Summary: July 27, 2000: Statement By Mr. Yves Doutriaux, Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the Security Council on behalf of the European Union. The Situation in Angola (New York)
Madam,
I am pleased to speak on behalf of the European Union. The countries of (…) align themselves with this declaration.
I would like to begin by thanking Ambassador Gambari for the account he has just given us of the Angolan conflict, one of the longest Africa has known, and one in which progress along the path of peace is sadly far too slow. The Secretary-General's latest report helps identify some of the difficulties that will have to be surmounted to achieve a settlement and limit the sufferings of the Angolan people.
The main responsibility for the Angolan conflict lies with Unita, which has not fulfilled the undertakings it made to allow peace to return. In this context the European Union again solemnly condemns the military initiatives of Unita and its leader, Jonas Savimbi, as well as the guerrilla actions in which its troops indulge.
The European Union shares the Secretary-General's concern at the lack of any significant efforts towards a political settlement of the conflict. As it noted in its common position of 19 June 2000, the European Union is prepared to support, in the framework of its common foreign and security policy, all initiatives that will contribute to such a political solution, on the basis of the Lusaka Protocol and the relevant Security Council Resolutions. In that context, the Union welcomes and applauds
the commendable initiatives taken by the Churches and more generally by civil society and exemplified most recently by the meeting in Luanda of the Peace Congress from 18 to 21 July.
For the present, the European Union intends to continue supporting the efforts of the international community to make the measures and sanctions deployed against Unita more effective. The European Union welcomes the recent setting-up of the surveillance body established by Resolution 1295 and will offer it its full support. Likewise, the Union calls on all States to cooperate with that body, and applauds the fact that some of them, particularly among those called into question in the report of
the group of experts published in April, have expressed their willingness to welcome UN representatives responsible for monitoring sanctions against Unita. The European Union urges them to maintain this cooperative approach, which has also been expressed in some cases by decisions to break off all relations with Unita. The Union also notes that it is willing to provide its assistance to those African states, particularly those of the SADC, to help them implement those sanctions fully.
The Union is also pleased to note that there is now increasing awareness of the illicit diamond trade, by which Unita finances its war effort; Ambassador Fowler's efforts have undoubtedly contributed to this. The International Diamond Merchants' Congress, recently held in Antwerp, provides an encouraging illustration. It should also be pointed out that the Security Council, for its part, is making efforts to identify the links between the exploitation of and trade in the raw materials and the
conduct of the conflicts. After Angola, the Council has set up expert groups working on the situation in the Great Lakes region and in Sierra Leone. The European Union will support these various efforts against the roots of the conflicts. In this context the proposal made at the Okinawa
G8 summit to set up a permanent group of independent experts under the Security Council, to be appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to refine methods of banning international trade deserves serious study so that it can be implemented.
Madam,
The humanitarian situation in Angola at present is catastrophic. The resumption of the conflict on a vast scale has been devastating for the people of Angola, and has led to new flows of refugees and displaced persons. As the Secretary-General's report points out, there are now an estimated 2,5 million displaced persons in Angola, or about 20% of the population. Attention must be drawn here to the efforts made by the WFP, the ICRC and the UNHCR in support of these refugees and displaced
populations, who urgently need assistance from the international community.
This grave situation is made still worse by the continuation of the conflict. The dispatch of humanitarian aid is hindered by problems of lack of safety on many major roads. The European Union adds its voice to the Secretary-General's call for all parties concerned to facilitate the dispatch of emergency aid. It should be possible to distribute this unrestrictedly and safely, in accordance with internationally recognised humanitarian principles. It is important that the Angolan authorities, for
their part, put in place a social and economic policy that benefits the populations of the areas they have taken back from Unita. This is a necessary condition for any real process of pacification. It is also imperative that the parties, and Unita in particular, stop laying mines and allow them to be properly catalogued so that they can be eliminated.
With the Council having met yesterday to discuss the issue of children in armed conflicts, it must be recognised that from this point of view also, the situation in Angola is grave. Generations of children have grown up during the conflict, and many of them have never known any other reality, be they child combatants or those who have been orphaned, wounded or displaced through the conflict.
Madam,
The European Union would like once again to pay homage to the efforts made in the service of peace in Angola by the UN, which has already paid a heavy human tribute to that conflict. The Union hopes that it will be possible to throw light on the circumstances in which two UN aeroplanes crashed in late 1998 and early 1999. The European Union welcomes the fact that the Angolan authorities have been able to improve safety and that they are able to help the UN team reach the sites concerned to
investigate.
The European Union believes the UN has a role to play in helping the Angolan Government, especially in its efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and practices, and ensure respect for human rights, freedom of the media and the rule of law. As the Secretary-General's report rightly stresses, respect for human rights and good governance are necessary conditions if a settlement of the conflict is to be achieved. The European Union salutes and wishes well the efforts made to that end by the
United Nations Office in Angola.
Madam, thank you.
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