Luanda - The situation regarding the protection and defence of human rights in Angola and actions to achieve the goals of the AU Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals/2030 were addressed Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Luanda - The situation regarding the protection and defence of human rights in Angola and actions to achieve the goals of the AU Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals/2030 were addressed Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The national situation was presented by the Secretary of State for Human Rights and Citizenship, Ana Celeste Januário, at the high-level consultation meeting on the "Right to Development as a Tool for Transformation and the Relationship between Peace and Security in Africa", organised by the African Union Commission.
According to a press release from the Angolan diplomatic representation to the African Union (AU), the minister spoke about the National Human Rights Strategy, an essential document for the process of participatory construction of public policies in the respective area and conceived on the basis of the International Human Rights System.
Ana Celeste Januário emphasised the natural and intrinsic nature of human rights to human existence, stressing that their universality arises from the fact that they belong to humanity and are applicable to all its members, without exception or distinction.
Accompanied by the Angolan ambassador to Ethiopia and permanent representative to the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Miguel Bembe, the leader took part in the four interactive sessions surrounding the meeting, moderated by ambassador Salah Hammad, head of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) of the AU Commission's Political Affairs, Peace and Security department.
The event, which was attended by several speakers, including Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Tur and the representative of the UN Regional Office for Human Rights in East Africa Marcel Clemente Akpovo, took place ahead of celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "Initiative75".
The Forum aimed to create a platform for dialogue and reflection on the progress made by the Member States of the African Union in the process of promoting human rights on the continent since the adoption of the Universal Declaration in 1945.
Among the conclusions of the interactive sessions, include the full alignment for the effective implementation of the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the UN's Agenda 2030, which contribute to the realisation of human rights, good governance, the rule of law, security and stability, and the recognition of the leading role of human rights bodies in the process of operationalising the Right to Development, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The AfCFTA aims to boost intra-African trade till 52.3 per cent, as a means of providing the resources for countries to reduce poverty and increasingly promote peace and security, the Right to Development and respect for human rights.
The planning and implementation of national strategies aimed at consolidating the culture and practice of human rights as determining factors for improving the complementarity of the nexus of development, peace, security and human rights completed the picture. SC/DAN
