Mr. President,
The people of Angola deserve a lasting peace. No-one, least of all the civilian population, which has suffered so much already, can afford a continued deadlock in the peace process. The Angolan people deserves better than the current military tension and the armed attacks which have affected civilians, Angolan authorities and UN and humanitarian personnel. The Angolans deserve better than to see vital humanitarian assistance delayed and stopped because of the serious security situation. And they deserve better than to risk losing what has already been accomplished in the peace process.
The Government of Sweden is deeply disturbed by the lack of progress in the peace process in Angola over the past months. As stated in the draft resolution before us, this is primarily the result of the failure of UNITA to fulfill its obligations under the Acordos de Paz and the Lusaka Protocol. There can be no alternative to the full implementation of these commitments, including in particular the full demilitarisation of those forces which UNITA has retained despite its declarations and contrary to its obligations under the Lusaka Protocol, as well as through cooperation in the extension of state administration.
We hope that both the Government and UNITA will use the coming weeks to set the peace process back on track and give priority to the need for national reconciliation and confidence-building, based on respect for the human rights of all Angolans. We urge both parties, but in particular UNITA, to cooperate with MONUA and to guarantee the safety and security of UN and humanitarian personnel.
We welcome the recent visit by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Ambassador Brahimi, to Angola and the region and the most welcome appointment of Mr Issa Diallo as new Special Representative of the Secretary-General. We hope that these steps will give the peace process the momentum it so clearly needs. We agree with the Secretary-General that to continue to work towards peace and reconciliation is the best way of honouring the memory of Maitre Beye and his collaborators, who died so tragically in June.
The Government of Sweden believes that there will continue to be an important role for the UN in promoting and building peace in Angola. The various elements of MONUA - military, police, political and human rights - have all made essential contributions to the peace process. We look forward to the recommendations of the Secretary-General on the future role of the UN in Angola in these fields. In anticipation of these recommendations, we fully support the draft resolution before us today, which will extend the mandate of MONUA until 15 September, 1998.
Thank you, Mr. President.