16 March 2000
Text: U.S. Statement on Angola Sanctions Report
(Amb. Cunningham: Sanctions need to be strengthened) (930) A new U.N. report on Angola sanctions busting demonstrates that the Security Council should undertake new measures to strengthen the sanctions, U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham said March 15. Addressing the Security Council, Cunningham said that "sanctions remain a key tool in the international community's efforts on behalf of peace in Angola." The council was debating a 60-page report by a panel of experts on violations of sanctions against UNITA. The panel detailed how UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) leader Jonas Savimbi has been able to circumvent the mandatory ban on arms and fuel sales to UNITA by using diamonds to pay arms dealers, air services, and government officials. The panel also made 39 recommendations on ways to enforce the sanctions. Cunningham said that "we look forward to working with the council and others to turn this highly informative document into a reinvigorated plan of action." "For now, however, the report paints a picture, one which is largely corroborated by our own information, of continued international support for UNITA's military leadership," the ambassador said. Following is the text of Cunningham's remarks: (begin text) U.S. Statement for March 15 Open Meeting on Angola Mr. President, We thank the Bangladeshi Presidency for calling this public meeting to discuss an area of ongoing concern to the international community. We are grateful to Foreign Minister Miranda for attending this meeting and look forward to his contributions to this discussion. We also welcome the arrival of Ambassador Jose Patricio, who will soon present his credentials to the Secretary-General. The U.S. welcomes the report of the Experts' Panel and commends Chairman Mollander and his panel members for their sustained efforts. The work of the panel has enhanced the role of the international community in the search for lasting peace in Angola, and it has also focused new attention on the link between the illegal exploitation of Angola's natural resources and the continuation of its conflict. We recognize the creative and energetic work of Ambassador Fowler as Chairman of the Sanctions Committee, believing that his commitment to the implementation of sanctions served as an important catalyst for this report. Sanctions remain a key tool in the international community's efforts on behalf of peace in Angola. The report of the Experts' Panel has highlighted -- in stark and dramatic fashion -- a systematic pattern of violations by the UNITA leadership and with the collusion of foreign actors. Whether foreign actors are motivated by greed or by political conviction, their support to UNITA's military machine has prolonged the suffering of the Angolan people. While we believe that the overall impact of sanctions has been beneficial to the search for peace, this report clearly demonstrates a need for continued strengthening of such measures, particularly in the areas of diamond sales, arms purchases and foreign travel. We note that the cumulative impact of the three sets of United Nations Sanctions has been to gradually erode UNITA's ability to re-supply its forces and to capitalize on its external links. However, the key elements of the report are its recommendations for future action. We look forward to working with the Council and others to turn this highly informative document into a reinvigorated plan of action. The Experts' Panel and the Committee have, in our assessment, increased the cost and difficulty of UNITA's continued military campaign. It is very difficult to speculate on UNITA's present military capacity. However, the information available to us indicates that the renewed vigor that Ambassador Fowler and the Experts Panel brought to the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions 864, 1127 and 1173 has had a positive impact. In addition to making a contribution to the search for peace in Angola, the Sanctions Committee and Experts' Panel have also done pioneering work, under challenging circumstances, on the difficult question of applying sanctions regimes to non-state actors. The Security Council has long maintained the position that the primary cause of the continued conflict in Angola is the failure of UNITA to abide by its commitments under the Lusaka Protocol. Sanctions remain a tool to be used in pursuit of the goals of the Lusaka Protocol, which remains the most viable blueprint for peace, continued democratization and national reconciliation. The international community's expectation of UNITA is its full demilitarization, the full extension of state administration, and its full participation in the democratic political life of the country. The Security Council's sanctions must remain in effect until all elements of UNITA have taken full, irreversible and verifiable steps to completely implement the Lusaka Protocol. UNITA sanctions have always been targeted at the leadership of the organization who have remained outside the Lusaka process and at its military capacity ... and not at those leaders who have participated in the institutions established by the Lusaka Protocol, and not at the overwhelming majority of UNITA's supporters, who we believe to be in favor of peace. The revelations and recommendations of the Experts' Panel require careful consideration and we look forward to a discussion in the Council on next steps. For now, however, the report paints a picture, one which is largely corroborated by our own information, of continued international support for UNITA's military leadership. At this point, we strongly urge the leaderships of those parties cited in the report to re-examine their policies vis-a-vis UNITA and commit to comply fully with all Council measures in effect. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)
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