Lukasa Protocol welcomed ending 20 years of war: UNAVEM II extended until February 1995.

• Position: UN Angola Verification Mission: Angola civil war

The Security Council on 21 November welcomed the signing of the Protocol of Lusaka by representatives of the Government of Angola and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The Protocol, together with the Bicesse Peace Accords, should "lay the foundation for a lasting peace" in Angola, the Council declared in a presidential statement.

In welcoming the signing, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said the agreement was expected to bring to an end a conflict that had "raged for almost 20 years in Angola and brough untold suffering and destruction to the country and its people". Angola's future lay in the hands of its people and its leaders, he added.

The Protocol was signed on 20 November in the Zambian capital of Lusaka by Angola's Minister for External Relations, Venancio de Moura, and by UNITA's Secretary-General and chief negotiator at the Lusaka peace talks, Eugenio Manuvakola, in the presence of Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. The ceremony was witnessed by several heads of State, Foreign Ministers and other dignitaries. Citing security concerns, UNITA President Jonas Savimbi did not travel to the Zambian capital.

A comprehensive agreement, the Lusaka Protocol consists of ten annexes covering all legal, political and military issues agreed to at the talks. The major political issues include: the police; the UN mandate and the role of the observers of the Peace Accords; the completion of the electoral process; and the question of national reconciliation. The main military issues concern: the re-establishment of the cease-fire; the withdrawal, quartering and demilitarization of all UNITA military forces; the disarming of civilians; and the completion of the formation of the Forcas Armadas Angolanas (FAA).

The Council on 8 December, in adopting resolution 966 (1994), extended the mandate of the UN Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM II) until 8 February 1995, to monitor the cease-fire established under the new Protocol. It also welcomed the Secretary-General's decision to restore UNAVEM II to its previous strength, contingent on strict observance of an effective cease-fire and on guarantees of safety and security for UN personnel.

On 31 October, after approximately a year of negotiations in Lusaka, the heads of delegations of the Angolan Government and UNITA had initialled the Protocol. In a statement issued on that day, the Secretary-General said he hoped the "necessary momentum has now been...