Tomorrow, we will consider the role and responsibility of the Security Council in protecting civilians in armed conflict. Today, we have the opportunity to take resolute Council action -- and to do so where the need could not be more acute.

The endless and utterly senseless civil conflict in Angola has only one enduring certainty: civilians desperately need protection. Previous speakers have made plain the dimensions of the threats faced by ordinary Angolans. It is a place where one million souls have perished in the violence; where a complete humanitarian collapse never looms far, with people barely surviving from day to day; where for rural dwellers it is literally too dangerous to step foot out of the house for fear they could be blown away by landmines; where children are in greater peril than anywhere else on earth; where one in three people have been uprooted from their homes; and where, quite simply, no one has escaped undamaged by war.

Angola is a very rich land that is very poor in human security. Indeed, it is ironic and tragic that its very riches -- mineral and petroleum wealth -- have been so cruelly exploited to increase, rather than diminish, the suffering of the Angolan people. The renewed violence that has thwarted the prospects for peace might have been impossible if UNITA had not been able to misdirect earnings from these resources in the pursuit of violence.

To its considerable credit, the United Nations has been engaged from the outset in efforts to resolve the Angolan war and to establish peace. Thousands of blue berets, civilian and military, have been sent there for the cause of peace -- some paying with their lives; millions of dollars have been spent in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction efforts; and countless negotiators have worked for days, weeks and months to obtain commitment by the parties to stop the fighting for good.

However, there has been little return on this enormous investment. Lasting peace remains elusive. Yet, until peace prevails, there is no alternative but to persevere.

Yesterday, the Council agreed to improve the use of sanctions as an instrument to pursue peace and advance human security. Today, we can translate that commitment into action for Angolans.

Giving real meaning to the sanctions regime against UNITA is a way forward. Denying UNITA the means to wage war would help promote peace. To be sure, this was the objective when measures to this end were adopted several years ago. But it is no secret that non-adherence to the relevant Council decisions -- deliberate or otherwise -- has been the rule, rather than the exception.

The Security Council took an unprecedented step to reverse this trend a year ago when it approved the creation of the independent Panel of Experts to collect specific information on compliance -- and non-compliance -- with the provisions of the sanctions regime, and to provide it with recommendations on how to make the sanctions work.

The Panel, working independently of the Sanctions Committee and holding themselves to the most stringent of evidentiary standards, has produced a comprehensive, well-supported and practical report for which they deserve the Council's gratitude.

Along with the Panel, the Chairman of the Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Fowler, and his able staff also merit our appreciation for the single-minded determination and vision with which this challenging initiative was pursued and completed.

They have done their work. We must now do ours. The draft resolution before the Council would operationalize many of the Panel's recommendations through specific action aimed at stopping the illicit trade in diamonds, petroleum and arms, while reinforcing financial and other restrictions on rebel leaders.

Canada will certainly do its part to ensure these measures are followed through.

We will provide $100 000 to assist the independent monitoring mechanism provided for in the resolution to prepare its report on whether to impose additional sanctions on parties found to be in violation of the Angolan sanctions.

By their location, neighbouring countries have a greater responsibility in implementing the sanctions regime. However, it is not a burden they can, or should, be expected to shoulder alone. To that end, we are also ready to give technical and financial assistance to SADC [Southern Africa Development Community] countries to improve the effectiveness of their efforts.

Finally, Canada is prepared to sponsor the conference of experts on the diamond trade, as called for in the draft resolution. This would help devise a system of controls that would allow for increased transparency and accountability in the flow of diamonds from the source to the world's diamond bourses.

Like elsewhere, these new measures will only work if the sanctions regime is itself linked to a wider process of negotiation and to the full respect of human rights by all sides. This applies to the Angolan government, as well as to UNITA. In this regard, the Angolan government must fully assume its responsibilities towards its citizens. We call on both parties -- UNITA and the Angolan government -- to demonstrate leadership and to negotiate -- and fully implement -- an agreement on the basis of the Lusaka Accord.

After thirty years of civil conflict, the people of Angola deserve no less than lasting peace and stability.

Hopefully, the work of the Angola Sanctions Committee will contribute to that goal. This groundbreaking effort also has, I believe, further and wider application for the Council's activities and its efforts to promote human security.

The Panel's work underscores the complexity of imposing and enforcing targeted sanctions. It, nevertheless, proposes practical ways of doing so. Without question, these sanctions will require the commitment of considerable will and resources. Without doubt, there is resistance in some quarters to making them work.

However, if successful, these measures could serve as a template for focused action against belligerents in other conflict situations.

The Panel's efforts have also highlighted the reality and the impact of the new war economies -- the nexus between parties to armed violence, the exploitation of people and resources and the commercial interests that profit from it. In a growing number of conflict situations, economic agendas co-exist with political and military goals in the perpetuation of violence and the victimization of people.

Addressing the implications of this situation for peace and security merits further reflection and will involve the development of creative responses by the Security Council.

Finally, the Panel's findings underline that, while Council decisions reflect the will of the international community, implementation depends on the action of individual members.

In applying targeted sanctions -- financial or arms embargoes, for example -- it means sharing the know-how, experience and intelligence in dealing with other threats, like money laundering and the drug trade, where tactics for confronting the threat may be similar. For some countries, Canada included, it may also mean examining existing legal tools to determine whether they could be adapted to better influence the negative behaviour of actors operating in, or from, their jurisdictions.

The Angolan war is a direct and devastating threat to the security of Angolans. The Council is right to remain involved. The work of the Angola Sanctions Committee and the Council's commitment today will hopefully bring a resolution to this conflict closer. In applying the broader lessons of these efforts, it may also help the Council to protect, not just Angolans, but civilians victimized by armed conflict wherever it occurs.

Thank you.

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Last Updated: 2006-10-30	Top of Page	Important Notices