End-Review of the Norwegian Support to the United Nations’ Office for Human Rights in Angola

The Project

Norway first support to Human Rights activities in Angola was channelled through the UN Peace Keeping Mission in Angola - UNOA, and later UNMA. When UNMA's mandate terminated in 2003, Norway continued supporting human rights activities in Angola through agreements with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva. The first agreement (ANG/03) covered the period 2003-2004, with an extension until the end of 2005. The purpose of this program was "to strengthen national capacities in human rights, democracy and the rule of the law in Angola for the consolidation of peace."

The second agreement (ANG/06), with a pledge covered the period of 2006-2007 and the purpose was "to cooperate with public and nongovernmental institutions in Angola, as well as with the rest of the UN system, in strengthening the national human rights promotion and protection system."
Norwegian support to the programme was NOK 16 mill in the period 2003-2007.

Interesting Findings

• The programs evaluated were highly relevant for the Angolan situation. At the outset of the ANG/03 program, a peace agreement had just been signed and Angola was embarking into a reconstruction phase, when national reconciliation was a key concern. Establishing and strengthening institutions for promoting human rights was of great relevance for supporting efforts towards national reconciliation. The ANG/06 objectives recognized the country's developments in terms of instituting human rights and aimed at reinforcing capacities recently built as well as expanding the institutional and organizational base for human rights, especially in view the prospect of elections in Angola in 2006.
• The UNHRO (United Nations Human Rights Office in Angola) achieved most of the planned outputs for the ANG/03 and ANG/06 programs. It also gave key contribution to important tangible outcomes, such as: the establishment of the Ombudsman; spaces for human rights coordination within state and government institutions; space for dialogue between state, government institutions and civil society; the Human Rights Coordination Committee, a coordinating structure for civil society organizations working on human rights in Angola.
• The UNHRO was very effective in its contribution to raise awareness and to support the creation/strengthening Human Rights institutions and organizations. Its support to the development of legal frameworks for improving human rights in Angola was also quite important.
• The closure of UNHRO:
  - Since 1995, the United Nations was engaged in Angola with activities aimed at promoting human rights. Since then, the program grew, becoming more rooted and recognized by the Angolan actors in State institutions as well as in civil society. In spite of a lack of a strong mandate from the Government of Angola (GoA) - including protection, the UNHRO was able to engage effectively key national institutions and organizations. Negotiations aiming at a MoU with the GoA, which could have provided a fuller mandate, were unfolding since 2006. It seems that the GoA was resistant, but through out the period of negotiation there was good will and expectation that the OHCHR would have a MoU signed. Only by the end of 2007 some doubts about the real end result of this process started to emerge.
  - In March 2008 GoA finally expressed its decision not to sign the MoU and requested the UNHRO to cease all activities and to close the office at the end of May 2008. What lies behind the GoA decision to close the UNHRO presence on the ground is difficult to specify. The decision should not be seen in isolation, but as an incident in a series of internal developments, such as restrictions to civil society organizations (namely the ban of Mpabalanda, the only human rights organization in Cabinda), limitations to freedom of expression and harassment of journalists, threats and persecution of human rights defenders (including foreigners such as Sarah Wykes from Global Witness in 2007) and public statements from GoA officers threatening the existence of CSOs. In spite of some public statements encouraging citizenship and legislation institutionalizing public consultation at different levels, many felt that public space was being reduced or, at best, limited.
• UNHRO local team is currently in dialogue with UNDP and other UN agencies to explore options for securing continued support for UNHRO partners' activities through the UN system. The establishment of a human rights adviser at the Resident Coordinator's office is also being considered.