Luanda - The National Assembly Speaker, Carolina Cerqueira, on Monday requested the involvement of public and private institutions and non-governmental organizations to ensure, on a permanent basis, the defense, promotion and protection of human rights.
Speaking at the 2nd Conference on Human Rights she stressed that the defense, promotion and protection of human rights does not depend only on the State, it requires the involvement of other institutions, especially society in general.
She acknowledged that Angola has made remarkable progress in the preservation of human rights, as an achievement of Angolans, which translates into the promotion, defence and supervision of them.
According to the Speaker of the National Assembly, the preservation of this achievement is not only a duty of citizenship, “but also a right that cannot be denied to any citizen of our country”.
She recalled that this imperative is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic, by establishing a catalogue of fundamental rights, “whose interpretation and application must be in harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the legal instruments on the subject that Angola has ratified”.
In this regard, she highlighted the approval of the National Human Rights Strategy and the creation of an adequate legal and institutional framework, aimed at ensuring the systematic and consequential implementation of fundamental rights and the defence of the dignity of Angolans.
The leader of the Angolan Parliament acknowledged, however, that despite these achievements, 'the current economic situation in the country has made it difficult to fully materialise some fundamental rights'.
In terms of economic, social and cultural rights, she highlighted challenges related to access to health for all, decent housing, basic sanitation, quality water, fair work and wages, the right to an adequate standard of living, among others.
Role of youth and civil society
Carolina Cerqueira highlighted, in the process of promoting and protecting human rights, the role of two social segments, namely youth and members of civil society organizations.
She said that in these troubled times at a global level, in which achievements that are considered to be perennial are beginning to be called into question, “the role of youth in the construction of an Angola that is increasingly respectful of human rights gains fundamental prominence”.
She noted that young people must continue to promote human rights education, showing solidarity and spreading respect for minorities, protecting those who need it most and respecting diversity.
“The education of these principles is a duty of all of us, involving and encouraging young people to actively participate in spaces of debate on human rights issues. This is the way, there is no other”, he stressed.
She assured that the cause of human rights remains at the center of the National Assembly's agenda, welcoming the initiative of the 10th Committee of the Parliament that has promoted meetings like this to address the issue.
Respect for the rules of humanitarian law
Referring to wars, new disputes and expansionist policies, Carolina Cerqueira called on for respect for the rules of international humanitarian law, through the protection of civilians, detainees, wounded and sick people who do not participate in hostilities.
“Unfortunately, today we are helplessly witnessing the tragic situation of millions of people who suffer, victims of armed conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, people who have no voice and whose dignity is denied them,” she said.
She noted that States must demand respect for norms as a first step towards changing situations of this nature.
“We must demand that sovereignty be respected, that civilians be stopped, that hospitals or schools be stopped, that they stop threatening and kidnapping or killing those they help, that borders are not violated and that the word given is respected,” she stressed.
Carolina Cerqueira argued that when in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there was a clear purpose: to ensure that all human rights, in all human beings, everywhere had basic rights for the simple fact of being human beings.
“Today, 75 years later, we continue to call into question the principles of equality, freedom and human dignity, we continue to experience ethical and religious problems that call into question the universality of human rights, resulting from the various scenarios of human pain and suffering, slave labour, human trafficking, torture, sexual violence, gender-based violence, refugee crisis, international terrorism, among others,” she said.
It understands that the Universal Declaration is a roadmap that helps to end wars, successions of state and promote lives of peace and dignity for all.
The event, which takes place under the motto 'promotion of education for good exercise is citizenship', was organized by the 10th Commission on Human Rights, Petitions, Complaints and Suggestions of Citizens of the National Assembly. DC/VIC/DOJ
