Angola's Human Trafficking Crisis: Understanding The Situation

Angola is both a source and destination for human trafficking, with both Angolan and foreign citizens targeted. Traffickers exploit victims of all genders and ages from neighbouring countries, as well as from Asia and Latin America. The government of Angola does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.

Angola is a source and destination for human trafficking

Non-citizen women, including Chinese women recruited by Chinese gangs with the promise of paid work, are subsequently forced into both modern slavery and prostitution. Angolans are also trafficked into South Africa, Namibia, Portugal and the Netherlands for sexual and labour exploitation. Minors have been forced to carry out criminal activities, such as transporting illicit goods, as well as sex, domestic and street work.

The Government of Angola does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government has increased its efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity. These efforts included identifying more victims; training frontline officials on the national referral mechanism (NRM) and standard operating procedures (SOPs); and cooperating with foreign governments on cross-border trafficking cases. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government investigated, prosecuted, and convicted fewer traffickers. The government did not have adequate protection services to assist trafficking victims, including shelter services. The government did not allocate sufficient resources to implement its National Action Plan (NAP).

Angola has ratified nine major international legal instruments to combat organized crime and is a party to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols. However, the country is yet to ratify international arms trafficking protocols.

Victims include people of all genders and ages from neighbouring countries and beyond

Angola is a source and destination for human trafficking, with both Angolan and foreign citizens targeted. Victims include people of all genders and ages from neighbouring countries, as well as Asian and Latin American countries. They are exploited in a variety of ways, from forced labour in the construction, agriculture, and diamond mining sectors to prostitution in massage parlours.

Non-citizen women, including Chinese women recruited by Chinese gangs with the promise of paid work, are subsequently forced into both modern slavery and prostitution. Angolans are also trafficked into South Africa, Namibia, Portugal, and the Netherlands for both sexual and labour use. Minors have been forced to carry out criminal activities, such as transporting illicit goods, as well as sex, domestic, and street work.

There has been an increase in reports of human trafficking, suggesting a growing awareness of this market in the country. Foreign nationals seeking labour opportunities in Angola often solicit the services of smugglers, particularly from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Namibia. The main reasons for illegal border crossings are diamond mining, people smuggling, and human trafficking, especially of minors.

There are growing concerns about the use of the Quatro de Fevereiro airport to smuggle children out of the country for trafficking purposes. The government of Angola does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government has increased its efforts to identify more victims, train frontline officials, and cooperate with foreign governments on cross-border trafficking cases.

The government is making efforts to combat trafficking but does not meet minimum standards

Angola is a source and destination for human trafficking, with both Angolan and foreign citizens targeted. The government has demonstrated increasing efforts to combat trafficking, but does not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. While Angola has shown commitment to addressing the issue, there are still key areas where the government falls short.

One area of concern is the identification and referral of victims. Despite developing new protocols and increasing training for frontline officials, efforts to proactively identify and refer victims remain inadequate, especially in key transit areas. This is partly due to a lack of understanding among officials about how to identify trafficking victims, which often results in victims being identified by the community or self-identifying. The government has also failed to implement regulations to oversee labour recruitment agencies beyond periodic labour inspections, leaving this area vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers.

Another area where the government needs to improve is in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes. There has been a decrease in the number of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of traffickers in recent years. Additionally, the government has not reported any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes, despite corruption and complicity being significant concerns. The lack of consistent and effective enforcement of laws against child sex trafficking further highlights the government's failure to meet minimum standards.

The protection of trafficking victims is also inadequate. The government does not have sufficient protection services, including shelter services, to assist victims. While the government has approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the identification of trafficking victims and a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for their referral to care, the implementation of these procedures has been slow, and victims often face delays in accessing services. The government has also failed to address the issue of undocumented migrants, refugees, and stateless individuals who are particularly vulnerable to trafficking.

To meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, the Angolan government needs to address these key areas of concern. This includes improving the identification and referral of victims, increasing investigations and prosecutions of traffickers, addressing corruption and complicity among government officials, enhancing protection services for victims, and implementing regulations to oversee labour recruitment agencies.

Trafficking is noted in the construction sector, which supports the export of mineral fuels

Angola is a country that has been exploited for human trafficking, with both domestic and foreign victims. Traffickers have been known to prey on vulnerable groups, including children as young as 12, and force them into labour in sectors such as brick-making, domestic service, construction, agriculture, fisheries, and artisanal diamond mining.

The construction sector in Angola has been noted to support the export of mineral fuels. Trafficking has been observed in this sector, with migrant workers from various countries experiencing abuse at the hands of traffickers. Chinese, Southeast Asian, Brazilian, Namibian, Kenyan, and possibly Congolese migrants have had their passports withheld, faced threats, confinement, and abuse. Angolans and minors have also been exploited in this manner.

The presence of temporary migrants from Brazil and other South American countries in the construction sector has also been documented. Traffickers take advantage of the country's porous borders to bring in victims, and the lack of adequate labour laws and enforcement make it difficult to protect workers.

The Government of Angola has been making efforts to combat human trafficking, but it does not yet meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking. The government has increased efforts to identify and support victims, train officials, and raise awareness. However, there are still key areas of concern, including inadequate protection services, lack of regulations for labour recruitment agencies, and insufficient investigations and prosecutions of traffickers.

The government faces challenges with aggregating and synthesising data on human trafficking cases

Angola is a source of and destination for human trafficking, with both Angolan and foreign citizens targeted. The victims include people of all genders and age groups from neighbouring countries, as well as from Asia and Latin America. They are exploited in a wide variety of ways, from forced labour in the construction, agriculture, and diamond mining sectors to prostitution in massage parlours.

The Government of Angola has demonstrated increasing efforts to combat human trafficking and has implemented policies and plans to address the issue. However, the government faces challenges with aggregating and synthesising data on human trafficking cases. This is due to several factors, including:

• Insufficient training for criminal investigators, particularly those located outside the capital and in remote areas.
• A lack of adequate social services in rural areas, which hinders access to protection and assistance for victims.
• The complexity and volume of data involved in human trafficking cases, which can be challenging to aggregate and synthesise.
• Limited coordination and information sharing between different government agencies and departments involved in combating human trafficking.
• The illegal and underground nature of human trafficking activities, which can make it difficult to gather accurate data and information.

To address these challenges, the Angolan government should focus on improving inter-agency collaboration and information sharing, providing additional resources and training for criminal investigators, especially in rural areas, and expanding access to social services in rural and remote areas. Additionally, the government should continue to prioritise the implementation of policies and plans aimed at preventing and combating human trafficking, such as the National Action Plan to Eradicate Child Labor and the National Action Plan on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Persons.

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