Squatting in Angola occurs when displaced peoples occupy

informal settlements Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...

in coastal cities such as the capital

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

. The

Government of Angola The Cabinet of Angola is the chief executive (government), executive body of the Angola, Republic of Angola. References External linksgoverno.gov.ao
(in Portuguese) Angola politics-related lists, Cabinet Lists of government ministers of ...

has been criticized by human rights groups for forcibly evicting

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

and not resettling them.

History

Between 1575 and 1975, Angolan territory was partially colonised as

Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...

. In the late 18th-century and early 19-century, escaped slaves joined with bandits to attack the Portuguese. There was also resistance from indigenous peoples such as the

Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today * Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group) * Herero and Namaqua Genocide * Herero chat, a species of b ...

and the Nyaneka. The latter squatted ancestral lands after being displaced from them.

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

became independent in 1975, then the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

began, lasting until 2002 and displacing an estimated 4 million people. In 1975, the capital

had 0.5 million inhabitants and by 2011 its population was 10 million of which 7 million lived in

slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

scattered across the city. In these

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

known as musseques, 55 per cent have electricity and 12.4 per cent have running water. War accelerated the process of urbanization since Luanda and other coastal cities were perceived to be safer places than the interior. The first slums dated back to the colonial era and since then more have been founded. Since 2002, a city-wide gentrification process in Luanda has led to evictions for shopping centres and luxury homes. In 2007,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and

Christian Aid Christian Aid is the relief and development agency of 41 Christian (Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox) churches in the UK and Ireland, and works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster ...

criticised the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

for forcibly evicting squatters and not resettling them. In one instance, the Catholic church had requested that 2,000 families were removed. As well as occupying land, people also squatted buildings left derelict after being damaged in the civil war.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

recorded an eviction of at least 5,000 people in 2013 from a shanty town in Maiombe, Luanda.

References

{{Authority control

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Society of Angola