UNA Westminster hosted a meeting for the launch of the first of two volumes of ‘Angola in the Security Council 2015/2016: Resolutions and Experiences in World Governance’ written and compiled by Dr António Luvualu de Carvalho, Roving Ambassador of the President of Angola.
David Wardrop, UNA Westminster Chair, welcomed the opportunity to host the meeting, referencing former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld’s famous riposte to Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, ‘It is not the Soviet Union or indeed any other big Powers who need the United Nations for their protection. It is all the others.’ He asserted that the voices of smaller states such as Angola, both in the UN General Assembly and on the Security Council, must be both heard and listened to and that this event offered just such an opportunity.
Dr Carvalho was joined by Lt-Colonel Luīs Bernardino from the Portuguese Military Academy in offering valuable overviews on previous conflicts in Angola and on the current situation, noting the presidential elections due in August. Following their statements, they answered a series of questions on a range of subjects.
In welcoming HE Mr Miguel Neto, ambassador of the Republic of Angola, Mr Wardrop presented an overview of the pioneering role played by the late Dame Margaret Anstee the first women to be appointed to the post of UN Under-Secretary-General and who later led the unsuccessful UN election supervision mission (UNAVEM 2) in Angola (1992) and the UN peacekeeping mission there. He referred to his meeting with Dr Carvalho at the memorial service for Dame Margaret which had led to Angola’s generous support for the 2017 UN Peacekeepers’ Day conference and ceremony.
Mr Wardrop referred to the paper ‘Gender Equality and women’s empowerment in the United Nations system and its Member States’ which sets out the rationale for setting up an annual lecture and travel bursary programme for young women to visit and report on the UN’s progress in its field operations towards the goal of gender equality. Comments and suggestions for strengthening the proposed programme were then invited from the large audience. There were many of these and in closing the meeting, David Wardrop thanked all present for contributing to such a lively and interesting meeting. The event was made possible through the generosity of the Consulate-General of the Embassy of Angola. All enjoyed the reception which concluded the evening held at the Naval and Military Club in St James’s Square. Like us on Facebook
