§ 2.51 p.m.
§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their assessment of the situation in Angola, following the agreed ceasefires.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos)My Lords, we welcome recent moves towards peace in Angola. The agreement signed in Luanda on 4th April between the chiefs of staff Of the Angolan armed forces and UNITA is a positive step. Both sides must now commit to an inclusive, transparent and sustainable political process. However, the humanitarian situation remains critical. We are encouraging the Angolan Government to put more of their own resources into the relief effort and to facilitate access and, where necessary, provide security for the relief agencies.
§ Lord HyltonMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her reply. Does not Angola have oil revenues in excess of 3 billion dollars a year? Will that enable the Angolan Government to disarm and resettle 150,000 ex-soldiers and to cope with 4 million displaced people? Can the noble Baroness give us a little detail about the action plan intended to combine the efforts of Angola with international help?
§ Baroness AmosMy Lords, the noble Lord is right that Angola has significant oil revenues. There is a two-phase process on the action plan. The memorandum of agreement was signed on 4th April, but that has to go hand in hand with a political process, which, as I said in my original Answer, needs to be inclusive and transparent. Noble Lords will know that we are keen to see implementation of the Lusaka protocol. We agree that the process of DDRR needs to begin urgently. The noble Lord mentioned figures. It is estimated that there are more than 50,000 UNITA fighters and more than 300,000 families in addition to the more than 4 million people who are displaced within Angola. The Portuguese have offered military observers for the disarmament demobilisation 123 process. We shall continue to work with the UN and other international agencies to make sure that the process stays on rack.
§ Lord Hughes of WoodsideMy Lords, does my noble friend agree that at long last there is a real opportunity for the people of Angola to have a peaceful future? The Angolan Government have said clearly that they wish to implement the Lusaka accords in full and are prepared to move on a programme of social reconstruction. However, does my noble friend agree that even with oil and diamond revenues it will take time before the money currently spent on the Angolan army can be redirected to peaceful uses? Given the massive number of mines in the country, what help can we give to ensure that the demining process is accelerated so that the countryside is accessible and the people can get back to a decent economy?
§ Baroness AmosMy Lords, my noble friend has asked me two different questions. One relates to long-term reconstruction. The Government of Angola intend to have two donor conferences this year, one dealing with the immediate humanitarian situation and the second looking at the reconstruction effort. My noble friend also referred to land mines. Noble Lords will know that we had a demining programme in Angola. We stopped that programme because we had reliable evidence that the areas were being remined. We fund a UN agency that prioritises, on our behalf, areas where it thinks we should go back and remove land mines. If that agency said that the situation in Angola were now such that we could engage in constructive demining, we would do that as a matter of urgency.
§ Lord St John of BletsoMy Lords, does the Minister agree that peace in Angola is interlinked with peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo? The peace talks in South Africa on the DRC, initiated by President Thabo Mbeki, recently broke down. What action are the Government and the international community taking to get those talks back on track in order to secure long-term peace in the region?
§ Baroness AmosMy Lords, it is true that, while we have an important moment for peace in Angola after nearly 30 years of civil war, Angola is also involved in the conflict in the DRC. We were concerned at the breakdown of the talks in Sun City, but it is important to remember that a number of issues were agreed through that dialogue process. The political elements of any transition have yet to be agreed. We are doing all we can to support the South Africans and the facilitator of the dialogue process. It is anticipated that the talks will restart shortly.
§ Lord AveburyMy Lords, will the Minister confirm that the forthcoming G8 meeting in Alberta will feature a special session devoted to NePAD, which will be attended by some of the countries concerned, including Angola? Will the Government take that 124 opportunity to impress on the Government of Angola the need to comply with the advice that has been given by the IMF and others on the need for greater transparency, particularly on oil revenues? What is the Government's attitude to the proposal by a number of distinguished NGOs that all states, not just the G8, should encourage those companies that are resident in their territory to make full disclosure of payments made to other countries for the use of development resources?
§ Baroness AmosMy Lords, there will be a discussion in Kananaskis at the end of June on the G8 Africa action plan. The five steering committee members of NePAD will be invited to attend that meeting. The G8 countries believe that peace and security have to be a priority for that action plan. Some of the issues that have been raised this afternoon will be part of that discussion.
We continue to encourage the Government of Angola to stay on track in their discussions with the IMF, because economic reform is important for Angola. Transparency in the oil account is important for Angola's long-term development. It is important to pay tribute to BP, which has done some good work on that.
The noble Lord asked me one further question, which I have managed to forget.
§ Lord AveburyMy Lords, the question was about the proposal by a group of distinguished NGOs, including Oxfam and Christian Aid.
§ Baroness AmosMy Lords, I am aware of that proposal. It would be difficult for G8 countries to regulate business. As we know, a number of international companies take corporate governance very seriously indeed, and a number of multinationals have signed up to the UN global compact. Through such voluntary initiatives we must try to ensure that our concerns about events in Angola are represented in those forums.
§ Baroness SharplesMy Lords—