Conclusions and recommendations

Mr. Peter Hermes

'Angola is strategically one of the most important countries in Africa. With an enormously fertile environment, it could be the breadbasket of Southern Africa. Rich in minerals – oil, gas, diamonds – its people could be amongst the most prosperous in the continent. Luanda could join Pretoria, Lagos, Nairobi and Cairo as a hub for New Africa, a magnet for international investment and business. Failure to realise this economic potential is a real loss for African welfare. To ignore the plight of the Angolan people would be criminal. To continue to drift along with sanctions against UNITA which do not bite exposes the rest of the world to charges of hypocrisy. The time for serious actions is long overdue.'

These are not the words of an 'out-of-time' activist from the good old Angola Committee. These are also not the words of Angolan Non-Governmental Organisations, as present here today. No, these are the words of the British Minister of State of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, also named the Minister for Africa, Peter Hain. He takes a firm position against Jonas Savimbi, and has even frozen Savimbi's bank accounts in the UK.

Peter Hain spoke at an event organised by NiZA's partner in the UK, Action for Southern Africa, recently in London. His speech received widespread attention in the British media. At an event similar to today's seminar on Angola, organised by partners of ICCO and NiZA in Canada, the Canadian Minster for Development Assistance, Maria Minna, was equally critical of Jonas Savimbi. The objective appears to be to get all parties to the negotiation table again.

Although we appreciate the hospitality of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, we would have appreciated it even more if one of our Ministers dealing with Foreign Affairs or Development Co-operation could have joined us here today, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Netherlands is not very outspoken on conflicts in Africa. It has not taken the lead in discussions at international fora on these issues, whether it concerns the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the conflicts in the Great Lakes Region, or Angola. The government of the Netherlands tries to operate in line with European Union policies, the United Nations and other multilateral institutions. The present membership of the United Nations Security Council, however, gives our country the unique opportunity to put conflicts in African countries on the international agenda.

In September this year (1999) the Netherlands chaired the Security Council and it took a positive initiative: it proposed a discussion on the trade in small arms. We have seen today the importance of this issue. Trade in natural resources, such as diamonds and oil, is used to perpetuate the war efforts in Angola. The availability and easy accessibility of small arms (bought with money from diamond sales or oil revenues) is responsible for despair and misery, the death of numerous people, the death of nations, or – as in Angola – decades of suffering, displacement and starvation. No developed and democratic country in the world should accept the reality of this awful truth.

In general, the Dutch government is in favour of careful diplomacy with regard to conflicts, less outspoken than in the past. Development Co-operation is now concentrated in seventeen countries (plus three temporarily). A condition for the bilateral policy on development co-operation is 'Good Governance'. Good Governance is not – as it should be - an aim or an objective of bilateral policy; it has become a starting point for bilateral relations and aid.

Today we have learnt about the importance of a number of issues, such as :

– transparency and accountability by the government of Angola;

– the involvement of the United Nations in the peace process in Angola, with a clear mandate respecting human rights, transparent about its role, tasks and resources

– the need for the United Nations to re-establish its credibility in Angola;

– the recognition of positive local developments and peace initiatives, carried out nation-wide by Non-Governmental Organisations, such as churches, trade unions etc., improving the access to information and functioning of local media throughout the country;

– inclusion of all sectors of civil society in the peace process, implying the need for substantial support for civil society initiatives, such as GARP, GAP and other mediating mechanisms towards sustainable peace in Angola;

– creating the necessary pre-conditions to encourage demobilisation of UNITA troops (and other rebel movements and surplus government troops) by offering appropriate alternatives and income generating opportunities;

– developing and strengthening the lobby capacity for implementation of sanctions in dialogue with partners in Angola, especially sanctions on illegal trade;

– special attention to children, the main victims of the war and the future of the country, and the need for education for all.

Bilateral support to war-torn societies with corrupt governments must be directed towards Non-Governmental Organisations like the ones here today. These NGOs are working under extremely difficult conditions, trying to uphold human dignity and minimum conditions for survival of the people living under extremely violent and poor conditions. The effect of this kind of support might be more far-reaching as compared to bilateral support to so-called Good Governance countries. In order to guarantee Good Governance in the long term, there is a real need to include civil society in a post war period for constructive bilateral development aid. We challenge the Dutch government to adapt its policies in line with the outcome of today's seminar. Good Governance as an objective – in stead of a condition – for bilateral aid will make development co-operation more flexible and strategically more effective since this includes civil society.

As the main recommendations which resulted from the seminar today, I would like to mention the following:

War torn societies – such as Angola – should not only qualify for emergency relief but also for continuing support to the organised civil society in order to enlarge its breathing space. In the long run this would be the way to guarantee a genuine democracy, so that the Angolan people have a say in crucial issues concerning their daily lives. We call upon governments in the North and institutions to:

– substantially increase financial support to the organised civil society in Angola in order to strengthen its capacity and quality whilst making important contributions towards achieving peace and reconciliation in the country;

– secure human rights monitoring and making it possible to publish about human rights abuses in a free and open way.

We call upon the international community to:

– comply with the United Nations sanctions against UNITA by undermining the very financial basis for continuation of the war by UNITA, urging them back to the negotiation table again;

– support the intention of NiZA and ICCO to explore the possibilities of establishing a kind of Angola monitoring body in close co-operation with Angolan NGOs, like the ones present here today.

NiZA and ICCO will continue to work together on this issue, in order to put Angola further on the public agenda. The monitoring body just mentioned could carry out further research and provide information on request to Angolan organisations, institutions, media, people, also outside the capital. It should support initiatives from inside the country in its efforts to achieve transparency and accountability on the part of the government and its institutions.

Angolans deserve our sincere and lasting support in their peaceful and courageous struggle against the war, against corruption and human rights abuses.

Thank you very much.

Henk Kieft (chairman): Thank you very much Peter for this summary of conclusions and recommendations for both NiZA and ICCO as organisers of this conference. We are nearing the closure of this conference. A lot of information has been shared, especially our guests from Angola have really tried to tell us what they have in their heart. People have been talking together building networks for further action, a lot of issues were raised for building a joint strategy of co-operation between NGOs here and NGOs in Angola, and I feel a level of commitment here. Mr. Peter Hermes has summarised the future steps in the name of both NiZA and ICCO and I think that is the basic outcome of this day and I would like to thank you very much for your interventions and your support.

Frei Zeca: I did not have the plan to become the last speaker, but now I will take the opportunity to say a few words. In this room I have heard a lot of richness, a lot of willingness, a very genuine, honest and generous spirit to be with the Angolan people. I feel sad that all this richness might be lost, therefore I would like to make a practical suggestion such that this group could meet more regularly for instance once every two months to discuss and above all exchange information.