Angola: immediate cease-fire demanded throughout the country.

In the face of what UN officials described as a "very bleak" situation in Angola, the security Council on 12 March strongly demanded an immediate cease-fire throughout the country and the resumption without delay or preconditions of a meaningful dialogue under UN auspices, aimed at setting a clear timetable for implementing the 31 May 1991 Peace Accords, signed in Bicesse, Portugal, outside of Lisbon.

In unanimously adopting resolution 811 (1993), the Council reaffirmed that it would hold responsible any party which refused to take part in such a dialogue and would consider all appropriate measures under the UN Charter to advance the implementation of the Accords.

The 15-member Council strongly condemned the "persistent violations" of the Accords by the National Union for the Total independence of Angola (UNITA), particularly its continued rejection of the results of the elections held on 29 and 30 September 1992, its failure to take part in the political institutions established on the basis of those elections and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Government, its withdrawal from the new Angolan armed forces, its forcible seizure of provincial towns, and the resumption of hostilities.

The four-month electoral process was overseen by the UN Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM II), which was originally established by the Council in December 1988 to oversee withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. The UN has certified the elections as "generally free and fair".

By resolution 811, the Secretary-General was invited to organize a meeting between the Government and UNITA to take place before 30 April, with a view to securing the Accords' full implementation. The meeting, at the highest possible level, would also consider the UN's future role in Angola.

The Council also condemned verbal and physical attacks against UNAVEM personnel in Angola and demanded that their safety and security be ensured. It also appealed to both parties to abide by international law, including the provision of unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance to the civilian population.

In the September elections, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who heads the governing Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), received 49.57 per cent of the votes, while UNITA President Jonas Savimbi obtained 40.07 per cent. The remainder was divided among nine other candidates. (Angolan electoral rules require a 50 per cent majority for victory. Messrs. dos Santos and Savimbi, the two top contenders, should under those rules compete in a runoff.) In the parliamentary elections, the MPLA received 53.74 per cent of the total vote and UNITA, 34.1 per cent.

No real progress

On 5 March, Angolan Minister of External Relations Venancio de Moura had written (S/25389) to Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, regrettably advising that, regardless of all efforts by UNAVEM II and the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Margaret J. Anstee, no real progress had been achieved in the Accords' implementation. The lack of progress was attributed to UNITA, which failed to attend the peace talks scheduled for 2 March in Addis Ababa, the Minister stated. (The first round of talks had been held in the Ethiopian capital from 27 to 30 January. According to Ms. Anstee, areas of disagreement had been whittled down to a few items.)

The Council was asked to compel UNITA to respect the electoral results, return to the Angolan armed forces, vacate all towns occupied by force, and "put an end to the hostilities unleashed by it even before confirmation of the electoral results" by Ms. Anstee on 17 October 1992.

On 1 March, Ms. Anstee said UNITA's failure to confirm a definite date for the peace talks, based on its security concerns for its leadership's safety, had led to the meeting's cancellation. "This result is a bitter deception for all of us engaged in the Angolan process, and especially for the Angolan people, who continue to be the victims of this savage war", she observed.

Appeal to Council

On 8 March, the President of the National Assembly of Angola appealed (S/25390) to the Council to release the Government from compliance with the "triple zero option" embodied in the Accords, which stipulated that no member of the "troika" of observers of the Angolan peace process--the United States, Portugal and the Russian Federation--could supply either party with arms or other war materiel. The appeal was made under Article 51 of the Charter, which provides that nothing shall impair the right of a Member State to self-defence in the event of an armed attack.

The Council was also asked to adopt effective international sanctions against UNITA if it did not stop the war immediately and if it failed to conclude. within a reasonable period, the unconditional withdrawal of its troops from all areas occupied after the elections, as well as its troops' total billeting and disarmament.

Debate

In debate, Yuliy M. Vorontsov of the Russian Federation said Angola had been virtually plunged into civil war again. UNITA's military actions attested to the stubborn unwillingness of the political opposition, headed by Mr. Savimbi, to accept its defeat in the elections. UNITA was attempting to nullify the democratically-made decision by military action and trying to assert its power by force of arms. "This opens sombre prospects of mass violence and terror" in Angola and threatened that country's territorial integrity.

Herve Ladsous of France said the humanitarian situation in Angola had worsened. France keenly regretted that the second meeting in Addis Ababa could not take place because of the absence of a UNITA delegation. It appealed for a resumption of the dialogue and the honouring of all commitments made under the Accords.

Edward S. Walker of the United States said that over the past months, Angolans had been faced with a bitter war and a resulting humanitarian tragedy of growing proportions. Since January, maybe tens of thousands have died, and thousands more injured or displaced. A dialogue between the two parties was the only way out for Angola. The party which continued to violate the Accords, refused to engage in serious dialogue and appeared to rely on a military solution would find itself held responsible for a conflict which took Angola farther away from realizing its democratic aspirations.

Chen Jian of China said Angola was faced with the grave danger of an all-round civil war. There should be an immediate cease-fire and peace negotiations should be resumed with a view to achieving the Accords' comprehensive implementation. Lasting peace could be finally achieved only by Angolans themselves. It was shortsighted for any side to seek temporary victory on the battlefield.

Mandate extended

On 29 January, the Council extended UNAVEM II's mandate for three months, until 30 April.

In unanimously adopting resolution 804 (1993), the Council strongly condemned the persistent violations of the Accords, particularly the initial rejection by UNITA of the September 1992 election results, its withdrawal from the new Angolan armed forces, its forcible seizure of provincial capitals and municipalities, and the resumption of hostilities. Member States were urged to take steps to stop immediately any direct or indirect military or paramilitary interference from their territories. The Council also strongly condemned the violations of international humanitarian law, the extensive killings of civilians, and attacks against UNAVEM II personnel.

Three options

The Secretary-General outlined (S/25140 and Add. 1) three options for UNAVEM II's future: to maintain the Mission at its current authorized strength of more than 700, half of them military observers at 67 different locations; to reduce provincial deployment to six locations which would require some 150 observers and civilian staff; or to confine its present deployment of about 70 in the capital city of Luanda, but with the capability to deploy one or two out-stations. The Secretary-General preferred the third option.

"To all intents and purposes", he reported, "Angola has returned to civil war, and is probably in an even worse situation" than before the Accords were signed. Widespread fighting and the absence of government administration had led to hunger and the flight from towns. "An already serious humanitarian situation has become catastrophic in many areas", he said.

With the outbreak of violent and widespread hostilities and the total collapse of the joint monitoring mechanisms between the two parties to the Accords, UNAVEM II's original mandate had become less and less relevant. Even its role as mediator at the national and local levels had been increasingly limited by the deteriorating security situation, he declared.

The fundamental cause of the breakdown in the peace process was the failure, often deliberate, of both parties to implement fully the Accords' provisions relating to political, military and police matters or to make efforts to promote national reconciliation.

Humanitarian aid

UNAVEM II, in cooperation with the Angolan Government, on 31 March launched an operation to help some 4,000 civilian refugees reach Benguela and Lobito, where humanitarian aid was being provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

UNAVEM II and UN agencies in Angola responsible for operational programmes--UN Development Programme, WFP, UNICEF and UN High Commissioner for Refugees--had stepped up their combined efforts to enable help to reach the needy, despite the difficulties of access created by the war situation.

On 19 February, WFP said the killing and destruction in Angola had put the country on the verge of a total breakdown, with hunger and disease threatening 1.5 million people newly displaced by war, in addition to the 1.5 million who required assistance before the 1992 elections.

War had disrupted work on the land throughout Angola, which would result in little harvest in April, WFP stated. In Luanda, there was scarcely any food available in the markets. Some cities, such as Uige and Negage, had become

ghost towns because the inhabitants had fled to the countryside to escape attacks by UNITA.

Faced with reports of great suffering and destruction in Huambo and other areas, Special Representative Anstee on 10 February appealed to President dos Santos and Mr. Savimbi to agree to a truce so that humanitarian aid could be provided immediately, particularly in Huambo, where Government and UNITA forces had been engaged in battle for more than a month.

Other developments

In an 8 January letter (S/25076) to the Security Council President, the Secretary-General said the situation in Angola "has deteriorated severely" since the beginning of 1993. There had been outbreaks of heavy fighting in at least 10 provincial capitals and other centres of population, with each side accusing the other of initiating the hostilities. In almost all cases, the outcome had been the destruction of UNITA's premises and the capture of its personnel; in some cases, they had been killed. The Government had been unable to re-establish its administration in many rural areas. Some two thirds of the municipalities remained in UNITA's hands.

UNAVEM II personnel who were deployed in more than 60 different locations had been exposed to extreme danger as a result of those hostilities. It had been necessary to evacuate UNAVEM II teams from two provincial capitals.

In a 5 January joint communique issued in Addis Ababa, the Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, Salim Ahmed Salim, called for the Accords' implementation, respect for the democratic process and the immediate resumption of dialogue between the Government and UNITA in order to promote understanding and national reconciliation.

On 26 February, the Council endorsed a 22 February proposal by the Secretary-General to appoint Major-General Chris Abutu Garuba of Nigeria as UNAVEM II's Chief Military Observer.