Angola: United Nations should Protect the Displaced

United Nations: Protect the Displaced in Angola
Government Should Provide Data on Oil and Diamond Revenue

(New York, March 5, 2002) -- The United Nations and the government of
Angola are failing to protect the rights of millions of people displaced
by the country’s civil war, Human Rights Watch charged today.

In a rare oral briefing to the members of the U.N. Security Council by a
non-governmental organization, Human Rights Watch today urged that the
Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) play an enhanced
role in taking responsibility for more than four million displaced
persons inside Angola, an extension of the agency's traditional
responsibility only for refugees who have crossed an international
border.

The Angolan government has also failed to make public any significant
data concerning its oil revenues, which totaled U.S.$3.18 billion in
2001. Human Rights Watch said that disclosing such data would have a
positive effect on governance and could lay the foundations for
improvement in human rights, and it urged the Security Council to press
the Angolan government for such disclosure.

The death of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi may create new opportunities for
making peace in Angola, Human Rights Watch said. “Savimbi’s death has
drawn new attention to the millions of victims of the civil war in
Angola,” said Arvind Ganesan, Director of the Business and Human Rights
program at Human Rights Watch. “The Security Council should not let this
moment pass.”

Human rights abuse and violence against civilians in Angola have been
increasing since the fighting resumed in 1998, Human Rights Watch said.
Angola is the second largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. In
2001, more than 90 percent of the government’s budget came from oil
revenue. Yet the country ranks 146 out of 162 countries in the United
Nations Development Program’s latest Human Development Index.
Humanitarian aid only reaches approximately 10 to 15 percent of the
country, around the major provincial towns.

More than four million people, or 31 percent of the total population,
are internally displaced in Angola. Both the government and UNITA have
forced people from their homes in order to depopulate areas, or to
punish locals for their perceived support of the adversary.

Two obstacles to protecting these internally displaced people (IDPs) in
Angola are the failure of the United Nations to monitor individual cases
of abuses, and its apparent unwillingness to confront the Angolan
government directly on the issue of IDPs, Human Rights Watch said.

In areas held by UNITA, humanitarian access is virtually nonexistent.
UNITA also continues to lay landmines to prevent residents of areas
under their control from fleeing to government-controlled areas. It has
also used anti-vehicle mines to disrupt transportation.

There have been some improvements in the human rights situation in
Angola in recent months, Human Rights Watch said. In areas under firm
government control such as Luanda and along the coast, there is more
tolerance of discussions about human rights and public affairs. However,
this has not included greater tolerance of organized political
activities or detailed discussion on how the government manages its oil
and diamond revenues.

The opacity of the Angolan government’s budget and expenditures has
generated widespread concern, including among the multilateral financial
institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) tried to address
this problem by entering into a program of economic reform with the
government in April 2000. This program included a provision to monitor
oil revenues, known as the “Oil Diagnostic,” which could have promoted
transparency and accountability and ultimately a greater respect for
human rights. However, the government has failed to implement the
program effectively.

“Public accounting for oil revenues is something that is firmly within
the government’s control, even in the absence of peace,” said Ganesan.

Human Rights Watch is testifying before the Security Council in an Arria
Formula briefing. An Arria Formula meeting is a meeting of the members
of the Council rather than a meeting of the Security Council per se. It
allows Council members to hear the views of representatives of
non-Council members, representatives of non-state parties and NGOs in an
informal and confidential setting. It is held outside of council
chambers and is restricted to members of the Council and representatives
of parties whose views the Council seeks. No official records of the
meetings will be taken and the meeting is not announced.

For a copy of Human Rights Watch’s briefing to the members of the
Security Council, please visit
http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/angola/2002/angola060302.pdf. For
more information on Angola, please visit
http://www.hrw.org/africa/angola.php.

For more information, please contact:

In New York, Arvind Ganesan, 1-202-255-8305 (mobile)
In New York, Andrea Lari, 1-212-216-1834 (speaks Portuguese)
In London, Urmi Shah or Alex Vines, 44-207-239-0293
In Brussels, Jean-Paul Marthoz, 322-732-2009

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Africa Division
Human Rights Watch
New York Office
http://hrw.org/africa/index.php