The Civic Association of Cabinda, Mpalabanda deals with human rights, environmental and transparency issues, and it also focuses on the promotion of civic education in the community. It is currently banned by the Angolan Government because it publishes human rights reports regarding the state of human rights in Cabinda.

"This is our sad story of punishment and hardship for a people whose only sin is to have been born into an oil-producing country. The abuse of human rights defenders in Cabinda follows a political dictatorship because their activities are closely linked to the political causes which are at the root of all the violations, that is to refuse an identity to a people and to impose another with the use of arms.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights established the mechanisms and the foundation which guarantees citizens the enjoyment of these rights in the majority of countries. Despite the universal nature of these rights, they continue be subject to challenges and economic interests in most countries.

In the case of Angola, despite having adopted the majority of international human rights conventions and its constitution confirming that the “constitutional norms must be interpreted and integrated in harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights” and many other international treaties which Angola has signed .

In fact, respect for Human Rights is not a priority in Angola, as the President of the Republic said “Democracy was forced on us and Democracy and Human Rights do not put food on the table”.

In Cabinda, a region which is still in a state of war there are almost 40,000 soldiers for a population of 300,000 or one soldier for each seven inhabitants. This was the background for serious violations of human rights in this enclave and as a result it has been difficult for human rights defenders to take any action. The current situation is even more complicated with the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Angola and Mr Antonio Bento Bembe. Furthermore, the current government has increased repression with no freedom of ideas or thought in Cabinda.

How the State perceives the issue of human rights defenders? For members of the Government, human rights defenders are activists and instigators of public disorder. They are accused of harming the image of the country as they work for the nternational institutions to denigrate the efforts of the government in national reconstruction and reconciliation. More recently, several human rights defence NGOs have been threatened with closure by the General Director of the UTCH, (the technical unit which coordinates humanitarian aid) which is in agreement with the Ministry for Social Integration, the government body responsible for coordinating NGOs in Angola.

The experience of Human Rights Defenders in Cabinda? We are wrong to be human rights defenders in Cabinda given the kind of ongoing armed conflict. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is with reason the main reference for human rights defenders as they work in accordance with the law and the established power. They receive adequate training which makes them active and efficient in their every day work. In order to work efficiently and with dedication, they work in a transparent way by investigating and denouncing violations irrespective of where they come from and they do this in an objective manner.

The attitude of local government towards the action of human rights defenders in Cabinda? The actions of the government in power is clear through the persistent recourse of the police and judicial bodies to cover up the activities of the human rights defenders. This can be explained on account of the current tendency for high levels of intimidation, prosecution and arbitrary imprisonment and detention of activists. You may remember the illegal imprisonment of Sarah Wykes in February 2006, who was accused of spying in Cabinda. This climate of a police state with the threat of physical elimination, bans on leaving the country by withholding passports is strengthened by repressive measures such as the loss of employment. Several of us have lost our jobs on account of the positions we have taken in relation to the dramatic situation of human rights violation in Cabinda. Crimes against state security and suspended fixed term sentences are even worse.

Finally, those in power decided to ban Mpalabanda in Cabinda, the only regional human rights defence organisation in a trial where the Provincial Government mobilised the suppport of representatives from defence and security, administrators and the Bishops of the CEAST (Angola and Sao Tome Bishops’ Council) as witnesses."