IV

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 75

To support the peace process in Angola.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 25, 1993

Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida (for himself, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. EDWARDS of California, and Ms. MCKINNEY) submitted the

following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

Foreign Affairs

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To support the peace process in Angola.

Whereas on May 31, 1991, the Government of the Republic

of Angola, under the control of the Popular Movement

for the Liberation of Angola (hereinafter in this resolution referred to as ‘‘the MPLA’’), and the National

Union for the Total Independence of Angola (hereinafter

in this resolution referred to as ‘‘UNITA’’) signed the

Bicesse Peace Accords, pledging both parties to full demobilization, the formation of a new national army, and

multiparty democratic elections;

Whereas the United States has agreed to recognize the Angolan Government based on certified democratic elections

and commitment in word and deed to the Bicesse Peace

Accords;
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Whereas such elections were held on September 29 and 30,

1992, with 4,500,000 Angolans voting;

Whereas these elections were certified by the United Nations

and determined by an estimated 800 international observers to be generally free and fair and without significant irregularities or systematic fraud;

Whereas the MPLA candidate for President, Jose Eduardo

dos Santos, received 49.6 percent of the total vote and

the UNITA candidate, Jonas Savimbi, received 40.1 percent;

Whereas neither the MPLA, UNITA, nor any other major

political party in Angola contested the results of the legislative elections, in which the MPLA won a clear victory;

Whereas the UNITA leadership immediately called into question the results of the Presidential election, withdrew its

forces from the newly unified army, and subsequently retreated to its stronghold to launch a military offensive;

Whereas life in Angola has been dramatically disrupted by

the consequences of 350,000 casualties from 16 years of

civil war, an estimated 20,000 additional deaths from the

renewed conflict, more than 1,000,000 people displaced,

and 3,000,000 people threatened by hunger, disease, and

land mines;

Whereas the Angolan Government has continued to work with

the United Nations to resurrect a negotiated settlement

through talks in Addis Ababa, while UNITA has called

for the removal of United Nations personnel from Angola

refused to participate in additional attempts to negotiate,

and threatened to carry out violence against United

States companies operating throughout Angola;
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Whereas the United Nations Security Council has adopted a

resolution expressing grave concerns about the outbreak

of fighting in Angola, urging both sides to begin peace

talks, and strongly condemning UNITA’s persistent violations of the Bicesse Peace Accords;

Whereas over the years the United States Government played

a significant role in Angola, providing extensive support

for UNITA during the war and facilitating the negotiations that led to the Bicesse Peace Accords;

Whereas the Clinton Administration has the opportunity to

establish a new policy with respect to Angola and utilize

diplomatic resources to seek a peaceful resolution to the

ongoing conflict in Angola; and

Whereas an appropriate and strategic United States response

to the crisis in Angola will set an important precedent for

United States action in newly emerging democracies elsewhere in Africa: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring),

3 SECTION 1. DECLARATIONS BY THE CONGRESS.

4 The Congress—

5 (1) deplores human rights violations committed

6 by the MPLA-controlled government forces and

7 UNITA;

8 (2) condemns UNITA’s refusal to negotiate, its

9 attempts to expand the war, including into areas

10 where foreign companies operate, and its apparent
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1 effort to disregard the democratic process and to in2 stead win a military victory in Angola; and

3 (3) urges both parties to the conflict in Angola

4 to act swiftly to negotiate an immediate cease-fire

5 and move effectively to set a timetable for full imple6 mentation of the Bicesse Peace Accords, including

7 an agreement on a date for the demobilization of

8 military forces.

9 SEC. 2. ACTIONS THE UNITED STATES SHOULD TAKE.

10 The Congress calls upon the President to—

11 (1) accord diplomatic recognition of the Govern12 ment of Angola;

13 (2) appoint a Special Envoy to be sent to An14 gola to underscore United States interest in a politi15 cal settlement and to assist both sides in the nego16 tiation of a cease-fire;

17 (3) immediately urge the United Nations’ Sec18 retary General to take whatever steps may be nec19 essary to facilitate a cease-fire and build an accept20 able climate for a Presidential run-off in Angola, in21 cluding increasing the United Nations’ presence on

22 the ground to expedite a cease-fire and provide sup23 port for demobilization and for other aspects of im24 plementing the Bicesse Peace Accords;
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1 (4) take immediate steps in the international

2 community, including sanctions or other necessary

3 actions, to pressure any nation or any party to the

4 conflict determined to be obstructing the evolution of

5 peace in Angola; and

6 (5) consider dispatching a team to Angola to

7 assess the humanitarian crisis and make rec8 ommendations for a United States response to the

9 crisis.

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