On behalf of the Republic of Angola, allow me first to congratulate the President, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, on his election to preside over the fifty-second session of the General Assembly. Allow me also to congratulate the outgoing President, Ambassador Razali Ismail, on the excellent work he performed. We should also like to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his dedication and determination in turning the United Nations into a more effective instrument to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. The cold war, which was the main obstacle that for decades prevented the United Nations from performing its role fully, a role defined by its founding Members in the Charter, is now a thing of the past. But our world Organization has not yet achieved the degree of efficiency that the Member countries and their people would desire, with the result that sometimes despair and a lack of confidence are felt, instead of trust in its efforts. The construction of the new democratic world order to which we all aspire will demand that the principal forum for multilateral diplomacy, the United Nations, play a greater role. In this context, the complete restructuring and revitalization of its system and an end to the present financial crisis, which is affecting its normal functioning, are essential. The issue of the restructuring of the Security Council should therefore be given priority. The current structure of that body is obsolete, reflecting a reality that prevailed more than 50 years ago. How is it conceivable that 27 regions such as the African continent, which makes up the largest regional group at the United Nations, or Latin America, are not represented among the permanent Members of the Security Council? Therefore, it is high time that the geographical composition of that body be overhauled to allow for more balanced and more equitable representation. In this regard, Angola endorses the African claim for no fewer than two seats among the permanent members of the Security Council. The Council’s working methods should also be revised in order to ensure greater transparency in its decision-making processes. Angola supports the declaration made by the Heads of State of the Organization of African Unity, as well as the statement made by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the non-aligned countries on reform of the Security Council. The recent proposals made by the Secretary-General on reform will certainly boost the process of overhauling the United Nations. Angola welcomes the contents of those proposals, although we would have preferred to see further improvements in some aspects. We are, however, optimistic as to the outcome. As the Assembly is aware, the Lusaka Protocol which was signed in 1994 between the Government and the armed opposition, UNITA, was intended to solve the post-electoral crisis provoked by UNITA and at the same time to put the country back on the path towards peace, national reconciliation and democracy. However, approximately three years since the beginning of its implementation, Angola is still far from achieving those goals due to the systematic failures by UNITA to meet its obligations and to its repeated delaying tactics. This is a clear demonstration of bad faith and lack of political will by its leadership. It appears that the leader of this organization has not abandoned its strategy of taking power by force. He is still resisting the transformation of UNITA into a true political party and UNITA’s complete demilitarization, even though the single national army, which includes in its ranks thousands of men provided by UNITA, has already been formed. UNITA still maintains a private, heavily armed army made up of around 35,000 men, 4,000 of whom belong to the UNITA leader’s personal guard. This constitutes a serious violation of the Lusaka Protocol and is the main cause of the current climate of tension and insecurity in some parts of Angola. The members of this army include troops that UNITA hid from the United Nations during the quartering process, recently demobilized UNITA troops who have been recruited again by force, and former soldiers of the former Republic of Zaire. At the same time, UNITA is still continuing its military build-up through the reactivation of military bases and acquisition of sophisticated weapons from foreign countries, in clear contradiction of paragraph 19 of Security Council resolution 864 (1993). On the other hand, UNITA is holding on to large portions of national territory which were supposed to be handed over to government administration. This is impeding exercise of the State’s sovereignty throughout the country and the free movement of people and goods. The control of some of these areas is aimed at exploring for, and then smuggling and exploiting, their natural resources to finance UNITA’s war machinery and satisfy the individual interests of its leadership. As a result of these actions, the perspectives created with the inauguration of the Government of National Unity and Reconciliation and the swearing-in of the Parliament have been postponed. UNITA’s behaviour in the peace process is repugnant as well as ambiguous. It insists on armed opposition despite the fact that it is part of the main power institutions and despite the fact that Angola has a democratic, pluralist system in which all political parties can freely carry out their activities. The international community has already expressed, repeatedly and categorically, its condemnation of and dismay at UNITA’s actions. In 1993 the Security Council applied the first package of restrictive measures against UNITA. More recently, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1127 (1997), which applies a new package of measures against UNITA as a result of its lack of cooperation in the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol. The position taken by the Council above all displays the concern of the international community and its determination to prevent the UNITA leadership strategy from being implemented. Otherwise, peace and stability in Angola and the entire region of central and southern Africa would be at risk. The Government of Angola reiterates its firm support for resolution 1127 (1997), because we feel that it is a strong means of pressure aimed at dissuading UNITA from its intention to return to war, encouraging it to speed up its demilitarization and transformation into 28 a political party, and put an end to its jurisdiction over parts of Angolan territory. Taking the above into account, the Angolan people look forward to the Security Council’s demonstrating firmness and determination in implementing resolution 1127 (1997), immediately putting into force sanctions against UNITA unless that organization changes its behaviour and gives proof of good faith in complying with its outstanding obligations. The Government of Angola is optimistic about the successful conclusion of the peace process and will continue to do its utmost to guarantee the full implementation of the Lusaka Protocol. Before turning to another subject, I would like to express the sincerest gratitude of the Government of Angola to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola, Mr. Alioune Blondin Beye, and to the Governments of the troika of observers, Portugal, Russia and the United States, for their untiring efforts to bring about peace in Angola. Recent changes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have contributed to alleviating the tensions in the central African region, opening new perspectives for its States and peoples in terms of stability and development. The present climate will allow stability to prevail in the region and will allow for better coordination among States with a view to reinforcing the observance of the principle of good neighbourliness. The Angolan Government is very apprehensive regarding the crisis in the Republic of the Congo, a country with which Angola shares a common border, close consanguinity and historic ties. The Republic of Angola favours a negotiated solution to the crisis and supports the international mediation efforts headed by Mr. Omar Bongo, President of the Republic of Gabon. Our Government also supports the deployment of an international force as soon as a political settlement emerges from the negotiations. In Sierra Leone, we deplore the interruption of the democratic process and the overthrow of the legitimately elected institutions. The Government of Angola supports the efforts of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and, in particular, of neighbouring countries to restore the democratic institutions. We are also concerned with the situation in the Republic of the Comoros, where tensions are threatening the country’s independence and territorial integrity. We encourage the international community to support the efforts of the OAU in the search for a peaceful solution able to preserve the territorial integrity and independence of that country. The situation in Somalia continues to deteriorate, and a solution acceptable to all the parties concerned has yet to be found. The Angolan Government approves of the efforts made by member countries of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and, in particular, the most recent initiatives of Ethiopia in bringing the representatives of the Somali factions together at the negotiating table. Of particular concern to us is the ostracism displayed in the main international forums with regard to the Somali crisis. In Western Sahara the recent opening of direct negotiations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO front is a positive sign. The Angolan Government has always been in favour of a negotiated solution to the conflict which takes into account the aspirations of the populations of the territory and encourages the parties to honour the agreements signed in Houston and to continue the ongoing dialogue in good faith. In this connection, we support the joint efforts of the OAU and the United Nations. We are concerned with the continuation of the Israeli-Arab conflict, the primary cause of the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. Recent events have delayed the peace process and have led to further deterioration of the situation in the region. Angola reaffirms its support for the peace process in the Middle East. Its success depends upon the reinforcement of mutual trust and the full implementation of the accords signed between the parties concerned. We endorse the position expressed in the Declaration of the Heads of State or Government of the OAU and the statement made in New Delhi at the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement with regard to the question of Palestine. My Government expresses its concern at the lack of progress in the initiatives to bring about a just solution to the question of East Timor. The Government of Angola 29 deplores the refusal by one of the parties to accept President Mandela’s initiative. The economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba is a matter of concern to my Government, particularly because of its negative impact on the economic and social situation of the Cuban people. We reiterate our appeal to have the embargo lifted, which will contribute to relations between two peoples. (spoke in English) Finally, I should like to thank those who have given me the opportunity to speak today. As the Assembly knows, my speech was to be delivered on 26 September. However, due to a sad event which has happened in my country, I have to leave tonight, and I was obliged to ask the Assembly to give me the opportunity to deliver my speech today. One of our colleagues, the former of Minister for Foreign Affairs of Angola, passed away yesterday. It is my duty to return home to pay my respects to my dear colleague. Many here know Foreign Minister "Loy". I wish the Assembly well, and may good work be done here for peace, stability and international cooperation.