Angola Report

According to UNICEF, Angola was among the worst places in the world to be a child, at least until 2002. One out of every three children used to die before the age of five. This was equal to one child dying every three minutes and 420 children dying every day.

More than half of Angola’s population is under 18, yet little attention is paid to the urgent needs of youth and the consistent violations of their rights by the government and the opposition armed forces during the war. Both the Angolan government and the armed opposition seriously violated the most basic provisions of core international standards established to protect the rights of children, adolescents and other civilians. The direct impacts of the war on children are wide ranging.

Human Rights Watch reports that children have been the targets of brutal and indiscriminate acts of violence, including murder, beatings, rape, enslavement for sexual purposes and labor, and forced recruitment as child soldiers. Children and adolescents lack access to healthcare, education, sanitation and food. For almost all areas of health, sanitation, and education, Angola falls well below the international indicators for sub-Saharan Africa. Over 70 percent of children are not registered, which further prohibits access to health and other services. Children are also victims of landmines and wide spread use of small arms and other weapons. Approximately 100,000 children live separated from their families and communities; many wind up in dire conditions on the streets of larger cities.

• Read the Angola Report realized in 2002 by the Watchlist on children and armed conflict