Slow progress in implementation of peace agreement concerns Council.

The Security Council on 8 February extended the mandate of the UN Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III) until 8 May. By unanimously adopting resolution 1045 (1996), the Council expressed concern at numerous delays in the implementation of the 1994 Lusaka Protocol and reminded the Government of Angola and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) of their obligations to consolidate the peace process. It urged them to maintain the cease-fire, conclude their talks on integration of the armed forces, undertake demining, and commence the integration of UNITA personnel into administrative and governmental institutions.

UNAVEM III was established in February 1995 to help the Government and UNITA restore peace and achieve national reconciliation. The Mission is to be concluded by February 1997 with the achievement of the objectives of the Lusaka Protocol. The Protocol, signed by both parties on 20 November 1994, reaffirmed the validity of the 31 May 1991 Peace Accords aimed at ending 20 years of civil conflict in Angola. It consists of eight annexes, covering all military, legal and political issues agreed to at the peace talks which preceded it. One of the main military issues concerns the quartering and demilitarization of UNITA's military forces.

The Council welcomed the efforts of the Angolan Government to cease offensive operations, withdraw its troops from offensive positions in the vicinity of UNITA quartering areas, release all prisoners of war registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross, begin the quartering of the Rapid Reaction Police, and terminate the contracts of expatriate personnel. It expressed the expectation that the Government would continue its efforts towards the full implementation of its obligations under the Lusaka Protocol.

The Council also urged UNITA to proceed immediately with the orderly, large-scale and verifiable movement of its troops to quartering areas and to conclude all quartering by 8 May. UNITA was also asked to extend full cooperation to UNAVEM III and release all remaining prisoners.

On 21 December, the Council had reiterated its concern at the slow progress in implementing the Lusaka Protocol by both parties and had stressed the importance of full implementation of all aspects of the peace process, including the political one.

In a statement by Council President Sergey Lavrov of the Russian Federation, it had also stressed that several important tasks that were to have been resolved in the early stages of the peace process remained incomplete. Among those were the exchange of detailed military information, the release of all prisoners, the redeployment of government troops near UNITA quartering areas, and the final resolution of the issue of mercenaries. The Council, in addressing the mercenary issue, had welcomed the Government's decision to terminate the contract of the firm involved and repatriate its personnel.

Quartering areas prepared

The Council had noted that the deployment of UNAVEM III troops was nearly complete and that four quartering areas were prepared to receive troops. It expressed disappointment at the slow pace at which the quartering process had proceeded and called upon UNITA and the Government to fulfil their commitments regarding the expeditious quartering and demobilization of former combatants.

Dismayed by the disruptions in the military talks between the parties, the Council urged them to conclude an equitable and practicable agreement without delay. It also deplored the threat to the safety of UNAVEM III personnel and reminded the parties, particularly UNITA, to ensure the safety and security of all UNAVEM and international personnel.

The Secretary-General, in his report of 7 December (S/1995/1012), said it was encouraging that the Angolan people had been able to celebrate the first anniversary of the Lusaka Protocol with peace prevailing in the country.

It was important that the quartering process of UNITA troops be an uninterrupted and fully verifiable exercise of limited duration. Since it would be unrealistic and potentially dangerous to keep soldiers in cantonment for a long period, the subsequent phase of demobilization and integration must also be completed expeditiously.

Mine-laying persists

The Secretary-General added that it was unacceptable that violations of the cease-fire and military preparations, including mine-laying, still persisted a full year after the signing of the Lusaka Protocol. Human rights abuses and restrictions on the free circulation of the population also continued. That unsatisfactory state of affairs had been aggravated by propaganda attacks against the UN and threats to the safety and security of international personnel in Angola.

Both sides also had to honour their commitment to open roads, particularly along the main west-east supply routes, the report stated. Currently, most UNAVEM III personnel and supplies had to be transported by air, stretching the Mission's resources, and making it difficult to move UN troops to the eastern part of the country.

In an earlier presidential statement of 28 November, the Council had welcomed a 13 November joint communique issued by the Government of Angola and UNITA, in which they had reaffirmed their commitment to the peace process. The Council had stressed, however, that much remained to be done to fully implement the Lusaka Protocol, including strict observance of the cease-fire, the continuation of the quartering process, the quartering of the Rapid Reaction Police, the return of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) to defensive positions, and the resolution of the modalities of military integration.

In another presidential statement, the Council on 12 October had again expressed concern at the delays in the peace process and underscored the peril that such delays might cause. It was also concerned at allegations of renewed laying of mines and demanded that all parties refrain from doing so.

The Secretary-General, in his 4 October report (S/1995/842), described a number of positive developments in Angola, such as the meetings between Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi in Franceville, Gabon and in Brussels, during which they had agreed to continue discussions on the formation of the FAA. There was also a general understanding defining the powers and responsibilities of the two Vice-Presidents.

Those meetings and the continuing dialogue within the framework of the Joint Commission--the principal body charged with the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol--were generating greater mutual trust and confidence, despite tension at lower levels in certain regions, the report stated. But it was important that the parties continued to demonstrate their political will by backing up their declarations with concrete actions on the ground.

UN Radio essential

While the Government's decision to allow UNAVEM III access to Angolan radio and television was a positive interim step, it could not be a substitute for the establishment of a UN radio. The Secretary-General called for the immediate provision of all relevant facilities, including the allocation of frequencies.