Luanda — Angola has said it considers the death penalty to be one of the most serious violations of human dignity and will continue to advocate for its abolition worldwide, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Esmeralda Mendonça, said Monday in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to a press release from the Permanent Mission of Angola to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, sent to ANGOP, the diplomat, who was speaking at a panel on the topic at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, described the right to life as humanity's most precious asset.

The diplomat added that Angola has made several efforts and that it stopped carrying out the death penalty in 1979 and officially abolished it in 1992.

"The Angolan Constitution expressly prohibits the death penalty and contains provisions that make it possible to create mechanisms to control and guarantee the right to life," the diplomat said.

Esmeralda Mendonça reaffirmed Angola's support for the global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty, including the efforts made at the level of the Human Rights Council and the 3rd Committee of the UN General Assembly, as well as the commitment to continue promoting and protecting human rights domestically, in accordance with international standards.

Esmeralda Mendonça assured that Angola will continue to support the initiatives developed by the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights. FMA/VIC/AMP