said, there are provisions under the law and in the Family Law Act 2006, which provides for an exceptional possibility, although that is not an established procedure. It is very important to be able to approve a norm that clearly prohibits under-18s marriage. It is not accepted in practice. Perhaps they are not legally recognised, but we are seeing that this is happening in the local communities, according to customary law. We want to know how you are tackling the issue, in terms of prevention. We are talking about children and teenagers, who need an awful lot of support, because, to some extent, they are victims of violence. and the same with widows. We wanted to know in practice what you are doing, again in the light of the customary practice that exists in the state, quite apart from all the challenges and recognizing what you're trying to do to perfect your legislation.


CEDAW · Chair [1:57:37]:

Give back the floor to the delegation, please.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:57:44]:

Thank you, Madam Chair.


CEDAW · Chair [1:57:55]:

There's a.


Angola · Head of Delegation [1:57:57]:

Question on the work that has been done to prevent child marriage and the urgent norms that we need to revised the family code. I will be handing over to my colleague on this, but let me say that in our country we've been implementing consciousness raising campaigns regarding child marriage. And these are rolled out into the communities, and of course it's in those communities where we see the highest level of child marriage is not so much in the urban areas. As I said earlier on, we have these local groups that are held, a range of ages in them, to ensure that everyone is sufficiently informed on the rights of girls. Let me give you something by way of example. Last week was the International Girls' Day, and we devoted the entire week to the topic of preventing child marriage in that initiative, as well as training health officers and social workers who have been working with the communities on this topic, as well as working with the traditional and faith leaders, because a lot of these marriages are carried out with the consent of religious leaders, faith leaders, who of course play an important role in the community. Increasingly, parents are seeing that the place of a girl is at school, rather than just doing the housework and getting married very young, because they are now beginning to understand the implications of this on girls' health and the whole issue of abortion, maternal mortality and, as our colleague from education There are actually more girls now at school than boys, starting from primary school onwards. So, slowly but surely, we are getting to grips with this. And mention also was made of teen pregnancies. They're still high, I agree, but we're increasingly aware that that is not the way to go. on girls and I just wanted to say something about what is being done with these specifically these two projects strengthening sexual reproductive health is being one of them thank you


CEDAW · Chair [2:01:20]:

thank you very much Excellency thank you there is a an addition yes please go ahead Please, please go ahead. And the pedido do secretários.


Angola · Head of Delegation [2:02:01]:

Well, I see that the State Secretary for Public Health is asking me to underscore the establishment of sexual and reproductive health services, which are child and adolescent friendly. These are specific health care services which are provided to young people. This means that they don't have to go to the same offices as adults, so they feel more comfortable.


CEDAW · CEDAW · Chair [2:02:39]:

Thank you. Thank you very, very much. And I'm sorry I had to put some time, some pressure, but we made it. We still have a few minutes. I want to just thank again the delegation for helping us to conclude the consideration of the eighth periodic report of Angola. I would also like to thank my colleague, the expert, for their questions and comments, as well as all the representatives of the State Party for the response and explanation provided. On behalf of the Committee, I thank you for the constructive dialogue, which has provided further insights into the situation of women in your country. The Committee invites the State Party to accept as soon as possible the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1 of the Convention concerning the meeting time of the Committee. In that regard, the Secretariat will send a model instrument of acceptance with further explanation to your permanent mission shortly. The Committee commends the State Party for its efforts and encourages it to take all necessary measures to address the recommendations of the Committee, which will formally be communicated to you through the Permanent Mission for purposes of a more comprehensive implementation of the Convention throughout the State Party. The Committee also reminds the State Party that it selects several recommendations for immediate follow-up. These are mentioned at the end of the concluding observation and it invites the State Party to pay particular attention to these selected recommendations and to submit a follow-up report on their implementation within the deadline defined in that same paragraph. Does the head of delegation wish to make some concluding remarks? You have the floor, Madam Chair.


Angola · Head of Delegation [2:04:34]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. Excellencies, State Representatives, ladies and gentlemen, it's my honor to reiterate our most cordial greetings to you. I'd like to thank the chair and distinguished members of the CEDAW Committee for their acute interest and their readiness to engage in this constructive dialogue on the implementation of the Convention on the eradication of all forms of discrimination against women in Angola. This has been an opportunity for us to tell you about the progress we have achieved and the outstanding challenges we have still in implementing this important instrument for promoting and protecting human rights. The recommendations that you have made, providing us with important lessons as to how we can make further progress and will undoubtedly contribute to enhancing our commitment to human rights. The conclusions and recommendations that you present to us will be carefully and deeply analysed by our domestic structures and, I'm sure, will help us improve the human rights situation in Angola. At the same time, we would like to reiterate that we stand ready to further enhance existing mechanisms with a view to mitigating any constraints on the implementation of our regional and international commitments in the area of human rights, in particular for women's rights, as was made clear during this dialogue. Thank you very much, Madam Chair and committee members.


CEDAW · Chair [2:06:29]:

excellency, and we look forward to receiving your next periodic report. If you wish, the practice has been for the committee to take some photo with you and from the podium for a few minutes. At the same time, it will be a short break for colleagues, and then we will reconvene in closed meeting. So a few minutes for photo, and then we wish you the best, and we resume in a closed meeting. Who would like to take?