Security challenges post-Savimbi

The reintegration of ex-UNITA soldiers, the resettlement of displaced people and the removal of landmines were key to continued peace in Angola, an international political think-tank said on Thursday. In its latest report on Angola the International Crisis Group (ICG) urged the government to respond to the immediate humanitarian challenges, saying it "was an investment fundamental to any conflict and crisis prevention strategy in Angola". The report entitled, "Dealing with Savimbi's Ghost: The Security and Humanitarian Challenges in Angola", warned that failure to address these issues could result in instability and give rise to an increase in crime. The Brussels-based group noted growing frustration among the former rebels living in quartering areas following demobilisation last year. "There are reports of increasing disenchantment among the former rebels as promised reintegration support does not materialise, and camp conditions remain poor," the report said. Recent estimates peg the number of former soldiers living in camps across the country at 105,000. Each with an average of six dependents. "How these people are treated will determine the stability or instability of the country. The government must be willing to pay the price of peace and stability. These men are still soldiers without guns. If the government fails in its reintegration programme, everything in life has its price. The causes of social conflict are still alive," the report quoted a senior UNITA official as saying. While the government has announced that it was committing US $125 million to a two-year reintegration plan, UNITA has complained that as yet there was no evidence in the provinces of infrastructure to begin any serious process of reintegration. The ICG report added that one of the shortcomings of the provincial-level Reintegration Commissions was that they only involved government and UNITA representatives. "It would be constructive, and build donor commitment to add UN agencies, NGOs and where possible donor government representatives, as well as representatives of local communities, in order to build local ownership of the process," the report recommended. The report also echoed concerns raised earlier by the Global IDP Project over the plight of millions of displaced people. The government estimates that more than 3 million Angolans remain displaced, including 442,000 refugees still outside the borders. Recent figures indicate that over a million had already resettled in their areas of origin following the April 2002 ceasefire. Most had returned to areas unsuitable for resettlement. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said that most of the returning refugees are in a desperate situation and often face localised humanitarian crises. To further complicate the challenges that lie ahead, the report pointed to the lack of HIV/AIDS awareness in an increasingly mobile population. "The isolation caused by war helped keep the percentage of HIV/AIDS cases relatively low (5.5 percent) ... however, an estimated 40 percent of Angolan soldiers are HIV positive, and peace has produced an increase in trade, migration and travel - three of the main social vectors for the spread of the infection," the report said. It is estimated that at least a further two million people are, or soon will be on the move including IDPs, ex-combatants and their families, and refugees. This would suggest that "at least a low-grade humanitarian emergency will continue". One of the most significant crises facing the country is landmine removal. It is arguably also the biggest challenge to resettlement, the ICG said. It is believed that up to 15 million landmines litter Angola's roads and countryside. Since the end of the civil war there has been a spate of explosions which are seen as a hindrance to aid delivery to the remote parts of the country - which are often the most needy. The report noted that some progress had been achieved on removal. In the first 10 months of 2002, 227 locations in nine provinces had been cleared of 230 anti-personnel mines, 20 anti-tank mines, and 6,077 other unexploded ordnances. The ICG recommended an increase in information sharing between the local authorities and the central government which would "permit the process to go exponentially faster". However, the report does acknowledge that capacity is limited by lack of resources, including lack of government capacity in humanitarian demining.