[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 96 (Thursday, June 24, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5434-S5435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 ANGOLA

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, the National Security Strategy released 
last month rightly states:

       [d]ue to increased economic growth and political stability, 
     individual nations are increasingly taking on powerful 
     regional and global roles and changing the landscapes of 
     international cooperation. To achieve a just and sustainable 
     order that advances our shared security and prosperity, we 
     are, therefore, deepening our partnerships with emerging 
     powers and encouraging them to play a greater role in 
     strengthening international norms and advancing shared 
     interests.

  The strategy goes on to note that expanding our partnerships with 
emerging powers includes a number of African nations, specifically 
South Africa. Indeed, I have great respect for South Africa's 
leadership on the continent and internationally and am glad that we are 
seeking to deepen our bilateral relationship. From peace and security 
to climate change to nuclear nonproliferation, we should continue to 
look for areas where we can team up with the South Africans.
  I would also like to highlight another emerging power in Sub-Saharan 
Africa that we should not ignore: Angola. Many of my colleagues will 
recall the brutal civil war that devastated Angola. In my first trip as 
a Senator to Africa, in 1994, I traveled with Senator Reid and Senator 
Paul Simon to Angola to observe the tragic consequences of this 
conflict. Decades of war left an estimated 1 million people dead, a 
third of the country's population displaced, and millions of landmines 
littered throughout the countryside.
  Yet since the war ended in 2002, Angolans have made tremendous 
strides to secure the peace and rebuild their country. According to a 
recent UNICEF study, since 2002 the percentage of children attending 
primary school has increased from 56 to 76 percent and infant mortality 
has fallen by 22 percent. At the same time, Angola's economy has 
registered double-digit GDP growth over recent years, mostly driven by 
increasing oil production. Angola's future growth prospects, however, 
are more diverse than just oil. According to the September 15, 2009, 
New York Times article, ``Angola is poised to become a hub of liquefied 
natural gas and diamond exports.''
  With its economic growth and stability, Angola is also poised to play 
a greater role on regional, continental, and international issues. It 
has already become a major player in the Organization of Petroleum 
Exporting Countries, OPEC, and although it is not a member of the G-20, 
President Dos Santos has been invited to some G-20 meetings. Angola has 
also become involved in critical issues relating to the Gulf of Guinea, 
which sits to its north. It supported the launch of the Gulf of Guinea 
Commission in 2006 to resolve maritime disputes and ensure regional 
cooperation and hosted a summit for heads of the state of the 
commission in 2008. Finally, Angola has the potential to play a much 
more active future role on issues facing the Southern African 
Development Community, SADC.
  For all these reasons, the United States has a strong interest in 
deepening and broadening our relationship with Angola. Secretary 
Clinton's visit to the country last year--in which she became the first 
U.S. Secretary of State to stay overnight in the country--was a major 
step to that end. She committed to developing a ``comprehensive 
strategic partnership'' with Angola and to expanding our engagement in 
the areas of trade, agriculture, health, and education.
  To follow through on this commitment, we now need to ensure that our 
Embassy in Luanda has the necessary programs and tools to pursue such a 
partnership. We need to ensure there are sufficient incentives and 
encouragement to attract Foreign Service officers to Angola given the 
inordinately high cost of living and other hardships. And we should try 
to ensure that we have the right staff, including representatives from 
other agencies that can bring expertise on issues of commerce and 
agriculture.
  But expanding our engagement with Angola should not mean ignoring or 
downplaying troubling issues of human rights and governance. In fact, 
it should be quite the opposite; we need to actively encourage reform 
in these important areas if we are going to pursue a truly 
comprehensive and long-term partnership with Angola.

[[Page S5435]]

  According to the State Department's 2009 Human Rights Report for 
Angola, ``The government's human rights record remained poor, and there 
were numerous, serious problems.'' Last weekend, the Wall Street 
Journal reported that there continue to be abuses and killings by 
soldiers and private security guards around diamond mines in Angola. 
The international community should investigate these reports and ensure 
that Angola is fully living up to its commitments in the Kimberley 
Process. If it is not, there should be serious consequences.
  More broadly, we should also consider whether certain gaps in the 
Kimberley Process, such as promoting greater protection for human 
rights, can be incorporated into the oversight procedures of 
participating countries. We need to be realistic about what is possible 
with a voluntary organization, but we cannot allow ongoing human rights 
abuses involving diamonds to be ignored.
  Issues of governance are also especially important for Angola's 
development prospects. While the country has seen tremendous overall 
economic growth in recent years, most Angolans have seen little, if 
any, direct benefit. Corruption remains a serious and deep-seated 
problem in Angola, including in the oil sector. For 2009, Transparency 
International ranked Angola 162nd out of 180 countries in its annual 
Corruption Perceptions Index. A report released in February by the 
Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations documented how 
certain Angolan officials have sought to use U.S. banks and financial 
institutions to conceal funds acquired through corruption.
  The Angolan Government has acknowledged that it needs to improve its 
fiscal management and practices, and President Dos Santos has called 
for a ``zero tolerance'' policy against corruption. I am pleased that 
the President has said this, and we should look for ways to help the 
government give real meaning to such a policy. At the same time, we 
should explore ways that we and our international partners can put 
pressure on corrupt officials in Angola to cease their illicit actions, 
including travel bans and assets freezes, and more.
  In terms of governance, it is also important that the Angolan 
Government create the space for a strong civil society to develop--one 
that allows for the free flow of information and includes independent 
watchdog institutions that can demand accountability and transparency. 
We should seek to expand our engagement with civil society 
organizations and, as is appropriate, to help strengthen their capacity 
and amplify their voices in policy debates.
  Within the government, Angola's National Assembly has the potential 
to play a strong oversight role, and I am pleased that Secretary 
Clinton met directly with the National Assembly during her visit to 
Luanda last year. We should look for ways, such as technical assistance 
and parliamentary exchanges, that we can support and strengthen the 
National Assembly's oversight roles.
  Mr. President, none of this will be easy. Some in the Angolan 
Government are still unwelcoming toward the United States because of 
positions we took during their civil war. Many Angolans are also 
skeptical about whether we genuinely have interests beyond accessing 
oil. We need to take these perspectives seriously. But I believe we can 
break through the suspicion and mistrust by demonstrating--through 
greater resources and a more visible presence--that we seek a mutually 
beneficial, long-term partnership with the people of Angola. In the 
months and years ahead, I look forward to working with the 
administration to that end.

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