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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Eric Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of action taken against those who break the United Nations sanction against UNITA in Angola. [108556] Ms Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of enforcement action against those who break the United Nations sanctions against UNITA in Angola. [108560] Mr. Hain: I am extremely concerned by continuing reports of breaches of UN sanctions against UNITA. It is vital that would-be sanctions busters are forced to recognise that the international community will not tolerate their activities. The UK fully implements these sanctions and takes its enforcement responsibilities very seriously. We strongly support the efforts of Ambassador Fowler, Chair of the UN Angola Sanctions Committee and the Expert Panels that have been set up to investigate how these sanctions can be implemented more effectively. We have contributed $200,000 to fund their work. As I told the House on 18 January, I have referred to the Sanctions Committee the details of three individuals I believe to be breaching sanctions. We look forward to the forthcoming report of the Panels and their recommendations on how the sanctions can be made to bite. The UK regularly discusses better sanctions with fellow Governments on a bilateral basis, urging them to do all that they can to fully implement the measures and take prompt and effective action in response to allegations of breaches. When I visited South Africa in January, I agreed with Deputy Foreign Minister Pahad, who shares my concerns, that we would work very closely together on this issue over the next few critical months.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

344 c487-8W; 108556

Session

1999-00

Question not reached

Yes

Subjects

Armed conflict UN resolutions Sanctions UNITA Angola

Contains statistics

Yes