A 2012 report by the U.S. Department of State said, "The three most important human rights abuses [in 2012] were official corruption and impunity; limits on the freedoms of assembly, association, speech, and press; and cruel and excessive punishment, including reported cases of torture and beatings as well as unlawful killings by police and other security personnel.
"[4] Angola, officially a constitutional republic, has been run by the MPLA since 1975, with the office of president currently held by João Lourenço since 2017.
[5] An October 2010 article in The Guardian suggested that "[o]il, diamonds and landmines are just three clues to understanding the country – to which might be added poverty, repression and polio....
Following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya in 2011, dos Santos became Africa's longest serving leader; he has since been surpassed by Teodro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.
[7] In 2010, dos Santos introduced a new constitution that abolished direct presidential election and eliminated the post of prime minister, further strengthening his position.
[10] The government, according to Human Rights Watch, "has approved restrictive legislation, dragged its feet in allowing privately owned and community radio stations to operate in Angola's interior, censored state-owned media, sought to control the existing privately owned media, and prosecuted and intimidated independent journalists and civic activists".
[13] Human Rights Watch noted in 2012 that dos Santos had "faced an unprecedented wave of criticism" in 2011, with growing anti-government protests "[i]nspired by the pro-democracy Arab Spring movements", to which authorities had responded by using "excessive force" and by "curtail[ing] media coverage of the demonstrations".
[14] In September 2011, according to Amnesty International, the provincial government in Luanda "issued a by-law indicating the areas that could be used for assemblies and demonstrations.
"[15] In 2012, Human Rights Watch accused the Angolan government of "numerous incidents of political violence, intimidation of protesters, and crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations" in the run-up to the 2012 parliamentary elections.
Incidents of political violence against “journalists, civil society activists, and others seeking to express their opinions or criticize the government of President José Eduardo dos Santos" had been on the rise, police and plainclothes security agents had "forcibly dispersed anti-government protests, beating and arresting peaceful demonstrators, organizers, and opposition politicians, and obstructing and intimidating journalists", and the government-run media had "sought to compel activists in custody to make incriminating remarks about opposition parties".
[12] According to Human Rights Watch, there has been an increasing use in recent years of "unnecessary force against peaceful protesters and organizers".
[11] Angola's constitution defines the country as secular in which church and state are separated and guarantees freedom of conscience and religion.
According to a 2012 U.S. State Department report on religions freedom, Angolan government agencies and civil society-groups have enjoyed considerable success in their joint efforts to overcome native religious activities such as animal sacrifices, shamanism, and exorcism, which involve neglect and abuse.
The first postwar elections were held in 2008, and was considered generally fair, though the government's control of media gave it a strong advantage compared to the opposition.
[18] In November 2011, members of UNITA “walked out of a parliamentary debate on the new Electoral Legislative package for the 2012 general elections", complaining that it “contained unconstitutional provisions".
Following Mendes's declaration of his candidacy, he reported receiving death threats and that his property and that of the human rights organization Mãos Livres and Partido Popular vandalized.
The death threats have intensified after he filed a complaint to the Attorney Generals' Office against the incumbent president accusing him of embezzlement of public funds".
The government frequently makes use of its universal land ownership rights to seize and destroy private homes, sometimes several thousand at a time, without compensating owners fairly.
[18] After visiting Angola in March 2011, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict expressed concern over the continued reports of sexual violence against Congolese migrants by Angolan armed forces during expulsions, although Angola's Minister of Foreign Affairs denied the charges.
"[15] In May 2012, Human Rights Watch issued a report, titled "'If You Come Back We Will Kill You': Sexual Violence and Other Abuses against Congolese Migrants during Expulsions from Angola", in which it described "an alarming pattern of human rights violations by members of Angolan security forces against Congolese migrants.
Beatings, degrading and inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrests, and denial of due process have been common practices during roundups of undocumented migrants, and in custody before their deportation.
"[22] Health in Angola is rated among the worst in the world, and only a large fraction of the population receives even rudimentary medical attention.
[3] Many landmines remain active in Angola stemming from the civil war, resulting in 12 deaths in 2010, although demining programs are underway.
[Non-governmental organizations] ... reported a small underground lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Luanda.
[18] In August 2011, according to Amnesty International, immigration authorities at Quatro de Fevereira Airport refused entry into Angola to delegates of various civil society organizations who were to attend the Civil Society Forum of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), despite arrangements having been made for them to receive visas upon arrival at the airport.
The source cites a 2003 study as saying that "[i]f a local shopkeeper were known to be HIV-positive, nearly half of all young people (and more than two-thirds of those with no education) said they would refuse to buy food from him.
There are many street children who beg, perform such jobs as shoeshining and carwashing, commit small crimes, or are sexually exploited.
Many local conflicts in the provinces are settled in informal courts that are run according to traditional tribal rules under which participants have few rights.
In some areas there are no prosecutors or magistrates, so local police serve multiple duties, carrying out investigations, prosecuting cases, and acting as judges.
In the provinces, juveniles guilty of minor infractions are often imprisoned alongside adults and abused by both fellow inmates and guards.