Security Council meeting 3936

The President

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Angola, in which he requests to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative to participate in the discussion, without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.

There being no objection, it is so decided.

The President

I welcome the Vice-Minister for Territorial Administration of Angola, General Higino Carneiro.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations.

Members of the Council have before them the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola, which is contained in document S/1998/931. Members of the Council also have before them document S/1998/952, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Portugal, the Russian Federation and the United States of America.

I should like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to the following documents: S/1998/915, which contains the text of a letter dated 5 October 1998 from the Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, transmitting, inter alia, the Statement of the Summit on Angola; S/1998/916, which contains the text of a letter dated 5 October 1998 from the Representatives of Portugal, the Russian Federation and the United States of America to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, transmitting a statement issued on 24 September 1998 by the Troika Foreign Ministers of the Observer States to the Lusaka Protocol and a letter dated 24 September 1998 from the Troika Foreign Ministers addressed to Mr. Jonas Savimbi; S/1998/919, which contains the text of a letter dated 1 October 1998 from the Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, transmitting a statement on Angola issued on 29 September 1998 by the Presidency of the European Union; and S/1998/944, which contains the text of a letter dated 12 October 1998 from the Permanent Representative of Angola to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, transmitting a letter dated 7 October 1998 from the President of the Republic of Angola.

I give the floor to the Vice-Minister for Territorial Administration of Angola, General Higino Carneiro.

Mr. Carneiro (Angola)

I bring greetings, on behalf of the Republic of Angola and on my own behalf, to all representatives to the Security Council and request them to convey to their capitals the deep gratitude and profound appreciation of the Government and people of Angola for the incalculable support rendered by the international community to the peace process in my country.

The Security Council is meeting once again to vote on a draft resolution on Angola at an especially difficult juncture in the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol. As members know, the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol was suspended three months ago. The suspension of the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol is attributable to Mr. Jonas Savimbi’s non-compliance with UNITA’s commitments to fulfilling its side of the bargain, by acting contrary to the expectations that were raised. He and his forces struck police detachments, attacked civilians and occupied townships and other communities in the area where State administration had been restored by the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation. Approximately 100 towns were reoccupied by UNITA military personnel under Mr. Savimbi, and as a result, over 250,000 citizens are now displaced. Armed actions have recently occurred in diamond-producing areas in the northern and central part of our country, with the support of Banyamulengue rebels and Rwandan and Ugandan contingents currently concentrated in the Maquela do Zombo region after having fled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On 2 September 1998, during the suspension of the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol, a core team made up of UNITA officers and other UNITA personnel decided to issue a manifesto and to oust Mr. Jonas Savimbi from the UNITA leadership. They decided, among other things, to ratify their commitment to the Lusaka Protocol. They made a commitment to abide by it and to fully honour their obligations under the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation and to the international community. This decision is an expression of their willingness to bring the Lusaka Protocol to fruition and to foster national peace and reconciliation among all Angolans. The Government of the Republic of Angola encouraged and supported the provisional leadership of UNITA in its efforts for peace and the internal democratization of that party, for the sake of the peace and well-being of all Angolans. This public position taken by my Government represents the end of the dialogue with Mr. Jonas Savimbi, and consequently, he no longer is the UNITA interlocutor in exchanges with the Angolan Government and the various Government agencies.

The Angolan Government cannot stand by in the face of the political situation ensuing from the decision made by UNITA personnel who advocate peace. Such a decision would have an impact on our national political context because of the role attributed to UNITA under the Lusaka Protocol.

The decision made by the UNITA Renovation Committee, now called the UNITA provisional political committee, was supported not only by the Government and by all peace-loving, democratic citizens of Angola but also by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of State or Government at their summit meeting held on 13-14 September 1998 in Mauritius. They considered Mr. Savimbi a war criminal and a threat to the peace of all member countries and the region in general. A similar position was adopted recently at the Central African summit held in Libreville in September 1998.

We think the time has come for us to join our efforts and, through judicious action, restore to Angolans what they want most – peace. As President José Eduardo dos Santos stated in a letter to the Secretary-General dated 7 September,

“This is the last and the best possibility and the sole path to be followed by UNITA so that we may be able to resolve the Angolan conflict”.

We believe that Mr. Savimbi has wasted all the opportunities afforded him by deluding and deceiving all those who are for peace and democracy in Angola. He is isolated. He is no longer part of the process. Sanctions should be adopted to curtail his travels to other States, particularly to certain African countries. As we stated a few days ago, we do not believe the Security Council can afford to remain indifferent to non-compliance with its pertinent resolutions by certain member countries. The Council should adopt severe sanctions against States that fail to honour its decisions. It is equally important to move for more expeditious and proactive measures by the sanctions Committee so as to discourage those who try to make the Security Council sanctions a dead letter.

In order to encourage the UNITA Renovation Committee, it is important that this Council and the international community support the provisional leadership of UNITA-Renovada by strengthening its leadership role, not only to diminish Jonas Savimbi’s influence on his military forces but also to de-escalate the state of war in Angola.

We believe these efforts will bear fruit only if the Lusaka Protocol agency in charge of compliance operates regularly and adopts decisions on the pending issues, the disposition of which should have occurred a long time ago. I am referring to the Joint Commission, whose job it is to watch over the situation. It is essential that it be reactivated.

With specific reference to the extension of the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) mandate, we would like to ratify our Government’s support for its extension to December 1998 and then its gradual phasing out and total withdrawal from Angola.

Finally, we would like to express the appreciation of the Government and the people of Angola for the efforts made by MONUA, the non-governmental organizations and the United Nations family of agencies, as well as to pay tribute to all those who lost their lives for peace in Angola, particularly Maître Alioune Blondin Beye. Once again we restate the gratitude and appreciation of the Government for the role played by the recently appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Issa Diallo and by the troika of observer nations, the United States of America, the Russian Federation and Portugal. We hope and pray that their efforts for peace will be crowned with success.

The President

It is my understanding that the Security Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution (S/1998/952) before it. Unless I hear any objection, I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

There being no objection, it is so decided.

The President

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1202 (1998).

The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.

The Security Council will remain seized of the matter.