Acting under the enforcement provisions of the Charter (Chapter VII), the Security Council this afternoon unanimously voted to tighten its sanctions against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and undertook to consider additional measures -- use of armed force not included -- to make them more effective.
By the terms of resolution 1295 (2000), the Council asked the Secretary- General to establish a monitoring mechanism which would be composed of five experts, for a period of six months from its entry into operation. Their tasks would be to collect relevant information, investigate relevant leads and verify information provided by all sources concerning violations of the Council’s three previous sanctions resolutions on UNITA. The experts would report periodically to the Sanctions Committee on Angola, including providing a written report by 18 October. The Council called upon States to cooperate with the experts in the discharge of their mandate.
The Council expressed its intention to review the implementation of its three previous resolutions on UNITA on the basis of information provided, inter alia, by the Panel of Experts, by States, and by the monitoring mechanism established by the present resolution. It also expressed its readiness, on the basis of the results of the review, to consider appropriate action in accordance with the Charter against States it determined to have violated the measures contained in those resolutions. It set a deadline of 18 November for an initial decision on the subject.
Further, the Council undertook to consider by that date the application of additional measures against UNITA under Article 41 of the Charter, and the development of additional tools to render the existing measures imposed against the party more effective.
(Article 41 covers measures -- not involving the use of armed force -- which the Security Council may decide to employ to give effect to its decisions, and may call upon Member States to apply them. The measures may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.)
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The Council welcomed the decision of several States referred to in the report of the Panel of Experts to establish interdepartmental commissions and other mechanisms to investigate the allegations contained in the report. It invited those States to keep the Committee informed of the results of such investigations. It took note of the information provided to the Council by States in response to the conclusions and recommendations of the Panel of Experts, and asked its Sanctions Committee on Angola to consider fully all such information.
In a section of the resolution covering trade in arms, the Council encouraged all States to exercise diligence in order to prevent the diversion or trans-shipment of weapons to unauthorized end-users or unauthorized destinations, where such diversion or trans-shipment risked resulting in the violation of the measures contained in its resolution 864 (1993). States should also require end-use documentation or equivalent measures before exports from their territories were allowed. The Council further encouraged all States to ensure effective monitoring and regulation in the export of weapons, including by private arms brokers, where they did not already do so.
Furthermore, the Council invited States to consider the proposal to convene one or more conferences of representatives of countries that were manufacturers and, in particular, exporters of weapons for the purpose of developing proposals to stem the illicit flow of arms into Angola. It called for the provision of the necessary financial support for such conferences by States, and urged that representatives of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries be invited to those conferences.
A section of the resolution dealing with trade in petroleum and petroleum products encouraged the convening of a conference of experts to devise a regime for curbing their illegal supply into UNITA-controlled areas, including physical inspection as well as the broader monitoring of petroleum supply in those areas. It further encouraged any such conference to focus on the role and capacity of the SADC in the implementation of such a regime. The Council invites the SADC to consider the establishment of monitoring activities in the border areas adjacent to Angola, for the purpose of reducing opportunities for the smuggling of petroleum and petroleum products into areas under the control of UNITA.
The UNITA was further invited to take the lead in establishing an information exchange mechanism involving petroleum companies and governments to facilitate the flow of information regarding possible illegal diversions of fuel to UNITA. The SADC was further invited to take the lead in carrying out chemical analysis of fuel samples obtained from petroleum suppliers in the SADC region and, using the results, to create a database for the purpose of determining the sources of fuel obtained or captured from UNITA.
The Security Council called upon the Government of Angola to implement additional internal controls and inspection procedures with respect to the distribution of petroleum and petroleum products, for the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of the measures contained in Council resolution 864 (1993). The
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Angolan Government was invited to inform the Sanctions Committee on Angola of the steps it had taken.
The Council called upon all States to enforce strictly safety and control regulations relating to the transportation by air of fuel and other hazardous commodities, particularly in the area around Angola.
With regard to provisions on trade in diamonds, the Council welcomed a proposal that a meeting of experts be convened to devise a system of controls to facilitate the implementation of the measures in its resolution 1173 (1998), including arrangements that would allow for increased transparency and accountability in the control of diamonds from their point of origin to the bourses. It emphasized that every effort should be made to avoid inflicting collateral damage on the legitimate diamond trade. It welcomed the intention of South Africa to host a relevant conference this year.
With regard to funds and financial measures, the Council encouraged States to convene a conference of experts to explore possibilities for strengthening the implementation of the financial measures imposed against UNITA, contained in resolution 1173 (1998). It called upon all States to work with financial institutions on their territory to develop procedures to facilitate the identification of funds and financial assets that may be subject to the measures contained in resolution 1173 (1998) and the freezing of such assets.
Among the provisions concerning travel and representation, the Council emphasized the importance of States acting to prevent the circumvention on or from their territory of the measures contained in the relevant Council resolutions since 1993, and invited them to review the status of UNITA officials and representatives, as well as all adult members of their families, designated by the Committee and believed to be residing on their territory, with a view to suspending or cancelling their travel documents, visas and residence permits.
Under additional steps, the Council urged all States to make available to the Committee information on the violation of the measures contained in the relevant resolutions since 1993. It further urged all States, including those geographically close to Angola, to take immediate steps to enforce, strengthen or enact legislation making it a criminal offence under domestic law for their nationals or other individuals operating on their territory to violate the measures imposed by the Council against UNITA.
In a related provision, it underlined the important role played by SADC in implementing the measures contained in the relevant resolutions and its determination to strengthen such implementation. It invited SADC to make known to the Committee what assistance it required in implementing this and previous resolutions, and expressed its intention to initiate a dialogue with SADC in that regard.
In that connection, it strongly urged States and international organizations to consider providing financial and technical assistance to the Community. It also invited SADC to consider measures to strengthen air traffic control systems
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in the subregion for the purpose of detecting illegal flight activities across national borders, and to consider the establishment of an air traffic regime for the control of regional air space.
The Council President for the month of April and Chairman of the Sanctions Committee, Robert Fowler (Canada) introduced the draft resolution.
Also addressing the Council at today's meeting were the representatives of the United Kingdom, Russian Federation, France, United States, Mali, Netherlands, Argentina, China, Malaysia, Namibia, Jamaica, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Canada, Angola, Burkina Faso, Portugal (on behalf of the European Union), Belgium, Bulgaria, Mozambique, New Zealand, United Republic of Tanzania, Gabon, Brazil, Spain, Togo, Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
The meeting, which began at 12:30 p.m., was suspended at 1:45 p.m. It resumed at 3:16 p.m. and adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
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Council Work Programme
The Security Council met this afternoon to continue consideration of the situation in Angola. It had before it the final report of the Panel of Experts on Violations of Security Council Sanctions against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which covers violations of sanctions and contains recommendations to make the sanctions more effective.
The sanctions at issue prohibit the sale or delivery of arms and military equipment to UNITA; prohibit the provision of petroleum products to UNITA; prohibit the purchase of diamonds mined in areas controlled by UNITA; require the seizing of bank accounts and other financial assets of UNITA; and mandate the closing of UNITA representation offices abroad, as well as restrictions on the travel of senior UNITA officials and adult members of their immediate families.
According to the report, Panel members visited nearly 30 countries, meeting, among others, with government officials, police and intelligence sources, commercial companies and journalists. In January, the Chairman of the Panel, Robert R. Fowler (Canada), together with its Vice-Chairman and Rapporteur, interviewed a number of key defectors from UNITA in Angola.
The report states that the active efforts of Mr. Fowler, together with recent actions taken by governments and efforts by non-governmental organizations and others, have already made it harder for UNITA to sell its diamonds, and more expensive for UNITA to acquire arms and military equipment as a result of the increased risks of exposure to its suppliers and transporters. However, unless the Security Council and the international community remain engaged in the effort, there is a very real risk that UNITA and its partners will go back to doing business as usual.
Regarding arms and military equipment, the report concludes that, in addition to arms and equipment captured in battle, UNITA was able to import large quantities of arms and military equipment as a result of four key factors. First has been the willingness of certain countries in Africa to provide their end-user certificates to UNITA and to facilitate the passage of arms and military equipment through their territory -- most notably Zaire under President Mobutu Sese Seko, Togo and Burkina Faso. Second has been the willingness of some arms supplying countries -- most notably Bulgaria -- to sell weapons officially or unofficially. Third has been the eagerness of international arms brokers and air transport carriers to act as intermediaries between UNITA and suppliers. A fourth factor has been the capacity of UNITA to continue to pay for what it wants.
The report recommends, among other things, that the Security Council should apply sanctions against leaders and governments found to have been deliberately breaking the sanctions relating to the supply of arms and military equipment to UNITA, that governments agree to register, license and monitor the activities of arms brokers, and that information collected through this exercise be stored in national databases and be made available to other governments. All arms transfers by governments should provide for the mandatory authentication and reconciliation of all end-user certificates, as well as verification of stated undertakings contained in those certificates.
Regarding petroleum and petroleum-related products, the Panel concludes that a number of former and current heads of State in Africa helped UNITA circumvent Council sanctions against the provision of such products. Those implicated include: the former President of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko; the former President of the Republic of Congo, Pascal Lissouba; the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo, General Joachim Yhombi Opango; and the President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore.
The report goes on to recommend that fuel stocks and movements should be closely monitored in the border areas of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and, to a lesser extent, Namibia, adjacent to UNITA-controlled areas.
On the subject of diamonds, the report concludes that UNITA's ability to sell its diamonds is based on its access to diamond-rich territories, on its easy and protected access to external locations where diamond deals can be transacted, and on the ease with which illegal diamonds can be sold and traded on major diamond markets, particularly in Antwerp. Authorities at the highest levels in Burkina Faso and Rwanda have facilitated meetings between UNITA and diamond dealers from Antwerp. South Africa was also a place where transactions occurred, but such activities were not conducted with the support or participation of the Government of South Africa.
The report notes the apparent inability or unwillingness of the responsible authorities in Belgium to police effectively the smuggling of illegal Angolan diamonds onto the Antwerp diamond market. Lax controls within Angola have also facilitated diamond smuggling in that country.
The report recommends that forfeiture should be provided for where the legal origin of rough diamonds cannot be established by the possessor; that Member States of the United Nations should apply sanctions against individuals and enterprises intentionally breaking United Nations sanctions relating to UNITA diamonds; and that practical measures should be devised by the responsible government and industry authorities to limit UNITA's access to legitimate diamond markets. It further recommends that dealing in undeclared rough diamonds be considered a criminal offence in countries hosting important diamond marketing centres.
As far as UNITA finances and assets are concerned, the report concludes that the bulk of UNITA's assets are retained in the form of rough diamonds, which are packaged and sold as needed. Nonetheless, a network of banks, financial institutions and money managers continue to be connected with UNITA and its representatives and suppliers. According to the report, President Eyadema of Togo and deposed President Bedie of Côte d'Ivoire aided UNITA in trying to circumvent the sanctions on financial assets imposed by the Council. The report specifically notes the apparent absence of any action by Morocco to track down or freeze UNITA assets transferred to that country with the knowledge of Moroccan officials prior to the imposition of financial sanctions by the Council.
The report recommends that Member States should be encouraged to make provision for the forfeiture of UNITA-controlled assets whose provenance cannot be traced to a lawful source, and that a substantial bounty or "finder’s fee percentage" be given to any institution, non-governmental organization or individual that traces, tracks down and identifies UNITA assets that are subject to sanction.
With respect to UNITA representation abroad, the report concludes that while UNITA no longer operates formal "Embassies", Burkina Faso, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia and Rwanda provided actual support and protection for UNITA representatives and easy access for senior UNITA officials wishing to travel there. In the United States, France, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland and South Africa, among others, UNITA is able to maintain an "unofficial" representative presence with the knowledge, but without the direct support, of the host government.
The report concludes further that a number of countries have disregarded the Council's ban on travel by senior UNITA officials and members of their immediate families. The worst offenders were identified as Burkina Faso, Togo and Côte d'Ivoire, while Rwanda, Zambia and South Africa were also found to have lax or selective enforcement. A number of countries -- Belgium, France and Portugal in particular -- were either unable for legal reasons or unwilling to prevent senior UNITA officials and/or adult members of their immediate families from residing in or transiting their territories. In this regard, the report recommends further that the status of senior UNITA officials and representatives residing abroad should be re-examined by the countries concerned, with a view towards the immediate expulsion of those found to be still actively engaged in UNITA's military or political affairs.
In related matters, such as the role of transport in sanctions busting and the shooting down of two United Nations aircraft, the report recommends that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) consider the introduction of mobile radar systems for the purpose of detecting illegal flight activities across national borders, and that the SADC give consideration to the establishment of an air traffic regime for the control of regional air space, rather than on a per country basis. The report further recommends that Member States geographically close to Angola should take immediate steps to enforce, strengthen or enact legislation making it a criminal offence to violate sanctions imposed by the Security Council against UNITA.
The report also recommends that the Council apply appropriate sanctions against governments found to have been intentionally breaking the sanction. It expresses the Panel's hope that the Council will now seize this opportunity to demonstrate that international sanctions can be made to work effectively, and that Member States and others will be held accountable to the international community for their actions. That message, says the report, would be heard not just in Angola, but in many other current and potential areas of conflict as well.
Statements
ROBERT FOWLER (Canada), Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on Angola, introducing the draft resolution before the Council, emphasized that the Council’s sanctions against the rebel movement in Angola, UNITA, were having real impact. The work of the Panel of Experts, which he chaired, had significantly contributed to that welcome development. The Council’s adoption of the substantial resolution would demonstrate its commitment to ensuring that the sanctions continued to have an impact in curtailing UNITA’s ability to pursue its objectives through military means.
The draft resolution would, among its many other features, put in place a seven-month process at the end of which -- in mid-November -- the Security Council would consider appropriate action in relation to States it believed to be continuing to violate the sanctions against UNITA. The draft would also request the Secretary-General to establish a monitoring mechanism proposed by the Panel of Experts. It would be composed of up to five monitors whose renewable six-month mandate would be to collect relevant information, investigate relevant leads, and verify information provided by all sources.
In deciding who had violated the sanctions and what to do about it, said Mr. Fowler, the Council would thus draw on three substantial bodies of information: the report of the Panel of Experts; the additional information made available by States; and the reports of the independent monitoring mechanism. The purpose of the resolution was to provide all States with an opportunity to answer the allegations of the Expert Panel, to end sanctions violations where they had occurred, and to bring their actions into conformity with the clearly articulated will of the international community.
He said a generation of Angolans had never known peace. The purpose of the sanctions against UNITA was to promote a durable political settlement of the three-decades-long conflict in Angola, by requiring UNITA to comply with the obligations it had freely undertaken. Adoption of the resolution would constitute a reaffirmation of the Council’s commitment to peace in Angola, and a demonstration of its determination to use all of the levers available to it to bring about that peace.
Sir JEREMY GREENSTOCK (United Kingdom) said the only way to achieve an end to the decades of misery in Angola was to deprive UNITA of the practical means to continue to wage war. When a leader and his organization in civil conflict rejected peace and ignored the will of the majority of ordinary people, then sanctions were one of the few tools the United Nations had at its disposal to try to make them reconsider. Having decided on a sanctions regime, Member States must make it work.
He said the work of Canada and that of the Expert Panel chaired by Mr. Fowler of Canada -- both supported in practice by the United Kingdom -- had already sent an important message -- that violators of the sanctions would be pursued. The UNITA now knew, even before the Security Council had taken decisions, that lawbreaking friends were harder to find, illegal supplies harder to secure and stolen diamonds harder to sell.
Making today’s resolution work would be tough going, he said. It would require a new level of cooperation among Member States, and between governments and the private sector. It would require technical expertise and political will. The United Kingdom would play its part. While all Member States were affected, however, he said the resolution placed a particular burden on States neighbouring Angola. The United Kingdom welcomed the commitment which the SADC States had already expressed to follow up the resolution. That was in their interests -- peace in Angola would make a significant positive difference to the region.
Today’s resolution addressed more than the achieving of peace in Angola. The text, the process which had led to it and, most important, the action which must follow from it also sent a forceful message about the seriousness of the Council. He said Member States must live up to it.
SERGEY LAVROV (Russian Federation) said the protracted armed conflict in Angola was of most serious concern. As a member of the three observer States for implementation of the peace process, his country had confirmed its position that the entire responsibility of the continued conflict lay with UNITA, headed by Jonas Savimbi, who was refusing to comply with the terms of the Lusaka Agreement and the demands of Security Council resolutions. Thus, there was a need to further strengthen the pressure on UNITA’s political leadership, primarily to halt the fighting and get back on track towards a political settlement. He sympathized with the position of the Angolan leadership, and today welcomed that country’s Foreign Minister to the Council Chamber.
He said that given Mr. Savimbi’s record of broken promises, he could have no political future. Mr. Savimbi and his entourage had shown their indifference to the fate of their people in their drive to satisfy their uncontrollable thirst for power. The victims of that quest had often been helping the country under the United Nations flag. Citizens had been held prisoner, including a citizen of the Russian Federation who had died. The UNITA had shown outright contempt for the will of the international community, through its carefully premeditated policy of evading the Council’s sanctions, designed to deprive UNITA’s military machinery. It was therefore of paramount importance to strengthen effective control over the current sanctions regime.
Active efforts by the Sanctions Committee and its Chairman had already had an important positive impact on ensuring firmer respect for the sanctions against UNITA, he said. The report of the group of experts had led to today’s text, which he had helped to draft and which had been based on the expert group’s recommendations, would help achieve the Council’s goals. Implementation of today’s resolution would contribute towards enhancing the effective control of sanctions and help to close off the channels used by UNITA’s leadership to continue the war imposed on the Angolan people.
JEAN DAVID-LEVITTE (France) said today’s resolution would send a clear and firm message to Mr. Savimbi and UNITA to put an immediate end to the hostilities and finally discharge their obligations under the Lusaka Protocol. He fully endorsed that message in light of Mr. Savimbi’s striking rejection of his responsibilities and his refusal to abide by the Council’s resolutions. That behaviour must be condemned in the most categorical terms. Meanwhile, he welcomed the fact that, barely a month after the issuance of the Panel’s report, the Council was adopting a resolution that comprised more than three quarters of the experts’ recommendations. The text covered a vast arena, including the delivery of arms and fuel, trafficking in diamonds, financial resources, and curtailing the travel of UNITA’s leaders.
Although those recommendations had been addressed first to Member States, they also called for the active cooperation of a variety of players in a variety of arenas, including private enterprises and professional organizations. That was particularly true for the provisions on the international diamond trade and the monitoring of financial resources and air transport. With their responsibility belonging first to the Member States, each would have to support that effort through will as well as means. In many instances, the means were missing. Therefore, the countries concerned, notably in Africa, would have to obtain the backing of the international community if they seriously wanted to ensure respect for the sanctions. In that regard, “naming and shaming was not enough”; tangible aid must be provided wherever needed.
The monitoring mechanism, and its report six months hence, would allow the Council to take stock of the work done by the Sanctions Committee. There again, the goal must be greater efficacy. For the noose really to tighten around Mr. Savimbi and UNITA, cooperation and information were needed from everyone. Only a united effort by the international community would make it possible to “turn off the spigot” of income sources and arms supply to UNITA. Since the experts’ report, several States had already announced steps towards offsetting the problems highlighted in the report. His delegation hailed those initiatives, some of which had already begun to bear fruit. Embargo violations must be brought to a halt, and the Sanctions Committee must be apprised, in real terms, of any fresh “sanctions busting”. That constructive united approach, built around the essential objective of the complete isolation of Jonas Savimbi and UNITA, seemed more productive than any repressive approach.
The imposition of new sanctions had not appeared to provide a real solution, he went on. Multiplying the number of pariah States would not return them to the straight and narrow path. The criteria for determining violator countries had been the subject of a variety of challenges. Today’s resolution did not hold out any such prospect, and thus he welcomed it.
RICHARD HOLBROOKE (United States) commended the efforts of the Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on Angola, Mr. Fowler, and said that working with the United States Government on sanctions against UNITA had been fruitful. The UNITA sanctions-busting activities, aided by countries named in the report of the Panel of Experts, had allowed it to pursue military activities that had brought death to the Angolan people. The road was littered with UNITA’s broken promises. The people of Angola had waited four years for peace, only to be deceived by UNITA. The United States was committed to the Lusaka Protocol. The issue of a free press was also of grave concern to his Government.
The resolution before the Council underscored the fact that UNITA was in violation of its promises and was unwilling to comply with the Lusaka Protocol. The noose was closing on UNITA. Its leader should pay attention to the suffering of the Angolan people. The United States had noted the call of the Angolan Government for elections. As long as those elections were carried out with appropriate monitoring, the United States would support them.
Maintaining the pressure of sanctions would continue to erode UNITA’s military capability. Canada’s efforts had contributed to this development. The United States continued to support Canada’s efforts and would continue to work with the Council for a constructive outcome to the Angola situation.
MOCTAR OUANE (Mali) said that the resolution endorsed three quarters of the panel's recommendations and aimed to consolidate the work of the Sanctions Committee, as well as enhance the effectiveness of current sanctions concerning illegal arms supplies, the sale of petroleum and petroleum products, the diamond trade, a freeze on UNITA's assets and closing the operations of UNITA abroad. Through today's resolution, the Council was hereby strengthening the sanctions regime against UNITA, and demonstrating its resolve to make a positive and concrete contribution to the restoration of peace and security in Angola. Thus, his delegation would vote in favour of the draft.
He said his country deplored the 25-year conflict, for which Mr. Savimbi and UNITA were primarily responsible. The Angolan people had suffered too much. It was time for the international community and the Security Council to adopt strong measures and put an end to the conflict. The resolution would help to dry up UNITA's income source for the purchase of weapons, which it had achieved through illegal diamond trafficking and sale of petroleum products. The tireless efforts of Ambassador Fowler, in his capacity as Chairman of the Sanctions Committee, had contributed to a political settlement by limiting UNITA's capacity to wage war. The new monitoring mechanism would enable follow-up to the experts' recommendations. Only control of and pressure on Jonas Savimbi and his entourage would avoid a return to earlier practices. His country was solidly committed to helping the Angolans in their struggle, and he believed that the text to be adopted today would promote a more effective sanctions regime.
ADRIAAN KOOIJMANS (Netherlands) said he associated himself with the statement to be made later in the debate on behalf of the European Union. The Panel of Experts had concluded that the long-suffering people of Angola needed and deserved the support of the international community in the search to bring peace and political reconciliation to that country. Rendering that support was in essence what the Council was doing today by “tightening the noose” around UNITA’s capacity to defy the international community and bring further misery to the Angolan people. The resolution the Council was adopting today entailed two steps that should curtail future infringements upon the UNITA sanctions regime.
First, he went on, the resolution put in place a new monitoring mechanism. This could be an effective instrument in the hands of the Council and the Sanctions Committee in overseeing implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions -- as long as it was allowed to collect, analyse and submit information independently. Second, the resolution sets a deadline for the Council to consider action with regard to those States in violation of the sanctions regime. Even before the adoption of the resolution, there had already been some remedial effects of the Panel’s report. The new monitoring mechanism would pick up where the Panel stopped and build upon the information that it had collected so far.
He reiterated that the monitoring mechanism’s independent operation was essential for its future effectiveness. He said he looked forward to the mechanism’s report six months from now. The ultimate goal in tightening sanctions was not simply to punish UNITA, but to reduce its capacity to wage war and prevent a peaceful solution to Angola’s bloody conflict. The UNITA had deliberately abandoned the road to peace as mapped out by the Lusaka Accord, leaving the Angolan Government no option but to seize the initiative militarily. The resolution before the Council was meant to create a situation in which military offensives would no longer be needed to achieve peace. The fact that the Council held UNITA responsible for the present situation of conflict and humanitarian misery, however, did not diminish the Government’s responsibility to make its own substantial contribution to the well-being of its people.
ARNOLDO LISTRE (Argentina) said his country believed that the report of the Panel of Experts had achieved a more considerable impact than any other single event in the Council’s past experience. The resolution before the Council would make sanctions against UNITA stronger. It contained a series of new elements, including the proposed monitoring mechanism. The Council could now take a fresh look at what had been done about earlier sanctions resolutions against UNITA.
In the draft resolution before it, the Council said that it was ready to take action against States that violated the sanctions. Argentina was satisfied to see in the panel report recommendations on natural resources, as those were driving the war in Angola.
Referring to the section of the resolution on the arms trade, he noted that all countries were called upon to reveal who the end users were. The resolution’s provisions on the diamond trade, he added, urged imposition of significant criminal sanctions against illegal possession of diamonds. Argentina welcomed the Angolan Government’s action on certificates of origin for diamonds.
He hoped the resolution would lead to better use of Angola’s national resources, for the benefit of its people and not for the fueling of the conflict.
QIN HUASUN (China) said the quest for peace in Angola had dragged on for a long time. The twists and turns of the peace process and the grave security and humanitarian situation had seriously affected regional peace and security. Having refused to implement the Lusaka peace agreement, UNITA should bear the main responsibility for the present situation. After initiating an arms and petroleum embargo, the Council had adopted a number of resolutions to expand relevant measures concerning, among other things, travel, finance, and the diamond trade. Unfortunately, those had not been effectively implemented. To date, UNITA had not yet laid down its weapons or embarked on the path of national reconciliation.
He said that Ambassador Fowler had made unremitting efforts to facilitate implementation of the sanctions by the international community, and the expert panel had contributed a series of further recommendations aimed at strengthening the current sanctions regime. Nonetheless, much remained to be done. After the expiration of the expert panel's mandate, the international community would still need to closely monitor embargo violations. His country supported the Council's establishment of a new monitor mechanism for that purpose. Hopefully, the Secretary-General would be able to appoint experts at an early date, and would call upon all countries to provide their full support and cooperation. He supported the Council's endorsement of the panel's recommendations, and hoped the resolution to be adopted today would truly be implemented. Several of the recommendations had involved the SADC, without whose cooperation many proposals would be impossible to implement, and the sanctions against UNITA would remain empty talk.
Although the SADC efforts had been commendable, its member countries faced concrete difficulties, he said. The international community must, therefore, continue to provide the SADC with the necessary assistance in the enforcement of sanctions. All countries should strictly abide by the Council's resolution, and cease their support of and supply of weapons to UNITA, as well as adopt measures to prevent their own citizens from violating the sanctions. Six months hence, at the Council's next review of the implementation of sanctions, real and effective results would be evident.
HASMY AGAM (Malaysia) said the report of the Expert Panel was bold and candid, and had the courage to name people, commercial companies and governments on the basis of its investigations. All those named should have the right to respond to the allegations and to clarify their own roles in the alleged sanctions-busting activities. If those clarifications were not plausible and could not be borne out by facts, the international community and the Council would doubtless draw their own conclusions and take appropriate action.
What was needed was a new will and determination on the part of the international community and the Council to enforce the sanctions regime more vigorously, and for the countries and companies concerned to cooperate fully and more effectively in stopping breaches of sanctions. They would include making those responsible accountable for their transgressions under international law.
Malaysia welcomed the decision of the Angolan Government to embark upon a wholesale effort to revamp and restructure virtually all aspects of diamond mining and diamond trading in the country. It also recognized the steps being taken by the Angolan Government to enhance enforcement of the sanctions, including the introduction of new standardized certificates of origin for diamonds, which would be harder to forge and easier to verify and keep track of. Malaysia believed that the responsible governments and industry authorities should be invited to work with the Sanctions Committee to devise practical measures to limit and ultimately halt UNITA’s access to legitimate diamond markets.
Although it was possible that UNITA had enough wealth and resources to keep going for years, Malaysia was convinced that the options for action contained in the report on the subject were implementable. It shared the assertion that there was a clear link among all crises in Africa. Given the undeniable linkages, it clearly underlined the need for the Council to deal with all crises in the region in a comprehensive manner.
Malaysia was concerned at the continuing acts of sanctions breaking vis-&#-5322;is UNITA. They constituted a very serious challenge to the Council’s collective authority. Malaysia urged Member States to respect fully existing Council resolutions on sanctions against UNITA. The Council should work more vigorously to put teeth in the implementation of the sanctions regime.
MARTIN ANDJABA (Namibia) said that the SADC, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and the Non-Aligned Movement of countries, plus China, continued to play an important role in supporting the implementation of the Council's resolutions against UNITA. Those organizations had expressed their concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation resulting from UNITA's refusal to comply with its obligations under the Lusaka Protocol. Furthermore, they had declared Mr. Savimbi a war criminal. Namibia particularly welcomed the pronouncements made by the Thirteenth Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Countries, held in Colombia. The Council, for its part, must heed the call made by the Foreign Ministers.
The Council was about to vote on another historic resolution, he said. If implemented, it would help to bring peace to Angola and the region as a whole. The establishment of a monitoring mechanism was an important aspect of the text. Hopefully, it would receive appropriate support from Member States and the Secretariat to enable it to accomplish the task ahead. Adequate technical support and financial resources were also necessary. The Council must stand ready to take appropriate measures against those in violation of the sanctions by 18 November, as stipulated in the draft. It would be unjust and unfair to the Angolan people for the text to become "just another resolution". Applying appropriate pressure against States, corporations and individuals in violation of the relevant resolutions would send a clear message that "the Council means business".
He welcomed the steps announced by the Belgian Government in support of more effective implementation of measures against UNITA, as well as the measures taken by the Diamond High Council, in conjunction with the Angolan Government. He also took note of decisions made by some governments within and outside Africa to bring justice to their national "sanctions busters". Another critical issue of concern was the use of mercenaries by UNITA. Their impact had been significant in sustaining the military war machinery of the rebel movement. States must do their utmost to discourage their citizens from serving in UNITA's ranks at any level. He supported the issuance of arrest warrants for individuals who were playing key role in circumventing Council resolutions against UNITA. Also, the assistance of the international community to the SADC was vital for strengthening the sanctions regime.
M. PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica) said her country fully endorsed the resolution, as it believed that it was important that a strong message be sent that breaches of the Council’s sanctions would not go unpunished. Already the work of the Panel of Experts had borne fruit, as governments and others had begun to focus on what they could do to improve the enforcement of sanctions and to curtail existing violations.
She said those who aided and abetted UNITA in violating sanctions were equally as guilty as UNITA of the humanitarian tragedy in Angola. By its action today, the Security Council clearly indicated that the international community strongly repudiated the actions of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, and was determined to cut off his sources of finance and arms.
The measures in the resolution -- concerning the trade in arms; in petroleum and petroleum products; in diamonds; and with regard to travel, representation and financial measures -- could be implemented only if all Member States adhered to its terms. The monitoring mechanism was innovative and could provide an example for other sanctions regimes.
Jamaica commended the SADC countries and those geographically close to Angola for the steps they had already taken to tighten the sanctions. Twenty-five years had gone by since the fighting began. A whole generation of Angolans had not known life without war. The international community owed it to them to seek to ensure that the riches of their country were used for the economic and social development of Angola, and not to perpetuate conflict.
The meeting was suspended at 1:45 p.m. When it resumed, at 3:17 p.m., SAID BEN MUSTAPHA (Tunisia) said the sanctions had weakened the military ability of Jonas Savimbi. Both the Sanctions Committee and the expert panel had made commendable rigorous efforts to follow up implementation of the sanctions regime. Their tenacity had enabled the conveyance of a clear message that UNITA could not indefinitely continue to threaten peace and stability in Angola and throughout the subregion. Irrefutable evidence was required to fully tackle the problem of non-compliance, but the report deserved special attention and serious study. The official reaction of the Council and the follow-up publication of the report, as well as the measures already undertaken by some countries, had demonstrated a serious approach to the question in Africa and elsewhere. All of that would shed light on violations by UNITA and help the monitoring mechanism carry out its future tasks. The six-month period provided for in the resolution would provide the Council with a better grasp of the issues.
F.A. SHAMIM AHMED (Bangladesh) said there was no doubt that the sanctions had not been working, and the Panel of Experts in their report had pointed out why. It was for the Council to decide how best it could deal with the recommendations of the report in order to make the sanctions more effective. Bangladesh agreed to the need for a mechanism which should also look at the working methods of the panel.
Angola, with great potential to develop, was currently rated the most horrific place on earth for a child. The UNITA bore the primary responsibility for that. There was no military solution for the problem: a political dialogue must be started between the concerned parties.
Bangladesh welcomed the decisions by some of the countries cited in the panel’s report to set up commissions of inquiry and other mechanisms to investigate the allegations. Others should follow their example, he said.
The draft resolution covered most of the panel’s recommendations relating to arms, diamonds, financial assets and travel restrictions. Its recommendations were far-reaching and bold. All concerned should do their part in putting in place appropriate mechanisms to observe the sanctions measures. He urged all parties to cooperate in developing more effective mechanisms to ensure observance of the measures imposed.
He hoped the draft resolution before the Council would go a long way in ensuring that sanctions were respected and that their purpose -- the greater goal of achieving peace and stability in Angola -– was achieved.
VOLODYMYR YEL’CHENKO (Ukraine) said the report of the Panel of Experts had contributed tremendously to measures embodied in the draft resolution being taken more seriously and implemented in a more responsible manner. The decision the Council was about to adopt would produce much more far-reaching results. By deciding to establish a monitoring mechanism to collect information and investigate allegations of violations of the measures against UNITA, the Council was taking a bold step towards strengthening its own capacities in relation to the Angolan sanctions regime, as well as to its overall sanctions policy.
It was from that standpoint, he said, that his delegation attached particular importance to the close connection between the monitoring mechanism and the Sanctions Committee on Angola. It was also from that perspective that his delegation acknowledged a correlative character between today’s Council meeting and yesterday’s important discussion of sanctions in general.
Another specific element of the draft resolution that his delegation would like to emphasize was its very clear forewarning of inevitable repercussions on States proved to have violated the measures imposed on UNITA. Relevant provisions in the draft provided strong evidence of the Council’s determination to end the culture of impunity with regard to the sanctions regime.
LLOYD AXWORTHY, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, said that the endless and utterly senseless civil conflict in Angola had only one enduring certainty: civilians desperately needed protection. Previous speakers had made plain the dimensions of the threats faced by ordinary Angolans. Angola was a place where 1 million souls had perished in the violence; where complete humanitarian collapse never loomed far, with people barely surviving from day to day; where for rural dwellers it was literally too dangerous to step foot out of the house for fear of landmines; where children were in greater peril than anywhere else on earth; where one in three people had been uprooted from their homes; and where, quite simply, no one had escaped undamaged by war. Angola was a very rich land that was very poor in human security. Indeed, its tragedy lay in its very riches -- mineral and petroleum wealth -- which had been so cruelly exploited to increase, rather than diminish, the suffering of the Angolan people.
The renewed violence that had thwarted the prospects for peace might not have occurred if UNITA had not been able to misdirect earnings from those natural resources in pursuit of violence. To its considerable credit, the United Nations had been engaged from the outset in efforts to resolve the Angolan war and establish peace. Yet there had been little return on its enormous investment. Lasting peace remained elusive, but there was no alternative but to persevere. Yesterday, the Council had agreed to improve the use of sanctions as an instrument to pursue peace and advance human security. Today, it would translate that commitment into action for Angolans.
Giving real meaning to the sanctions regime against UNITA was a way forward. Denying UNITA the means to wage war would help promote peace. That was the objective when the measures were first adopted several years ago, but non-adherence to the relevant decisions of the Council -- deliberate or otherwise -- had been the rule rather than the exception. The Council took an unprecedented step to reverse that trend a year ago, when it approved the creation of the independent Panel of Experts to collect specific information on compliance and non-compliance with the provisions of the sanctions regime, and to provide it with recommendations on how to make the sanctions work.
Both the Panel and the Chairman of the Sanctions Committee had done with work; “we must now do ours”, he said. The draft resolution before the Council would operationalize many of the panel’s recommendations through specific action aimed at stopping the illicit trade in diamonds, petroleum and arms, while reinforcing financial and other restrictions on rebel leaders. His country would do its part to ensure that those measures were enforced. It would provide $100,000 to assist the independent monitoring mechanisms provided for in the resolution to prepare their report on whether to impose additional restrictions on parties found to be in violation of the present sanctions.
Neighbouring countries had a greater responsibility in implementing the sanctions regime, but it was not a burden they could, or should, be expected to shoulder along. Towards that end, his country was ready to provide technical and financial assistance to the SADC countries to improve the effectiveness of their efforts. His country was also prepared to sponsor the conference of experts in the diamond trade, as called for in the draft resolution. That would help devise a system of controls that would allow for increased transparency and accountability in the flow of diamonds. Those new measures would work only if the sanctions regime itself was linked to a wider process of negotiation and to the full respect for human rights by all sides.
Both UNITA and the Angolan Government must demonstrate leadership and negotiate and fully implement an agreement based on the Lusaka accord, he said. After 30 years of civil conflict, the Angolan people deserved no less than lasting peace and stability. Hopefully, the Sanctions Committee’s work would contribute to that goal. The panel’s work underscored the complexity of imposing and enforcing targeted sanctions, and proposed practical ways of doing so. Without question, those sanctions required the commitment of considerable will and resources, yet there was resistance in some quarters to making them work. If successful, however, those measures could serve as a template for focused action against belligerents in other conflict situations.
He said that the panel’s efforts had also highlighted the reality and impact of the new war economies -- the nexus between parties to armed violence, the exploitation of people and resources, and the commercial interests that profited from it. In a growing number of conflicts, economic agendas coexisted with political and military goals in perpetuating violence and the victimization of a whole people. Addressing the implications of that situation merited further reflection, and involved the development of created responses by the Council. The panel’s findings underlined that, while the Council’s decisions reflected the will of the international community, implementation depended on the action of individual members.
JOAO BERNARDO DE MIRANDA, Foreign Minister of Angola, said that seven years of the application of sanctions against UNITA had not brought peace to his country. It was imperative that the Security Council demonstrate realism by activating the mechanism that would ensure that all States complied with earlier Council resolutions against UNITA. All States must adhere to those sanctions in order to deprive UNITA's leader Jonas Savimbi of support. Those actions must include prohibition of the use of the territory of other States for propaganda purposes.
He also appealed to regional bodies, including the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to implement the recommendations of the Panel of Experts as the SADC countries had already done. He said the OAU must also make the report of the experts a reference point for action.
Reiterating his Government’s support for the Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on Angola, Robert Fowler of Canada, he appealed to the Security Council, United Nations Secretariat and Member States to continue to provide support to the panel for the conclusion of its work.
YOUSSOUF OUEDRAGO, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso, said that the agony and martyrdom of the Angolan people had lasted more than 25 years -- from the fight for decolonization to the power struggles against a backdrop of the calculations implicit in the cold war. Indeed, his Angolan brothers and sisters had had no time to breathe. They had experienced every form of suffering and pain. Under such conditions, the Council’s involvement in seeking a peace was imperative. The creation of a group of experts entrusted with examining sanctions violations had been part of that requirement. It was in those terms that his own Government had supported all such efforts. Its aim today was not to downgrade the panel’s report but only to highlight its shortcomings in order to better serve the cause of peace through a rigorous, precise, impartial, transparent, reliable and fair investigation.
He said he had not wished to reopen the debate of 15 March, when his delegation had made its position public; he only wished to reaffirm his country’s support for the measures decided by the Council against UNITA. At the same time, he repudiated and rejected the experts’ conclusions naming the President of Burkina Faso and implicating his country in violations of the sanctions against UNITA. In a spirit of straightforward cooperation with the United Nations on this matter, his Government had decided to set up, as of 22 March, an inter-ministerial committee entrus
