The Bicesse Accords, also known as the Estoril Accords, laid out a
transition to
multi-party democracy
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...
in
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
under the supervision of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
'
UNAVEM II
The United Nations Angola Verification Mission II (UNAVEM II), established May 1991 and lasting until February 1995, was the second United Nations peacekeeping mission, of a total of four, deployed to Angola during the course of the Angolan Civ ...
mission.
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
José Eduardo dos Santos
José Eduardo dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was also the commander-in-chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and president of the People's Movement for ...
of the
MPLA
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social d ...
and
Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary politician and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). UNITA waged a guerrilla war agai ...
of
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...
signed the accord in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Portugal on May 31, 1991.
[Wright, George. ''The Destruction of a Nation: United States' Policy Towards Angola Since 1945'', 1997. Page 159.] UNITA rejected the official results of the
1992 presidential election as rigged and renewed
their guerrilla war.
Negotiation
UNITA and the Angolan government began six rounds of negotiations in April 1991. The
Portuguese government
, border = Central
, image =
, caption =
, date =
, state = Portuguese Republic
, address = Official Residence of the Prime Minister Estrela, Lisbon
, appointed = President ...
represented by foreign minister
José Manuel Barroso
José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and university teacher, currently serving as non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International. He previously served as the 11th president of the European Commi ...
mediated the discussion while officials from the U.S. and
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
governments observed.
[Chester A. Crocker, Pamela R. Aall, and Fen Osler Hampson. ''Grasping The Nettle: Analyzing Cases Of Intractable Conflict'', 2005. Page 218.]
Treaty terms
The Angolan government and UNITA formed the Joint Verification and Monitoring Commission and the Joint Commission on the Formation of the Angolan Armed Forces. The JVMC oversaw political reconciliation while the latter monitored military activity. The accords attempted to demobilize the 152,000 active fighters and integrate the remaining government troops and UNITA rebels into a 50,000-strong
Angolan Armed Forces
The Angolan Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas Angolanas) or FAA is the military of Angola. The FAA consist of the Angolan Army (), the Angolan Navy () and the National Air Force of Angola (). Reported total manpower in 2021 was about 107,00 ...
(FAA). The FAA would consist of a national army with 40,000 troops, navy with 6,000, and air force with 4,000.
Multi-party elections monitored by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
would be held in September 1992.
Implementation
While the UN declared the presidential election generally "free and fair," fighting continued.
120,000 people were killed in the first eighteen months following the 1992 election, nearly half the number of casualties of the previous sixteen years of war.
[ Hayward R. Alker, Ted Robert Gurr, and ]Kumar Rupesinghe
Kumar Rupesinghe (1943 – 20 February 2022) was a Sri Lankan academic and activist involved in social issues, particularly human rights, development issues, processes of globalisation, conflict prevention/resolution, and conflict transformation ...
. ''Journeys Through Conflict: Narratives and Lessons'', 2001. Page 181. The
Lusaka Protocol
The Lusaka Protocol, initialed in Lusaka, Zambia on October 31, 1994, attempted to end the Angolan Civil War by integrating and disarming UNITA and starting national reconciliation. Both sides signed a truce as part of the protocol on November 15 ...
of 1994 reaffirmed the Bicesse Accords.
[Rothchild, Donald S. ''Managing Ethnic Conflict in Africa: Pressures and Incentives for Cooperation'', 1997. Page 251.]
See also
*
Angolagate
*
Alvor Agreement
The Alvor Agreement, signed on 15 January 1975 in Alvor, Portugal, granted Angola independence from Portugal on 11 November and formally ended the 13-year-long Angolan War of Independence.
The agreement was signed by the Portuguese governmen ...
*
Nakuru Agreement
The Nakuru Agreement, signed on June 21, 1975, in Nakuru, Kenya, was an attempt to salvage the Alvor Agreement, which granted Angola independence from Portugal and established a transitional government. While the Nakuru Agreement did produce a tr ...
*
Lusaka Protocol
The Lusaka Protocol, initialed in Lusaka, Zambia on October 31, 1994, attempted to end the Angolan Civil War by integrating and disarming UNITA and starting national reconciliation. Both sides signed a truce as part of the protocol on November 15 ...
References
External links
UN Peacemaker.org: Full text of Bicesse AccordsUN Peacemaker.org: Text of all peace accords for Angola
Angolan Civil War
1991 in Angola
Peace treaties of Angola
Treaties concluded in 1991
MPLA
UNITA
Treaties of the People's Republic of Angola
Mitterrand–Pasqua affair
1991 in Portugal
1990s in Angola
{{Angola-gov-stub