Angola.

On 4 December, the President of the Security Council, Jassin Mohammad Buallay of Bahrain, in a statement to the press, expressed the Council's grave concern for the safety and security in Andulo and Bailundo of the personnel of the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA). Two days later, the 14 military and police observers were withdrawn from Andulo. The Council took note of ah earlier statement by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in which he stated that the leadership of the Uniao Nacional Para la Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA) in Bailundo has refused to provide the necessary clearance for United Nations aircraft to land in Andulo and Bailundo to evacuate these personnel. The Council demanded that UNITA permit the immediate and unconditional departure of the MONUA personnel and held the President of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi, personally responsible for their safety, security and freedom of movement.

In its statement, the Council again deplored the deterioration of the situation in Angola and urged that there be no further escalation of hostilities. It reiterated that the primary responsibility for the deterioration in the peace process lay with the leadership of UNITA in Bailundo. It called on UNITA, as well as the Government of Angola, to exercise the utmost restraint so as not to endanger the lives of MONUA personnel as well as civilians.

The day before that statement, the Council had unanimously adopted resolution 1213 (1998), by which it extended MONUA's mandate to 26 February 1999. It had also called on UNITA to cooperate immediately in the withdrawal of MONUA personnel from Andulo and Bailundo. In light of deteriorating security conditions, the Council asked the Secretary-General to report by 15 January on the status of the peace process, the future role and mandate of the United Nations in Angola, and the force structure of the Mission.

The Council demanded that UNITA comply immediately and unconditionally with its obligations under the 1994 Lusaka Protocol, particularly with regard to demilitarization and the extension of State administration throughout the country. It also demanded that UNITA withdraw immediately from territories which it had occupied by military or other action.

Addressing the Council, the representative of Angola, noting that the UNITA militarist wing had taken 14 MONUA members hostage and refused to allow United Nations planes to land and evacuate them, said the present situation had not been inevitable. She stressed that additional pressure must be brought to compel Mr. Savimbi to cease his warlike behaviour, and that the United Nations and its Member States should redouble their efforts to enforce sanctions against UNITA. She urged the international community to welcome the UNITA Renovation Committee as a replacement for mr. Savimbi's forces. The Council had reviewed a report of the Secretary-General in which he stated that no progress has been made in implementing the 1994 Lusaka Protocol and that the overall military and security situation in the country had deteriorated further. The peace process continued to be stalled and UNITA still refused to implement its commitments, including the demilitarization of its forces and the extension of State administration throughout Angola.

Despite the lack of progress, the Secretary-General called on the international community to remain engaged to dissuade the parties from a return to war, recommending the extension of MONUA's mandate, on the understanding that if the security situation became untenable, he would immediately submit further recommendations, including, if necessary, the withdrawal of MONUA.

The Secretary-General added that since his report of 8 October, the dialogue between the Government and the UNITA leader, Jonas Savimbi, has ceased. The joint mechanisms, including the Joint Commission, were not functioning, and preparations for a military showdown continued. As a result, MONUA had been unable to carry out most of its mandated tasks and the prospects for reactivating the peace process looked bleak.

According to the report, in the northern and north-eastern regions, the Government and UNITA forces continued to conduct extensive military operations, and the free circulation of people and goods had been impeded in many areas.

The report noted that the UNITA Renovation Committee held its general conference in mid-October with 280 delegates from 17 of the 18 Angolan provinces. They set up a Provisional Political Committee to run the movement until the next party congress and decided to retain all the UNITA deputies in the National Assembly.

The deterioration of the security situation had been accompanied by increasing reports of human rights abuses committed against the civilian population, according to the report. The humanitarian situation has also deteriorated. Civilians forced to rice their homes bring the number of internally displaced persons since January 1998 to 331,000. The humanitarian community has concentrated on negotiating temporary settlements for these persons in areas where arable land could be provided and seeds and tools distributed.

Prior to its adoption of resolution 1213 (1998), the Council had approved short-term extensions of MONUA's mandate. On 13 August, by resolution 1190 (1998), the Council extended the mandate for one month and, in strongest possible terms, called upon the Government of Unity and National Reconstruction, and in particular UNITA, to refrain from any steps which could further exacerbate the present situation in the country. On 15 September, by unanimously adopting resolution 1195 (1998), the Council urged rejection of military actions to resolve the crisis in Angola and extended MONUA's mandate until 15 October, when it adopted resolution 1202 (1998), by which MONUA's mandate was extended until 3 December. It requested that the Secretary-General adjust the Mission's deployment and force structure according to security conditions and its ability to implement the mandate in support of the peace process, and also asked him to prepare further contingency plans.