New ambassador in Angola
Paulino Franco de Carvalho speaks in the Senate on the role of Brazil monitoring the human rights situation in the African country
The Foreign Relations Committee and a full session of the Senate approved on Thursday, September 8, the nomination of the diplomat Paulino Franco de Carvalho Neto as the new Brazilian ambassador in Angola.
Before his candidacy was approved, Neto faced a confirmation hearing in the Committee in which he emphasized the role of the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) and stated that this could be a way to increase economic cooperation between Brazil and Angola.
Ahead of the hearing, organizations such as Conectas, Inesc (Institute for Socio-Economic Studies), PAD (Process of Articulation and Dialogue) and Omunga submitted questions to the diplomat on issues related to visas, civil society, censorship and cooperation between the two countries.
The organizations asked for explanations, for example, on how the Brazilian government intends to monitor the application of the law so journalists and other media professionals are not censored in the African country, and on what the Embassy will do to guarantee that investments by Brazilian companies respect the basic rights of workers and impacted communities.
In response, the diplomat said that any Brazilian journalists who suffer repression in Angola can seek support from the Brazilian Embassy there. He did not comment, however, on guaranteeing labor rights in investment projects.
