Angola at the Crossroads
5 March 2002
UN Security Council Urged to Facilitate Peace Dialogue
UNITED NATIONS--"The death of Jonas Savimbi opens new possibilities for peace in Angola; the declaration of a cease-fire is urgent," said Oxfam International's spokesman, Fred Kwame Kumah, in a speech today before the UN Security Council. The Council heard today presentations by representatives from four international non-governmental organizations with a long history of work in Angola: Human Rights Watch, Doctors without Borders, Save the Children and Oxfam International.
"There is now hope that Angola's immense natural resources can be used to finance reconstruction instead of war", said Kwame. However, he added, in order to take advantage of these opportunities, "the government of Angola, UNITA, the Security Council, donor governments and key actors such as the oil companies must make a much greater effort."
Oxfam highlighted the lack of accountability of the Angolan government, which remains highly secretive about the 90% of income it makes from oil exploration. Oxfam urged the Security Council to pressure the oil companies to be transparent about their payments to the Angolan government and the income they receive from the country. Currently none of the 30 oil companies that operate in Angola has made this information public. The lack of transparency prevents Angolan civil society from monitoring the use of government funds. Oxfam also asked the Council to support the Kimberley process for the certification of rough diamonds.
More protection for the civilian population
Kwame asserted that "in 2001 alone, there were more than half a million new internally displaced Angolans." The responsibility for these massive displacements rests, not only on UNITA, but also on the Angolan government. In Bie province, where Oxfam implements various humanitarian projects, 15,397 newly displaced persons were registered in January 2002. More than 50% of these people were removed from their homes by the Government.
Oxfam emphasized that neither UNITA nor the Angolan government is fulfilling its obligation to assist the internally displaced and protect the civilian population. In addition, neither of the two parties in conflict facilitates humanitarian organizations' access to affected populations in order to provide them with humanitarian assistance. Because of this, Doctors without Borders stated that "humanitarian agencies today only have access to 10% of the areas where there are critical needs." Oxfam believes that the Government could do much more to improve this situation by repairing roads, bridges and airports.
