Table of Contents
Executive Summary
1. Introduction
2. Strategy and Priorities
3. Coordination in Transition
4. Emergency Relief and Resettlement
5. Demobilisation and Reintegration
6. Mine Action
7. Logistics and Communications
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Following the signing of the Lusaka Protocol in November 1994, the humanitarian community made intensive preparations to support the transition to peace, working out detailed mechanisms for coordination with the UNAVEM III peace-keeping mission and developing humanitarian assistance programmes that would fully support the peace process.
These programmes were set out in the 1995 United Nations Inter-Agency Appeal for Angola, issued in February 1995 and revised, in terms of the demobilisation component, in July of that year. The Appeal envisaged that, in keeping with the agreed schedule for implementation of the Lusaka Protocol, the quartering and disarmament of UNITA combatants would be completed by the end of the year and the majority of displaced persons and refugees would be able to return to their homes.
While progress was made during 1995 in achieving the goals of the Lusaka Protocol, the actual implementation was much slower than expected due to the difficulty of building up political confidence. Many of the programmes outlined in the 1995 Appeal were slowed down or put on hold, particulary those relating to demobilisation and action on land mines. Nevertheless, there were significant advances in humanitarian assistance in the course of the year as relief agencies took advantage of the relatively peaceful conditions to reach out to previously inaccessible populations and refine the arrangements for assistance to demobilised combatants.
The current document updates the 1995 humanitarian programme in view of the progress achieved to date and the lessons learned during the post-Lusaka period. The main priorities of the programme at this juncture are to:
- Extend relief assistance to vulnerable populations throughout the country;
- Support the return and resettlement of displaced persons and refugees;
- Complete the quartering of UNITA troops and provide for the orderly return of demobilised combatants to civilian life;
- Extend mine clearance, survey and awareness training programmes throughout Angola while training and fielding a national corps of technicians and managers;
- Promote joint Government/UNITA participation in humanitarian activities as a means of fostering national reconciliation;
- Build up the national capacity for coordination and implementation of relief, reintegration and mine action programmes;
- Create conditions for an accelerated transition to reconstruction and development through the Government's Community Rehabilitation Programme;
As the quartering process picks up speed and political confidence is painstakingly developed, there is hope that many of these goals can be achieved in the current year. The humanitarian community is relying on continued financial support to enable it to play its proper role in promoting lasting peace in Angola.