Positive developments welcomed despite delays in peace process.

• Position: United Nations relations with Angola

Initial deployment of UN infantry battalions, improved access for humanitarian assistance, and a continuing, if fragile ceasefire in the strife-torn southern African nation of Angola were welcomed as "positive developments" by the Security Council on 15 June.

Despite what was described as "considerable progress" in implementing the 20 November 1994 Lusaka Protocol, the Council expressed concern that the peace process was lagging behind schedule.

The lack of progress in mine clearance was also cited by Council President Detlev Graf zu Rantzau of Germany in a letter (S/1995/487) to the Secretary-General. He said that had "an impact not only on the deployment" of the UN Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM 111), but also on "the ability of the population to return to their homes and resume agricultural activity".

Within that context, Council members endorsed the Secretary-General's call for parties to "reinforce their recent actions" in mine clearance and road and bridge repair, and urged international support for those efforts.

The Council stressed that modalities for forming the "new integrated armed forces" should be worked out, and urged that preparations begin for quartering of troops of the Union for the Total independence of Angola (UNITA) and the withdrawal to barracks of the Government's rapid reaction police.

Strongly supporting the ongoing dialogue between Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and UNITA President Jonas Savimbi, Council members encouraged further consultation between the two, who had met on 6 May in Lusaka.

On 12 June, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, told the press that the political task in Angola was to "break down the wall of distrust between the two parties".

Although the leaders were in regular contact, problems remained, he said, recalling that Angola had been the "longest lasting African conflict with the greatest number of casualties".

UNAVEM III was established under resolution 976 (1995) of 8 February to help restore peace and achieve national reconciliation on the basis of the 1991 Bicesse Peace Accords, the Lusaka Protocol and relevant Council resolutions. It was authorized to deploy a maximum of 7,000 military personnel, in addition to 350 military and 260 police observers.

The Lusaka Protocol signalled the end to 20 years of civil conflict in Angola, which had left some 600,000 people dead and 3 million internally displaced, with another 300,000 as...