Angola – Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economics, social and cultural rights – Human Rights Council 7th session, 6 March 2008
The historical and political context of the current assessment is the 27-year civil war in Angola following independence in 1975 and an earlier lengthy struggle against colonialism. A peace agreement signed in 2002 between the Government of the People’s Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) put an end to the conflict but could not reverse the devastating effect it had had on the country and its infrastructure, which reportedly left at least 500,000 people dead and, at the time, millions of internally displaced persons. An armed struggle has persisted in the enclave of Cabinda led by the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda, albeit at a much lower level, despite the signing of a memorandum of understanding for peace and reconciliation on 1 August 2006.
In Angola today, many are able to practice their religion or belief freely; there is, in this regard, a measure of tolerance within Angolan society. The Special Rapporteur, however, notes a number of concerns.
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