Angola, 2001

Allow me to

start by congratulating you, Mr. President, on behalf of

my Government and myself, on your election to the

presidency of the United Nations General Assembly.

Your election is an acknowledgement of the many

contributions made by the Republic of Korea to United

Nations efforts to maintain international peace and

security, as well as to promote the economic and social

development of our peoples.

This session is being held during a period of

major challenges to our Organization and the

international community in general.

Peace and security continue to be endangered by

many armed conflicts, particularly in Africa, as well as

by terrorist activities launched systematically or

sporadically against some countries. Extreme poverty

and misery still affect large numbers of the world

population, especially in my continent, where one

fourth of our 800 million inhabitants survive on less

than $1 per day. The HIV/AIDS epidemic, now

affecting more than 36 million people, most of them

economically active people, may seriously threaten the

economic development and future of many societies

unless urgent measures are taken.

To face these and many other challenges, the

United Nations must continue to improve its internal

structure, including the Security Council, whose

membership must be reconsidered to allow for a more

equitable geographic balance. In addition, its working

methods should be restructured to ensure effective

implementation of its decisions.

The United Nations must also endeavour to

implement the action plans and recommendations

adopted over the last decade, with a view to resolving

problems in the areas of HIV/AIDS, social

development, human rights, racism and racial

discrimination, as well as terrorism.

At the last session of the General Assembly, my

Government voted in favour of resolution 55/158, on

measures to eliminate international terrorism. We

continue to believe that its implementation will be

essential to fighting this enemy. Terrorism is an

international scourge with many faces. No country is

immune to this heinous evil, and to fight it, we must

cooperate at the bilateral, regional and international

levels, under the leadership of the United Nations.

Angola reiterates its firm condemnation of the 11

September terrorist attacks, which victimized

thousands of innocent civilians and endorses the use of

force to eliminate terrorist networks and their support

bases.

Having been subjected to terrorism for many

years, Angola is pleased to join all other States in this

anti-terrorist campaign. In this context, we have joined

the other members of the Southern Africa Development

Council to promote a forum to discus and identify the

many faces of terrorism, as well as effective means to

prevent and fight its activities in and from our region.

As to the African continent, we believe measures

to combat terrorism should particularly address its

sources of financing, such as the illicit diamond, drug

and weapons traffic, and identify its networks in order

to prevent the free circulation of its members.

In partnership with some countries, Angola has

developed an international diamond certification

system that has prevented diamonds originating from

illegal traffic to reach international markets. Thus, we

have helped prevent the financing of terrorist groups

and their activities in many countries of our continent.

At this stage, the struggle against terrorism

requires that, beyond the measures encompassed by

Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), special

attention be devoted to the completion of an

international convention against terrorism. This legal

instrument could eliminate some of the ambiguities

still surrounding the definition of this phenomenon.

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My Government is firmly committed to peace in

Angola, the African continent and the world as a

whole. After a period of uncertainty, peace is slowly

becoming an irreversible reality in Angola. The regular

forces of UNITA’s militarist wing, which had launched

a large-scale military campaign to seize power, have

been completely neutralized. Counties under their

illegal control have been liberated and the Angolan

Government now controls the entire national territory.

Large numbers of rebel soldiers and officers

surrendering their weapons and being integrated into

Angolan society is now a daily event. Today UNITA’s

military wing has only small groups, inadequately

armed in the jungle or in remote areas of our large

territory. Although they can make isolated armed

attacks, they do not represent a threat anymore to

Angolan democratic institutions or to the safety of

most of our population.

My Government believes that the Lusaka

Protocol continues to be a valid formula for resolving

problems related to peace and national reconciliation in

Angola.

The climate of peace that is starting to prevail is

having favourable repercussions on the country’s

economy. Although considerable distortions and

weaknesses still exist, reform efforts under way can

help overcome serious social problems and enable

general elections to be held in the near future in a truly

democratic environment.

As a result of a long period of war, Angola still

needs the support of the international community in its

effort to alleviate the problems of poverty, displaced

persons and refugees, and to rebuild its infrastructure.

The environment of relative peace would not be

possible without the help of the international

community, which has made the distinction between

those who are committed to peace and democracy and

the proponents of war, and has imposed Security

Council sanctions against UNITA’s militarist wing led

by Jonas Savimbi. The most visible effect of these

sanctions has been their contribution to a significant

reduction of Savimbi’s capacity to wage war and, as a

result, to persuade a great number of UNITA members

to give up their weapons and join the peace effort.

That outcome clearly demonstrates the efficacy of

the sanctions as a means, and not as an end in

themselves. That is why my Government favours

keeping and tightening them until peace becomes

irreversible in Angola. Nevertheless, my Government

is still concerned with the findings of United Nations

reports, according to which not all countries have fully

adopted measures called for by the sanctions

resolutions.

The Security Council resolutions on sanctions

against UNITA were adopted in accordance with the

powers given to the Council by the United Nations

Charter. All nations are legally obligated to abide by

and implement those resolutions. The resulting

obligations on the Member States prevail over any

inconsistent obligation to which they might be subject

by virtue of any other treaty or international agreement

to which they are, or may become, party. That principle

should also be applied with regard to sanctions against

UNITA.

The Angolan Government considers inconsistent

the arguments put forward by certain Governments —

some of which have a privileged relationship with

Angola — of a supposed incompatibility between their

internal legislation and Security Council resolutions.

We appeal to those countries to reverse their position

and to take the measures required. This, we believe,

will contribute to the development of harmonious

bilateral relationships with Angola.

Angola is firmly committed to a search for peace

in the Great Lakes region, and particularly in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo. We are pleased

with the positive results achieved lately by the peace

process. In general terms, the ceasefire has been

adhered to and foreign troops have been withdrawn.

Angola, for example, has withdrawn 75 per cent of its

troops. Namibia has completed its withdrawal, and

both Zimbabwe and Uganda have started to repatriate

their respective armies. Only Rwanda has not yet taken

any step to signal its willingness to withdraw its forces,

and therefore to fulfil its basic obligation as a signatory

to the Lusaka Agreement and the obligations of the

pertinent resolutions of the Security Council. We are

hopeful that proper preparation of the inter-Congolese

dialogue will lead to a substantive discussion of the

relevant questions regarding the political future of the

country.

As regards Burundi, Angola salutes the

establishment of a transitional Government, which is a

direct outcome of the Pretoria agreement, for which the

mediation efforts of former President Nelson Mandela

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were so crucial. We hope this step will soon lead to

peace and stability in Burundi and good-neighbourly

relations with bordering countries.

With regard to Western Sahara, Angola thinks it

is necessary to find a solution acceptable to both

parties that makes it possible to overcome the barriers

to the implementation of a plan to resolve the conflict.

My Government encourages the United Nations and the

Organization of African Unity (OAU) to persist in their

efforts in that direction.

The international community should not forget

the problems of Somalia. The establishment of a

Transitional National Government is an important step

on the way to a peaceful resolution of the internal

conflict there. Both the United Nations and the OAU

should support that step in order that Somalia can

return to its rightful place in the community of nations.

Angola is also concerned with the deterioration of

the peace process in the Middle East, which has

resulted from the recent intensification of the violence.

We believe that a resolution of the conflict between

Israel and Palestine will require negotiations. We

therefore appeal to the parties to continue their

dialogue and to abide by the agreements they signed

and by the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.

Angola is pleased with the advances achieved by

the fraternal people of East Timor in their struggle for

the right to self-determination and independence. The

political, moral and diplomatic support that Angola and

other members of the international community have

been providing through the years in major international

forums was decisive in enabling the people of the

territory to reach a point where they can finally choose

their destiny in freedom. The Timorese are now

preparing to proclaim the birth of a new, independent,

sovereign and democratic nation, but they will continue

to need the support of the United Nations for the

consolidation of their institutions.

The international economic recession will have a

major impact on developing countries, and on Africa in

particular, which has already suffered the effects of

globalization. Of course, African countries cannot

avoid globalization. But to engage in cooperative and

collective activities, African nations must be based in

strong States, something that hardly exists in the

continent.

In the New Partnership for Africa’s Development

(NEPAD), the countries of the continent have found a

way to break away from stagnation and to promote

inter-African cooperation and achieve development.

Angola is engaged in the New Partnership. Economic

progress can be achieved in Africa through the

promotion of trade among its nations, the establishment

of healthy economic conditions and good governance,

fighting regional threats — including conflicts and

endemic diseases — and welcoming capital inflows.

We hope that NEPAD will become a force for political

stabilization and economic development in African

countries, particularly those affected by serious

divisions.

The International Conference on Financing for

Development, to be held in Monterrey, Mexico, must

be an opportunity to mobilize resources for

development, particularly for the 49 least developed

countries, 34 of which are in Africa, and to alleviate

the extreme poverty under which more than 600

million people are now living.