Vol. 435 No. 3
31 Mr. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give details of further measures being taken by the international community to bring the 20 years of carnage in Angola to an end; and if the remaining Irish citizens there are safe at the present time.
Since the renewal of the civil war in Angola over a year ago, Ireland and its EC partners have supported the actions and initiatives by the international community to bring the fighting and suffering in Angola to an end. The Twelve have directly appealed to both sides to the conflict to adhere to and respect the terms of the 1991 "Acordos de Paz" (Bicesse Peace Accords). The UN Secretary-General's special representative and the troika of Portugal, the US and Russia have repeatedly attempted to bring the two parties together to bring an end to the civil war. Following the ceasefire declared by UNITA on 20 September, talks were convened under the auspices of the United Nations between the Government of Angola and UNITA. I understand that these talks were postponed at the weekend.
The UN Security Council on 15 September 1993 adopted Resolution 864. Under the terms of this resolution, UNITA was given notice that unless a ceasefire was established and agreement reached on the implementation of the peace accords, an embargo on the sale of arms, military equipment, military assistance and oil would be imposed on UNITA. UNITA did not comply with the resolution and the embargoes came into effect on 25 September. Ireland and our EC partners have taken the necessary steps to implement the measures.
The Security Council recently reaffirmed its readiness to take further measures against UNITA should the situation warrant it. The report of the Secretary General to the Security Council of 27 October recommended that action to impose further measures against UNITA be postponed until 1 December 1993.
Ireland and its EC partners believe that it is important to maintain pressure on UNITA and encourage the Government of Angola to build on the momentum of the talks in Lusaka.
