UN Imposes Sanctions on Angola

Foreign Affairs Minister Don McKinnon today fully endorsed new United Nations sanctions against Angolan opposition party UNITA for failure to abide by a 1994 peace treaty.

The UN Security Council sanctions restrict the travel of senior officials of UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) by denying visas and prohibiting the flight of their aircraft. Exports of arms and petroleum to Angola are already banned under 1993 sanctions.

Mr McKinnon said the new UN sanctions were imposed because UNITA was not showing a willingness to participate in the peace process aimed at ending over two decades of civil war.

"Some substantial and concrete steps have been taken towards implementing the main points of the peace accord but more commitment to the process is needed by both parties," Mr McKinnon said.

"Clearly not enough has been done by UNITA. They have yet to decommission their armed forces and relinquish control of many parts of Angola, both key points of the peace accord they signed."

Mr McKinnon said a deep mistrust between UNITA and the Government continued to inhibit the peace process in Angola, which had been devastated by the civil war but remained potentially one of Africa's richest countries, with large oil reserves and substantial mineral resources.

The New Zealand regulations giving effect to the sanctions will come into force this Friday.