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Despite promises, much work to be done on Angola sanctions: UN body
30 October -- Despite the international community's stated willingness to implement sanctions against Angola's rebel army, UNITA, there is still "a great deal to be done" to diminish the group's military capability, according to the latest report by the Security Council body monitoring the United Nations sanctions.

Releasing their report today at UN Headquarters in New York, members of the Monitoring Mechanism on Angola Sanctions say that they have focused their work over the past six months on seeking the cooperation of governments, institutions and other actors. "We believe that a spirit of mutual collaboration is important in finding out how the Security Council-imposed sanctions against UNITA have been flouted in the past with impunity."

Reporting positive response to their work so far, the members say they plan to focus the next stage of their work on "whether those expressions of good intent can be translated into effective action that will diminish the military capability of UNITA to continue to wage war."

Since July 2000, the Monitoring Mechanism has given priority to tracing sanctions violations in the areas of weapons, military equipment, diamonds, finances, travel and representation. The group has also decided to seek the cooperation of INTERPOL in identifying UNITA's links to organized crime.

On the subject of diamonds, the monitoring body says it plans to focus on UNITA's diamond trade within Africa and on other continents. "It is clear that international dealers are still prepared to flout sanctions and buy diamonds from UNITA, and that it is very difficult, even for those countries with the will, to prevent diamond smuggling given that the system of controls on the sales of diamonds is not yet in place," the report states.

The Monitoring Mechanism, which was established in April by the Security Council, will present its final report before the conclusion of its mandate in January 2001.