Angola: UN human rights chief alarmed by reports of abuses of Congolese

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has voiced concern at media reports that Angolan security forces in the northeast of the country have raped, beaten or tortured Congolese migrant workers before deporting them across the border.

Praveen Randhawa, a spokesperson for OHCHR, told reporters in Geneva today that High Commissioner Louise Arbour was extremely concerned by the reports and had called on the Angolan Government to investigate and bring any perpetrators to justice.

The reports that have emerged this week say that Angolan security forces based in Lunda Norte province, next to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have been committing abuses against Congolese migrants, especially women.

Large numbers of Congolese have lived and worked for many years in Angola, including in its diamond mines in Lunda Norte.