ANGOLA
World Report
2001 Entry
World
Report 2000 Entry
World
Report 1999 Entry
World
Report 1998 Entry
Angola Unravels:
The Rise and Fall
of the Lusaka Peace Process
Angola returned to all-out war in December 1998, the fourth period
of open warfare in living memory. The human cost since fighting resumed
is impossible to determine with precision, but the United Nations
estimates that nearly one million people have become internally
displaced persons because of the renewed conflict, 10 percent of
Angola's population. This return to war also represented the end
of the uneasy peace process that began with the Lusaka Protocol
in Zambia in November 1994. The Lusaka Protocol provided for a cease-fire,
the integration of UNITA generals into the government's armed
forces (which were to become nonpartisan and civilian controlled),
demobilization (later amended to demilitarization) under U.N. supervision,
the repatriation of mercenaries, the incorporation of UNITA troops into
the Angolan National Police under the Interior Ministry, and the
prohibition of any other police or surveillance organization. As
a backdrop to the protocol, a Security Council embargo on arms and
oil transfers to UNITA had been in place since 1993, while both the
government and UNITA had agreed to halt new arms acquisitions as part of
the accords. But the embargo on UNITA was not enforced, and both
sides openly continued major arms purchases throughout the process.
(2335), 9/99, 205pp; ISBN 1-56432-233-5, $15.00
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BETWEEN WAR &
PEACE: Arms Trade and Human Rights Abuses since the Lusaka Protocol
In updating our 1994 report, Arms Trade & Violations of the Laws
of War in Angola, we found that despite the signing of the Lusaka Protocol
between the Angolan government and UNITA that led to a cease-fire, sporadic
fighting continued in 1995. Widespread human rights abuses by both parties
included restrictions on freedom of movement, conscription of child soldiers,
and the intimidation, detention and killing of journalists. While there
was an overall decline in arms shipments, new weaponry continued to arrive
in Angola from Russia, Ukraine, and Zaire.
(A801) 2/96, 44 pp., $5.00/£2.95
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Arms Trade and Violations of the Laws of War since the 1992 Elections
(Sumário em Portugués) Angola’s “forgotten war,” fueled
by a steady supply of weapons to both sides, has claimed an estimated 100,000
civilian lives since the conflict resumed following the September 1992
elections. The government and the UNITA rebels are responsible for an appalling
range of violations of the laws of war. Angolan government forces have
engaged in indiscriminate aerial bombardments, torture, disappearances,
summary executions, looting, and recruitment of child soldiers. Government
forces have tortured and killed thousands of civilians suspected of being
UNITA supporters. Thousands more civilians have been killed or injured
in the indiscriminate bombing of population centers in UNITA zones. UNITA
forces have engaged in indiscriminate shelling, long-term sieges that starve
civilians, summary executions, torture, mutilation of the dead, hostage-taking,
and attacks on international relief operations. An estimated 20-30,000
people died in UNITA's siege of Kuito and 10,000 in the siege of Huambo,
as UNITA rained 1,000 shells per day on both cities.
The government of Angola is the largest arms purchaser
in sub-Saharan Africa, mortgaging its future oil production to finance
an estimated $3.5 billion worth of weapons imports in 1993 and 1994 from
Russia, Brazil, North Korea, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Ukraine and Uzbekistan. UNITA is also buying large amounts of weaponry
from both private arms dealers and foreign governments, including South
Africa, Zaire and Namibia.
(1452) 11/94, 176 pp., ISBN 1-56432-145-2, $15.00/£12.95
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Landmines in Angola
Landmines have rendered large areas of arable land and pasture, many
roads, bridges, river banks, villages, and some important economic installations
unfit for the people of Angola. This report shows that attempts to restrict
their use in Angola have failed and that anti-personnel landmines present
a serious and chronic threat to civilians, far in excess of any short-term
military advantage that may be gained.
(091X) 1/93, 80 pp., ISBN 1-56432-091-X, $7.00/£5.95
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