MIL Africa Engine

Source: APO

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Jointly organized by UN Tourism, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the Government of Angola, the high-level event drew more than 300 international delegates around the theme “Accelerating Synergies for Resilient and Sustainable Growth”. The three-day conference, focused on strengthening the alignment between two of Africa’s fastest-growing sectors: tourism and air transport. Both are critical enablers for job creation, innovation, and greater regional mobility.

In his opening remarks, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Tourism and air transport are not just engines of growth, they are pathways to empowerment, opportunity, and transformation, through strategic leadership and innovation, Africa’s potential can become its reality.” He urged decisive policy action to remove the barriers holding African tourism back.

H.E Daniel Marcio, Angola’s Minister of Tourism said “Angola is proud to host such a landmark event, which positions Angola as a regional hub for dialogue and action. Tourism is a key pillar of our national strategy for inclusive development, job creation, and cultural promotion.”

In his intervention, H.E Mr. Ricardo de Abreu, Angola’s Minister of Transport, emphasized the importance of infrastructure and regulatory reform: “We must build air transport systems that are not only modern and efficient but also accessible and responsive to the needs of our people. Connectivity within Africa is essential to realizing the continent’s economic potential.”
ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano commended the initiative’s collaborative spirit: “Tourism and aviation must grow hand in hand. Through shared vision and policy coherence, we can drive sustainable development, enhance safety and security, and ensure no country is left behind.”

Connectivity, Policy Reform, Investment

The Luanda Conference placed a strong emphasis on advancing Africa’s tourism and air transport sectors through enhanced connectivity, regulatory reform, and cross-sector collaboration. Delegates agreed that aligning aviation and tourism policies is vital to unlocking the continent’s potential, particularly through open skies agreements, cohesive infrastructure planning, and public-private investment. A central focus was also placed on simplifying visa processes, promoting joint destination marketing, and removing travel barriers to stimulate intra-African tourism.

The Conference began with an expert-led workshop featuring technical sessions on innovation, connectivity, investment, and regional integration. Participants explored how technologies like AI and digital platforms can improve service delivery, while also identifying new funding models to expand infrastructure. In-depth discussions addressed how frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) can support harmonized policies and boost regional mobility.

Ministerial Discussions and Commitments

Over two days of ministerial sessions, high-level officials focused on aligning policy frameworks, driving innovation for inclusive growth, ensuring equitable access to travel, and building resilient transport and tourism systems. The Conference concluded with the formal adoption of the Luanda Ministerial Statement—an affirmation of Africa’s collective commitment to developing a seamless, sustainable, and integrated travel ecosystem. 

Luanda Ministerial Statement

Ministers, leaders of delegations and delegates present pledged to:

• Modernize tourism and aviation infrastructure with support from both public and private investment.
• Deepen partnerships with key institutions including ICAO, UN Tourism, IATA, AFRAA, AFCAC, and others.
• Advance mobility reforms through simplified and more affordable visa regimes, fast-track procedures, and longer-validity multi-entry visas.
• Promote intra-African tourism, including joint destination marketing and greater collaboration with the private sector.
• Empower youth and women through skills training, entrepreneurship support, and educational initiatives focused on the tourism and aviation sectors.

This 2nd conference came at a time of record momentum for African tourism. The continent welcomed 74 million international arrivals in 2024, a 7% increase over 2019 and 12% more than in 2023, signalling strong recovery and renewed global interest in African destinations.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism).

Source: APO

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Marlene Le Roux has lived with the effects of disability since she was three months old. Now 57, she has spent decades confronting physical, structural, and social barriers.

Resilience is part of her everyday reality, as she manages pain, stays engaged, and keeps going even when her body resists.

Ms Le Roux had spent the day before speaking and dancing to mark South Africa’s Freedom Day in Cape Town. By morning, her legs gave in. She was at the physio, acupuncture needles in her thigh to ease the pain.

That pain, she says, is part of the “gift”– a lived experience that gave her the lens to understand the marginalization millions face every day.

“I have a job, that’s why I could pay for treatment,” she said. “Others with polio? They suffer. They die in their beds.”

Her story begins with polio and builds into a fight fueled by loss, sustained by purpose, and anchored in a refusal to accept exclusion.

She’s lived the weight of exclusion twice over. First, as a child disabled by apartheid-era neglect, contracting polio at just three months old, after clinics denied the remaining vaccines to non-white children. And later, as a mother to her son Adam, who had profound cerebral palsy and required constant care. Adam later passed away, a loss that deepened her resolve.

That urgency is also reflected in efforts across the United Nations system. In 2019, the UN launched the Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) to promote accessibility, participation, and accountability in its operations.

By 2023, more than 60 UN entities had adopted action plans under the strategy, and over $77 million had been mobilized to support more than 100 initiatives in 93 countries. Yet implementation remains uneven, with many persons with disabilities still facing barriers even within institutions that champion inclusion.

At the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town, where Ms Le Roux is the CEO, accessibility is built into the structure: automated doors, wheelchair seating, level entryways, tactile carpeting, comfort rooms. Staff receive training on both visible and non-apparent disabilities. Every feature is intentional, designed in consultation with those who use them.

“Life here at Artscape is very easy for people with disabilities,” said vocalist Nikita Scott, a wheelchair user. “It feels like a second home. You just feel freer because there are no challenges you have to face as a disabled person.”

Families raising children with disabilities find refuge at Artscape. “They can attend performances and relax in a space that doesn’t treat them as an afterthought,” Ms Le Roux said. “Here, no one stares.”

Artscape also supports grassroots groups, including Lief en Leed (Love and Sorrow), a community initiative in Mamre. Its founder, Michael September, who has speech and mobility impairments, said people still assume disability means incapacity.

“Artscape is one of the few places that sees our dignity first,” he said.

Ms Le Roux’s leadership style is grounded in presence and humility. It’s not uncommon to see her joking with staff or sitting down for tea with the cleaning crew. “No one should be invisible,” she said. “Everyone here matters.”

She helped launch the ArtsAbility Festival, an annual celebration that features performers with disabilities and challenges public perceptions through art and movement. The Unmute Dance Company, a regular participant, blends wheelchairs, crutches, and movement to challenge perceptions.

“Artscape focuses on what people can do, not what they lack,” she said. “When they perform, you see ability. Not disability.”

She sees these lessons as central to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the pledge to “leave no one behind.”

“We can’t just have things on paper and expect it to work. It has to be in the fiscal budget, in the mindset, in the leadership.”

To her, inclusion isn’t a checklist but a cultural shift. She meets regularly with an advisory group of people with disabilities to keep the work grounded in lived experience.

In 2024, she launched Warrior Woman, a petition and art installation to protest gender-based violence. She plans an annual march to parliament with the statue in hand. “We’ve had enough of talking,” she said.

“Artscape is more than a theatre,” she said, adding that it’s a platform to open doors and influence lives.

“I can look glamorous now because I have a job. I can pay for treatment; I can walk into the best orthopaedic surgeon. But what happens to others? They suffer. They die. My job is to open doors for them.”

And she’ll keep pressing forward, legs willing or not, until systems do too.

Ms Le Roux’s full interview can be watched in this episode of our Sustainable Africa Series

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Source: APO

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What began as protests against fuel price hikes in Angola have escalated into deadly unrest across the country, with at least 22 people killed and more than 1,000 detained, prompting calls from the UN for restraint and urgent investigations into possible rights violations by security forces.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Thursday urged Angolan authorities to conduct prompt, thorough and independent investigations into the deaths as well as the reported use of excessive force during the demonstrations.

“Unverified footage suggests that security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protesters, which points to an unnecessary and disproportionate use of force,” OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said.

He added that while some demonstrators resorted to violence and looting, any force used by authorities must comply with international human rights standards.

“Any individuals who may have been arbitrarily detained must be immediately released.”

Rapid escalation in situation

The protests began on Monday as a strike by minibus taxi drivers over a one-third rise in diesel prices, part of a government effort to reduce fuel subsidies. According to media reports, the demonstrations quickly spread, becoming one of Angola’s most disruptive protest waves in recent years.

Government officials reported that at least one police officer was among those killed. Nearly 200 people are said to have been injured and shops and vehicles reportedly vandalised, mostly in the capital, Luanda.

Sporadic gunfire was also reported in parts of the city earlier in the week, and emergency services were overwhelmed. Many businesses remained shuttered Thursday, and hospitals reportedly struggled to cope with the number of casualties.

Ensure rights protection

OHCHR emphasised that while authorities have a responsibility to maintain public order, they must do so in a way that protects human rights.

“All protesters taking to the streets to express their opinions should do so peacefully,” said Mr. Al-Kheetan. “All human rights violations must be investigated and those responsible held accountable.”

The UN rights office also reiterated the importance of safeguarding fundamental freedoms, including the rights to life, expression and peaceful assembly, in any law enforcement response.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

Source: APO

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At the end of their two-day consultative meeting under the auspices of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the 6+6 Committee and the Advisory Committee agreed on the necessity of amending Libya’s constitutional and legal framework to facilitate presidential and parliamentary elections with broadly accepted results.

 Members of the 6+6 Committee praised the Advisory Committee’s recommendations published on 5 May and committed to integrating them into efforts to make the electoral laws more implementable.

Both committees acknowledged that a comprehensive political settlement is crucial for paving the way for elections. This settlement requires amending the Constitutional Declaration, revising electoral laws to ensure the integrity of election outcomes, establishing a unified government with a clear, time-bound electoral mandate, and adopting both domestic and international guarantees to rebuild trust among stakeholders, particularly between the Libyan people and political institutions. 

Stengthen local governance, ensure election security, advance national reconciliation, and enhance spending transparency while combating corruption.

This meeting came as part of UNSMIL’s ongoing consultations with Libyan stakeholders, ahead of the anticipated announcement of a political roadmap during the upcoming Security Council briefing.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).