Angola: Situation and treatment of Bakongo people by society and authorities; their economic activities, including in the informal economy; impact of Operation Transparency (2022-May 2024)
1. Overview
L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde [1] indicates that Bakongo people are of mixed descent and have Black and white Portuguese heritage (2021-12-07). Sources indicate that the Bakongo people make up 13% of the population of Angola (US 2024-02-23; L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde 2021-12-07; MRG n.d.). In an interview with the Research Directorate, an associate professor of African history at the Royal Military College of Canada, who has studied slavery in Angola, stated that they are the third largest ethnic group in Angola (2024-04-03). The same source added that the Bakongo people live in the border areas shared by three countries, namely Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and the Republic of Congo (Associate Professor 2024-04-03).
According to L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, the Bakongo people speak Kikongo and are present in the northwest of Angola (2021-12-07). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a research associate at the African Studies Centre of the University of Oxford, who has authored books on Angolan politics, specified that the Bakongo live in the northwest provinces of Cabinda, Uíge, and Zaire (Research Associate 2024-03-22). According to the Associate Professor, the Bakongo originate from Angola's northern provinces, including Cabinda, and now live throughout the country, although they are still "mainly" present in the northern provinces (Associate Professor 2024-04-03).
According to a report by Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), an "independent" Norwegian research institute that focuses on development, the Bakongo have been "discriminated against and sometimes persecuted" due to the "widespread Angolan perceptions" that they are '"non-Angolans'" or not "'true' Angolans" (CMI 2022-03, 5, 16).
1.1 Economic Activities
Information on the economic activities of the Bakongo people was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
According to the Associate Professor, the Bakongo are involved in a variety of economic activities (2024-04-03). According to the Research Associate, Bakongo people "[m]ostly" work in commerce at fairs and in shopping centres, and "many" are unemployed "like other Angolans" (2024-03-22).
Minority Rights Group International (MRG) notes that the majority of Cabinda's inhabitants are Bakongo, and despite its "huge" oil reserves, the province's population remains "very poor and has little economic development" (n.d.). Angola's National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estatística, INE) indicates that in the last three quarters of 2019, the nationwide unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 or older was estimated to be 30.2 percent, and the rate in Cabinda 39.8 percent (2020-08, 12, 24, 25). Encyclopaedia Britannica indicates that after crude oil became Cabinda's main export, the local production of timber, palm oil and kernels, cocoa, and coffee decreased (2022-09-02).
2. Treatment by Society
Information on the treatment of the Bakongo people by society was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
The Research Associate stated that although Bakongo people are "as well integrated" in Angolan society as other groups, Bakongo people face the "possibility" of being "mistreated," as people might "confuse" them with Congolese people (2024-03-22). The same source added that "[g]enerally," it is poor people, whether "Bakongo or not," who face mistreatment at the hands of "Angolan elites" (Research Associate 2024-03-22). The Associate Professor stated that the Bakongo people from the DRC and the Republic of the Congo are seen as Congolese and can be "mistreated" due to economic competition with local vendors; however, the Bakongo people from Angola are seen as Angolans and face "no ethnic discrimination by Angolan society" (2024-04-03). The same source added that the two groups are "easy to distinguish" based on their accent and their ability to speak Portuguese fluently (Associate Professor 2024-04-03). For information on the treatment of Congolese nationals and people of Congolese descent in Angola, see Response to Information Request ZZZ201409 of March 2023.
In an interview with the Portland Press Herald, an American regional newspaper that covers the state of Maine, an Angolan Bakongo asylum seeker in the US, whose parents left Angola for the DRC during the civil war, indicated that those who returned to Angola are seen as Congolese (2023-06-22). The same interview mentions that he faced "discrimination" due to his ethnic background and was not able to access the job market due to his name and accent (Portland Press Herald 2023-06-22).
3. Treatment by Authorities
According to the 2022 CMI report, "[s]ome" Bakongo people say they face discrimination in accessing services like housing, health care and public employment "above a certain level" (2022-03, 5). Sources indicate that the Director General of the External Intelligence Service (Serviço de Inteligência Externa, SIE) is of Bakongo origin (Research Associate 2024-05-06; Confidence News 2023-04-13).
The CMI report notes that there are no "recent" cases of state violence committed against Bakongo people based on their ethnicity alone (2022-03, 5). The Research Associate stated that they were not aware of anyone facing "better or worse treatment" for being a Bakongo (2024-03-22). The same source added that the "often abusive" treatment by authorities is based on a person's social class, their membership in an opposition party, or other "non-ethnic" factors (Research Associate 2024-03-22).
According to Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2024, which "assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of governance in 137 countries," members of a community of "undocumented Kikongo speakers" in the north are confronted with "the threat of violent expulsion on suspicion of being 'illegal immigrants'" coming from the DRC (2024, 6).
3.1 Situation in Cabinda
Sources indicate that there is an armed conflict for the independence of Cabinda between government security forces and the "rebel group," Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Frente de Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda, FLEC) (Amnesty International 2022-05-24; Bertelsmann Stiftung 2024, 6). According to Bertelsmann Stiftung, "civil society activists and suspected supporters" of the FLEC movement, as well as their family members, are confronted with "arbitrary house searches, unlawful detention and torture" by security forces, "especially" in Cabinda (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2024, 11).
According to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) article, the Angolan government has carried out a "longstanding crackdown on political and human rights activists" in Cabinda, "arbitrarily" arresting and detaining "over 100 activists" advocating for the independence of the province from Angola (2023-05-16). Amnesty International reports that the civic space in Cabinda is "tightly restrict[ed]" and the province is the "most militarized" in the country (2022-05-24).
According to the Associate Professor, while Bakongo people make up most of Cabinda's population, those targeted by the state are members of the "separatist movement," due to their opposition to the state, rather than their ethnicity (2024-04-03). The same source added that those individuals could also be from other ethnic groups and face "state violence and persecution," due to their "secessionist interests" (Associate Professor 2024-04-03). The Associate Professor further indicated that a Bakongo person could be "persecuted by the state" if they are an undocumented immigrant in the country (2024-04-03).
MRG reports that Cabinda inhabitants feel "exploited by the central government and foreign oil companies" which resulted in continued violence in the province (MRG n.d.). According to a researcher from the institute of political studies Sciences Po Bordeaux interviewed by TV5 Monde, the Cabinda inhabitants feel discontent as they do not benefit from the oil wealth on their territory (2021-12-24).
4. Operation Transparency
Sources indicate that the Angolan government created Operation Transparency to combat diamond trafficking and undocumented immigration (Global Business Reports 2020-02-26; Crisis24 2019-03-24). In a 2018 article, Agence France-Presse (AFP) cited the state minister and head of presidential security in charge of the two-year operation as saying that it was not rooted in "xenophobic sentiment" but aimed to counter "illegal immigration and the plundering of [Angolan] natural resources" in the diamond mining industry (2018-10-20). According to the Associate Professor, it is unclear whether Operation Transparency is still ongoing (2024-04-03). The Research Associate stated that the government operation is no longer being carried out "in a formal and systematic way" (2024-03-22).
Sources report that Operation Transparency targeted the Lunda Norte (IDEX 2023-01-16; DW 2023-06-10; Research Associate 2024-03-22) and Lunda Sul provinces (DW 2023-06-10; Research Associate 2024-03-22). An article from Deutsche Welle (DW), an international media outlet based in Germany, adds that the operation resulted in the deaths of 21 citizens in 2018 (2023-06-10). The Angola Press Agency (ANGOP), a public news agency in Angola, reports that according to the provincial commander of the National Police in Lunda Norte, 17 diamond mining operations in Lunda Norte were dismantled by the National Police, and 37,832 immigrants from the DRC were detained and repatriated in 2022 (2023-03-01).
According to the Research Associate, the Bakongo individuals affected by Operation Transparency "would probably" be Congolese nationals, rather than Angolans, as Angolans who work in the diamond mining areas are "predominantly Lunda-Tchokwe" people (2024-03-22). The Associate Professor indicated that in addition to undocumented immigrants, the state targets people in the northern provinces of the country who are owners of "diamond trading houses" or working in the diamond fields (2024-04-03). The Associate Professor mentioned that even though the Bakongo people were not a "direct target" of Operation Transparency, they were "often among [its] victims," due to their geographic location (2024-04-03).
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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Note
[1] L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde is a website hosted by the Chair for the Development of Research on French-Speaking Culture in North America (Chaire pour le développement de la recherche sur la culture d'expression française en Amérique du Nord, CEFAN) at Université Laval; it presents the particular language situations and policies of different states and territories around the world (L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde n.d.).
References
Agence France-Presse (AFP). 2018-10-20. "Angola Says 380,000 Illegal Migrants Exit in Weeks." [Accessed 2024-04-30]
L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde. 2021-12-07. Jacques Leclerc, Chaire pour le développement de la recherche sur la culture d’expression française en Amérique du Nord (CEFAN), Université Laval. "Angola." [Accessed 2024-03-11]
L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde. N.d. Jacques Leclerc, Chaire pour le développement de la recherche sur la culture d’expression française en Amérique du Nord (CEFAN), Université Laval. "Page d'accueil." [Accessed 2024-04-29]
Amnesty International. 2022-05-24. "Angola: Authorities Repress Civil Society Organizations Ahead of Election." [Accessed 2024-03-19]
Angola. 2020-08. Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE). Indicadores sobre emprego e desemprego inquérito ao emprego em Angola. Relatório Anual 2019. [Accessed 2024-05-02]
Angola Press Agency (ANGOP). 2023-03-01. "Police Dismantled 17 Diamond Mining Hotbeds Last Year." [Accessed 2024-04-29]
Associate Professor, Royal Military College of Canada. 2024-04-03. Interview with the Research Directorate.
Bertelsmann Stiftung. 2024. "Angola Country Report." Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2024. [Accessed 2024-03-19]
Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI). 2022-03. Inge Amundsen. Angola: Religion and Repression. CMI Working Paper No. 1. [Accessed 2024-03-11]
Crisis24. 2019-03-24. "Angola: Operation Transparency to Expand to Maritime Coast on March 25." [Accessed 2024-03-19]
Confidence News. 2023-04-13. "Ascensão do genro de Miala nos negócios tem gerado preocupação na presidência diz AM." [Accessed 2024-05-07]
Deutsche Welle (DW). 2023-06-10. "UNITA denuncia mais de 130 mortes em protestos em Angola." [Accessed 2024-03-19]
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2022-09-02. "Cabinda." [Accessed 2024-05-02]
Global Business Reports. 2020-02-26. "Mining in Angola." [Accessed 2024-03-19]
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2023-05-16. "Angola: No Letup in Crackdown on Cabinda Activists." [Accessed 2024-03-12]
International Diamond Exchange (IDEX). 2023-01-16. John Jeffay. "Angola Seizes 2,000 Diamonds in War on Traffickers." [Accessed 2024-03-19]
Minority Rights Group International (MRG). N.d. "Bakongo and Cabindans in Angola." [Accessed 2024-03-11]
Portland Press Herald. 2023-06-22. "These 4 Asylum Seekers Spent Months Sleeping on the Streets of Portland." [Accessed 2024-04-30]
Research Associate, University of Oxford. 2024-05-06. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
Research Associate, University of Oxford. 2024-03-22. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
TV5 Monde. 2021-12-24. Michel Cahen. "Angola : un conflit oublié." [Accessed 2024-03-12]
United States (US). 2024-02-23. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). "Angola." The World Factbook. [Accessed 2024-03-09]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Associate professor at a Canadian university who specializes in African political economy; executive director of an Angolan human rights NGO; Human Rights Watch; Minority Rights Group International; professor at an American university who specializes in Angolan studies, southern African history, and African media studies; professor at an American university who specializes in central African history; professor at a Canadian university whose research focuses on modern Africa, social and economic history; professor emeritus at a Canadian university who specializes in African history; professor of international development and global studies at a Canadian university whose research focuses on African studies; professor of international politics of Africa at a university in the UK; research associate at a German university who specializes in migration issues and Angola; research director of Africa programmes at a UK think tank.
Internet sites, including: Africa Guide; African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights; Al Jazeera; Angola – Embassy in Washington, DC; Australia – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Austrian Red Cross – ecoi.net; BBC; CNN; Courrier International; Factiva; Friends of Angola; GlobalSecurity.org; International Federation for Human Rights; Jornal de Angola; The New Humanitarian; South African History Online; UK – Home Office; UN – Refworld; US – Department of State; Voice of America; World Culture Encyclopedia.