Global Policy Forum

By Edith M. Lederer

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to strengthen the U.N. presence in Angola to help consolidate peace in the southwest African nation after 27 years of civil war.A resolution adopted by a vote of 15-0, and backed by the Angolan government, authorizes a beefed-up U.N. mission to promote political reconciliation, democratic government, human rights, economic development and reintegration into society of demobilized UNITA guerrillas.

"The impact is going to be good," said Angola's U.N. Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins. "It can be used for us to move on with the process of consolidating peace in Angola."

Earlier Thursday, the Security Council voted unanimously to suspend a travel ban on UNITA rebels for an additional 90 days to help promote peace efforts.Gaspar Martins said the government wanted the travel ban lifted so UNITA members could "participate in the process of unification of UNITA."

The follow-on U.N. mission, authorized by the council for six months until Feb. 15, will focus on fulfilling all the remaining tasks in the 1994 U.N.-brokered peace agreement signed in Lusaka, Zambia, by UNITA and the government which collapsed in 1998.

The U.N. mission will assist the Angolan government in the "protection and promotion of human rights and in the building of institutions to consolidate peace and enhance the rule of law."It will also help arrange and coordinate humanitarian aid, mobilize international assistance, support mine clearing efforts, and help the Angolan government prepare for elections.

The civil war began after Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Three peace deals over the years unraveled and the conflict continued until the Angolan army killed the rebel leader, Jonas Savimbi, in February. That led to the current cease-fire, ongoing peace talks, and greater optimism about an end to the war.

Under the cease-fire deal, UNITA is to become a legal political movement and the soldiers and their families are to be integrated into Angola's army and civilian life. But UNITA's factions have not yet united around a new leadership.

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said Angola's concerns about the timing, size and scope of the mission were discussed in Luanda by the foreign minister and representatives of the three countries which have been trying to promote peace -- the United States, Russia and Portugal. The Angolan government is now "completely on board," he said.

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