Angola, 1997

On behalf of the

Republic of Angola, allow me first to congratulate the

President, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, on his election to

preside over the fifty-second session of the General

Assembly.

Allow me also to congratulate the outgoing

President, Ambassador Razali Ismail, on the excellent

work he performed.

We should also like to express our appreciation to

the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his dedication

and determination in turning the United Nations into a

more effective instrument to meet the challenges of the

twenty-first century.

The cold war, which was the main obstacle that for

decades prevented the United Nations from performing its

role fully, a role defined by its founding Members in the

Charter, is now a thing of the past. But our world

Organization has not yet achieved the degree of efficiency

that the Member countries and their people would desire,

with the result that sometimes despair and a lack of

confidence are felt, instead of trust in its efforts.

The construction of the new democratic world order

to which we all aspire will demand that the principal

forum for multilateral diplomacy, the United Nations, play

a greater role. In this context, the complete restructuring

and revitalization of its system and an end to the present

financial crisis, which is affecting its normal functioning,

are essential.

The issue of the restructuring of the Security Council

should therefore be given priority. The current structure

of that body is obsolete, reflecting a reality that prevailed

more than 50 years ago. How is it conceivable that

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regions such as the African continent, which makes up the

largest regional group at the United Nations, or Latin

America, are not represented among the permanent

Members of the Security Council? Therefore, it is high time

that the geographical composition of that body be

overhauled to allow for more balanced and more equitable

representation. In this regard, Angola endorses the African

claim for no fewer than two seats among the permanent

members of the Security Council. The Council’s working

methods should also be revised in order to ensure greater

transparency in its decision-making processes.

Angola supports the declaration made by the Heads of

State of the Organization of African Unity, as well as the

statement made by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the

non-aligned countries on reform of the Security Council.

The recent proposals made by the Secretary-General

on reform will certainly boost the process of overhauling

the United Nations. Angola welcomes the contents of those

proposals, although we would have preferred to see further

improvements in some aspects. We are, however, optimistic

as to the outcome.

As the Assembly is aware, the Lusaka Protocol which

was signed in 1994 between the Government and the armed

opposition, UNITA, was intended to solve the post-electoral

crisis provoked by UNITA and at the same time to put the

country back on the path towards peace, national

reconciliation and democracy. However, approximately

three years since the beginning of its implementation,

Angola is still far from achieving those goals due to the

systematic failures by UNITA to meet its obligations and to

its repeated delaying tactics. This is a clear demonstration

of bad faith and lack of political will by its leadership. It

appears that the leader of this organization has not

abandoned its strategy of taking power by force. He is still

resisting the transformation of UNITA into a true political

party and UNITA’s complete demilitarization, even though

the single national army, which includes in its ranks

thousands of men provided by UNITA, has already been

formed.

UNITA still maintains a private, heavily armed army

made up of around 35,000 men, 4,000 of whom belong to

the UNITA leader’s personal guard. This constitutes a

serious violation of the Lusaka Protocol and is the main

cause of the current climate of tension and insecurity in

some parts of Angola. The members of this army include

troops that UNITA hid from the United Nations during the

quartering process, recently demobilized UNITA troops

who have been recruited again by force, and former

soldiers of the former Republic of Zaire.

At the same time, UNITA is still continuing its

military build-up through the reactivation of military

bases and acquisition of sophisticated weapons from

foreign countries, in clear contradiction of paragraph 19

of Security Council resolution 864 (1993).

On the other hand, UNITA is holding on to large

portions of national territory which were supposed to be

handed over to government administration. This is

impeding exercise of the State’s sovereignty throughout

the country and the free movement of people and goods.

The control of some of these areas is aimed at exploring

for, and then smuggling and exploiting, their natural

resources to finance UNITA’s war machinery and satisfy

the individual interests of its leadership.

As a result of these actions, the perspectives created

with the inauguration of the Government of National

Unity and Reconciliation and the swearing-in of the

Parliament have been postponed.

UNITA’s behaviour in the peace process is

repugnant as well as ambiguous. It insists on armed

opposition despite the fact that it is part of the main

power institutions and despite the fact that Angola has a

democratic, pluralist system in which all political parties

can freely carry out their activities.

The international community has already expressed,

repeatedly and categorically, its condemnation of and

dismay at UNITA’s actions. In 1993 the Security Council

applied the first package of restrictive measures against

UNITA. More recently, the Security Council unanimously

adopted resolution 1127 (1997), which applies a new

package of measures against UNITA as a result of its lack

of cooperation in the implementation of the Lusaka

Protocol. The position taken by the Council above all

displays the concern of the international community and

its determination to prevent the UNITA leadership

strategy from being implemented. Otherwise, peace and

stability in Angola and the entire region of central and

southern Africa would be at risk.

The Government of Angola reiterates its firm

support for resolution 1127 (1997), because we feel that

it is a strong means of pressure aimed at dissuading

UNITA from its intention to return to war, encouraging

it to speed up its demilitarization and transformation into

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a political party, and put an end to its jurisdiction over parts

of Angolan territory.

Taking the above into account, the Angolan people

look forward to the Security Council’s demonstrating

firmness and determination in implementing resolution 1127

(1997), immediately putting into force sanctions against

UNITA unless that organization changes its behaviour and

gives proof of good faith in complying with its outstanding

obligations.

The Government of Angola is optimistic about the

successful conclusion of the peace process and will

continue to do its utmost to guarantee the full

implementation of the Lusaka Protocol.

Before turning to another subject, I would like to

express the sincerest gratitude of the Government of Angola

to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for

Angola, Mr. Alioune Blondin Beye, and to the

Governments of the troika of observers, Portugal, Russia

and the United States, for their untiring efforts to bring

about peace in Angola.

Recent changes in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo have contributed to alleviating the tensions in the

central African region, opening new perspectives for its

States and peoples in terms of stability and development.

The present climate will allow stability to prevail in

the region and will allow for better coordination among

States with a view to reinforcing the observance of the

principle of good neighbourliness.

The Angolan Government is very apprehensive

regarding the crisis in the Republic of the Congo, a country

with which Angola shares a common border, close

consanguinity and historic ties.

The Republic of Angola favours a negotiated solution

to the crisis and supports the international mediation efforts

headed by Mr. Omar Bongo, President of the Republic of

Gabon. Our Government also supports the deployment of

an international force as soon as a political settlement

emerges from the negotiations.

In Sierra Leone, we deplore the interruption of the

democratic process and the overthrow of the legitimately

elected institutions. The Government of Angola supports the

efforts of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and, in

particular, of neighbouring countries to restore the

democratic institutions.

We are also concerned with the situation in the

Republic of the Comoros, where tensions are threatening

the country’s independence and territorial integrity. We

encourage the international community to support the

efforts of the OAU in the search for a peaceful solution

able to preserve the territorial integrity and independence

of that country.

The situation in Somalia continues to deteriorate, and

a solution acceptable to all the parties concerned has yet

to be found. The Angolan Government approves of the

efforts made by member countries of the

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)

and, in particular, the most recent initiatives of Ethiopia

in bringing the representatives of the Somali factions

together at the negotiating table.

Of particular concern to us is the ostracism displayed

in the main international forums with regard to the Somali

crisis.

In Western Sahara the recent opening of direct

negotiations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the

Frente POLISARIO front is a positive sign. The Angolan

Government has always been in favour of a negotiated

solution to the conflict which takes into account the

aspirations of the populations of the territory and

encourages the parties to honour the agreements signed in

Houston and to continue the ongoing dialogue in good

faith. In this connection, we support the joint efforts of

the OAU and the United Nations.

We are concerned with the continuation of the

Israeli-Arab conflict, the primary cause of the

deteriorating situation in the Middle East. Recent events

have delayed the peace process and have led to further

deterioration of the situation in the region. Angola

reaffirms its support for the peace process in the Middle

East. Its success depends upon the reinforcement of

mutual trust and the full implementation of the accords

signed between the parties concerned.

We endorse the position expressed in the Declaration

of the Heads of State or Government of the OAU and the

statement made in New Delhi at the ministerial meeting

of the Non-Aligned Movement with regard to the question

of Palestine.

My Government expresses its concern at the lack of

progress in the initiatives to bring about a just solution to

the question of East Timor. The Government of Angola

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deplores the refusal by one of the parties to accept

President Mandela’s initiative.

The economic, commercial and financial embargo

imposed on Cuba is a matter of concern to my Government,

particularly because of its negative impact on the economic

and social situation of the Cuban people. We reiterate our

appeal to have the embargo lifted, which will contribute to

relations between two peoples.

(spoke in English)

Finally, I should like to thank those who have given

me the opportunity to speak today. As the Assembly knows,

my speech was to be delivered on 26 September. However,

due to a sad event which has happened in my country, I

have to leave tonight, and I was obliged to ask the

Assembly to give me the opportunity to deliver my speech

today.

One of our colleagues, the former of Minister for

Foreign Affairs of Angola, passed away yesterday. It is my

duty to return home to pay my respects to my dear

colleague. Many here know Foreign Minister "Loy".

I wish the Assembly well, and may good work be

done here for peace, stability and international cooperation.