Information on the arrest or detention of relatives of members or of suspected members of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) is limited among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. No information could be found on whether age or sex of those arrested or detained is taken into consideration by the authorities.

In its February 1999 report entitled Angola Human Rights - the Gateway to Peace, Amnesty International reported the following:

While UNITA was reportedly responsible for most of the attacks on civilians in contested areas, government forces were also responsible for attacks on civilians and communities where support for UNITA was strong. People suspected of supporting UNITA faced arrest and there were reports of scores of people "disappearing" in custody or being extrajudicially executed. The victims of these violations included UNITA officials, suspected UNITA sympathisers and their relatives. They also included demobilized UNITA soldiers, particularly those who could not present national identity documents. Those responsible were rarely brought to justice.

While not specifying relatives, both the Amnesty International Report 1999 and Country Reports 1999, in Sections 1b., c., and d., report on the treatment, including arrests, detention and interrogation, of UNITA members or suspected members.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Amnesty International. February 1999. Angola Human Rights - the Gateway to Peace. http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aipub/1999/AFR/11200199.htm [Accessed on 12 June 2000]

Additional Sources Consulted

Africa Confidential [London]. 1999-2000

Africa Research Bulletin [London]. 1999-2000

Amnesty International Country File: Angola: 1999-2000

IRB Databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

WNC Connection

Internet sites including:

Africa Intelligence

Africa News Service

Amnesty International

Angola Peace Monitor [London]. 1999-2000

Diário Digital [Lisbon]. 1999-2000

Human Rights Watch

Inter-Church Coalition on Africa: Angola

The News [Lisbon, Portugal]. 1999-2000

ReliefWeb

United Nations

UK Immigration and Nationality Directorate. April 2000. "Angola Assessment."

Search Engines:

Dogpile

Fast Search

Google