Biden in Angola: Daily Brief

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December 3, 2024
By Andrew Stroehlein
Contact me at DailyBriefTeam@hrw.org and Twitter @astroehlein.

In today's Daily Brief:

Rare US Presidential Visit to Africa
Quick Takes: Belgium; Climate Crisis; Ethiopia; Cameroon
Readers’ Recommendations
Are You Listening to a Fakecast?
Videos: The ICC; Chad; Afghanistan; Israel/US; Haiti

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Biden in Angola

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Now in the twilight of his term in office, US President Joe Biden is on a two-day visit to Angola.

It’s notable because, despite much talk in Washington about seeking to counter China’s influence in Africa, such top-level personal attention is extremely rare.

This is Biden’s only trip to anywhere in Africa over the past nearly four years of his presidency. And it may be a while until we see the next US presidential visit: during his first term in office, Donald Trump never set foot on the continent.

So, for Angolan President João Lourenço, Biden’s visit marks a serious diplomatic achievement, perhaps his biggest since taking office in 2017.

What’s top of the agenda for the two presidents probably won’t surprise anyone: economic issues.

In particular, the US government has been keen to see greater access to central Africa’s mineral wealth. Along with Europe, the US has been involved in a multi-billion-dollar initiative called the Lobito Corridor. It’s a railway project connecting Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito with the “Copper Belt” in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Whether human rights are also on the agenda is less clear.

Angola’s human rights record is grim. Police have been implicated in killings, sexual violence, torture, excessive use of force, and unjustified detention of peaceful activists and protesters.

What’s more, this past year, President Lourenço brought in two new laws that severely restrict fundamental human rights. The first provides prison terms of up to 25 years for people who participate in protests that result in vandalism and service disruptions. The second permits excessive government control over media, civil society organizations, and other private institutions.

Biden’s visit to Angola – the first by any US president ever – is a rare chance to help the people of Angola by highlighting the abuses they face. This top-level opportunity probably won’t come around again for a long time.

Biden should make it count.

Quick Takes: Belgium; Climate Crisis; Ethiopia; Cameroon

Belgium: Good news. A new law addressing sexual and labor exploitation came into force yesterday, responding to some of the worst forms of violence and discrimination faced by people who sell sexual services. It follows years of human rights advocacy by community experts. Belgium had already decriminalized sex work in 2022. The new law provides access to social security for workers who sign employment contracts. It also establishes specific rights for contracted employees and strict requirements for employers.

Climate Crisis: Over the next two weeks, more than 100 countries and international organizations will participate in hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague as part of historic proceedings on climate change. The ICJ will consider states’ obligations to address rising greenhouse gas emissions and the consequences if they don’t.

Ethiopia: Authorities have suspended three rights organizations, forcing the groups to cease their work. The three have been outspoken about governance, the rule of law, and rights abuses in Ethiopia. The government is “squeezing shut whatever space remains for independent rights groups to operate in the country.”

Cameroon: Last week, gendarmes arrested and severely beat prominent human rights lawyer Richard Tamfu in Cameroon’s largest city, Douala. The vicious assault fits a pattern of official attacks on lawyers, presumably designed to deter them from doing their jobs.