Angola
Consolidation of postcolonial state control over territorial borders and borderlands through birth registration
In Angola, the process of consolidating sovereign control over the territory under their jurisdiction remains ongoing. In 2018, the CRC encouraged Angola to allocate sufficient resources to the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Programme for Africa. This included birth registration, especially decentralized birth registration to benefit rural and marginalized populations, including by establishing mobile birth registration teams. In 2019, CEDAW expressed concern that birth registration rates remained low, with a considerable divide between urban and rural areas. The committee suggested that Angola strengthen efforts to ensure the issuance of identity documents free of charge.
Promising Practices
In 2024, Angola reported to CEDAW that it had taken measures to increase birth registration. Measures included making birth registration free, setting up birth registration and identity card issuing stations in every municipality, a hospital registration programme supported by UNICEF and the EU, and a birth registration campaign in first-cycle schools.
