If you use this document, you are encouraged to make a donation to Amnesty International to support future research. Once again the Angolan peace process has collapsed. Again the brunt of the suffering is being borne by helpless civilians as aid workers and peacekeepers withdraw from war zones. The long conflict has bred contempt for the right to life and other human rights. Sadly, the search for peace has also sometimes neglected the importance of upholding human rights.
Peace is unattainable without respect for human rights.
It describes human rights abuses which have occurred in 1998 and concludes that decisive action to protect human rights is not only a moral imperative but also an essential foundation for a lasting peace. It contains some recommendations which, if implemented, would offer some protection to the civilian population while new attempts are made to end the war. Action is needed not only for the sake of Angola but for the region as a whole, as the Angolan war is linked with conflicts in neighbouring states. During 1998 the peace process in Angola unravelled and in December heavy fighting spread through the central highlands and to other parts of the country. In the fighting hundreds were killed, including civilians who died as a result of indiscriminate shelling.