United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM)

United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM)

Established to assist the Government of Angola and the União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) in restoring peace and achieving national reconciliation on the basis of the Peace Accords for Angola, signed on 31 May 1991, the Lusaka Protocol signed on 20 November 1994, and relevant Security Council resolutions. Background UNAVEM I (January 1989--May 1991) verified the total  withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. UNAVEM I  I(June 1991--February 1995) verified the peace  arrangements agreed by the Angolan Government  and UNITA, in accordance with the Peace  Accords for Angola, and was later called upon to  observe and verify the elections held in  September 1992. After renewed fighting broke out  between Government and UNITA forces in the  aftermath of the elections, UNAVEM II continued  its presence in Angola at reduced strength. The signing of the Lusaka Protocol on 20 November  1994 marked a new stage in the Angolan peace process.  The Protocol consisted of a number of documents,  each relating to a particular issue on the agenda  of the peace talks, covering legal, military, police  and political issues, as well as the role for the United Nations.   On 1 February 1995, the Secretary-General  recommended to the Security Council that UNAVEM  III take over from UNAVEM II to help the parties  restore peace and achieve national reconciliation.  On 8 February, the Security Council authorized the  establishment of UNAVEM III with a maximum strength  of 7,000 troops and military support personnel, 350  military observers, 260 police observers and some  420 internationally recruited civilian staff, 300 locally  recruited staff and 75 United Nations Volunteers.  The date envisaged by the Council for the completion  of the UNAVEM III mandate was February 1997. Notwithstanding many positive developments,  the implementation process fell substantially  behind schedule, and the lack of mutual trust  between the Government and UNITA jeopardized  the attainment of lasting peace. In its resolution  1075 of 11 October 1996, the Security Council  emphasized that continuing delays and unfilled promises,  in particular on the part of UNITA,  in implementing the successive timetables f or the completion of key military and political  issues were no longer acceptable. After UNITA submitted a list of tasks which it had  to fulfil by 15 November 1996 (later extended to  20 November), UNAVEM III prepared a  comprehensive implementation timetable,  encompassing all pending military,  police and political tasks to be completed  by both parties. In his report to the Council of  19 November 1996, the Secretary-General stated  that the agreement on a consolidated timetable for  the completion of the pressing tasks had brought the  most urgent issues into focus. Some progess  had been made, but the implementation of the timetable  was still lagging behind. In the meantime, in light of the envisaged date for t he completion of the mandate, plans for the start  of the orderly and phased drawdown of UNAVEM III  were finalized. Those plans include the withdrawal by  the end of December 1996 of four United Nations infantry  and support units, with a total strength of between 600 to  700 personnel. On 30 June, the Security Council decided to establish,  as of 1 July, the United Nations Observer Mission in  Angola (MONUA). The new follow-on mission would  replace UNAVEM III. In a unanimous vote on Monday, the  Council also decided that the initial mandate of the new  mission would end on 31 October 1997. The Council strongly  urged the Government of Angola and, in particular, the National  Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) to  complete without delay the remaining political and military  aspects of the peace process, including, among other things,  the normalization of State administration throughout the  territory of Angola, the transformation of the UNITA radio  station into a non-partisan broadcasting facility, and the  transformation of UNITA into a political party. Appealing to b oth parties to refrain from any use of force which  could obstruct the full implementation of the peace process,  the Council "strongly urged the parties to complete  the registration and demobilization of all remaining military  elements, the elimination of all obstacles to free circulation  of people and goods, and the disarmament of the civilian population". Duration 13 March 95 to 1997 Participation 10x Military Observers