Sakharov Network

In 1999 renewed awareness of the need to fight for peace and human rights began to increase among the Angolan people, encouraged by the efforts of church leaders and various civil society bodies to foster « inclusive national reconciliation ».

Archbishop Zacarias Kamwenho is in the vanguard of this peace movement. Born in Chimbundo ( Huambo, Angola) in 1934, ordained in 1961, and made Archbishop of Lubango in 1995, Dom Zacarias Kamwenho expressed his firm, impartial and determined views to all parties of the conflict in an effort to achieve lasting peace through political dialogue after 26 years of civil war. In 2001 he was awarded the Sakharov prize in recognition of his untiring efforts for peace.

The ceasefire which came about in 2002 after the killing of Jonas Savimbi, the peace talks and the general climate of support for democratisation can largely be attributed to the campaign conducted by Dom Zacarias Kamwenho and other religious and civil leaders.

In 2003 Archbishop Zacarias Kamwenho resigned as chair of the Bishop's Conference of Angola and São Tome (CEAST) but he continues to work actively through his diocese and the Ecumenical Committee for Peace in Angola (COIEPA) for the realisation of democracy, respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights, the implementation of the rule of law and lasting national reconciliation.