The information found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate on the Association for Justice, Peace and Democracy (AJPD), within the period from January 2002 to March 2003, was limited (IRIN 14 Nov. 2002; AFP 25 Apr. 2002; APA 30 July 2002).

The AJPD - whose president is Fernando Macedo (APA 30 July 2002) - is an indigenous non-governmental organization that documents prison conditions in Angola and "monitors the application of due process laws" (Country Reports 2001 4 Mar. 2002, Sec. 1c). The AJPD also collaborated with Human Rights Watch (HRW) on a report called "The War Is Over: The Crisis of Angola's Internally Displaced Continues," which representatives of the two organizations presented on 30 July 2002 in Luanda (APA 30 July 2002; IRIN 14 Nov. 2002; HRW 2 July 2002).

Reporting on a medical conference held in April 2002, Agence France Presse (AFP) says that the conference was organized by the AJPD on the topic of HIV/AIDS in Angola (25 Apr. 2002). The AFP article notes that, among the various estimates provided by experts at the conference on the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Angola, the highest figure is approximately 43,748 cases (25 Apr. 2002).

Additional information on the AJPD and reports on the treatment of its members by government authorities could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

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.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 25 April 2002. "High Rate of HIV Found Among Pregnant Women in Luanda: Official." (NEXIS)

Angola Press Agency (APA) [Luanda]. 30 July 2002. "Human Rights Watch Asks UN Agency to Protect Displaced People in Angola." (BBC World Wide Monitoring 1 Aug. 2002/NEXIS)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001. 4 March 2002. United States Department of State, Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/af/8217pf.htm [Accessed 28 Mar. 2003]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2 July 2002. "The War is Over: The Crisis of Angola's Internally Displaced Continues." A Human Rights Watch Background Briefing Paper. http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/angola/2002/angola-idps.pdf [Accessed 28 Mar. 2003]

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). 14 November 2002. "Angola: A New Yet Uncertain Beginning for the Internally Displaced." (Africa News/NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

NEXIS

Unsuccessful attempts to contact Development Workshop.

Internet sites, including:

Africa Action

Amnesty International (AI)

Angola Peace Monitor

Angolan Anti-Militaristic Initiative for Human Rights

Angolan Union of Journalists

Angonet

BBC Africa

Committee to Protect Journalists

Development Workshop in Angola (DW)

Global Witness

Inter-Church Coalition on Africa

International Center for Journalists (ICJ)

Norwegian Council for Africa

Reporters Without Borders

Republic of Angola

World News Connection (WNC)

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