experience of Hungarian soldiers in the peacekeeping mission of Angola (UNAVEM II, UNAVEM III, MONUA)

1. Participation of the Hungarian
Defence Force in the UN’s
Operations in Angola
09. 17. 2014. Lt Col JÁNOS BESENYŐ, PhD

2. AGENDA
 Angola
 The Angolan conflict
 UN operations
 Hungary’s involvement in the operations
 Selection
 Training
 Equipment
 Activities of peace-support personnel
 Conclusions

4. Angola
 Area: 1 246 700 km²,
 Variegated topography and climate
 Polpulation: over 20 million – over 100 ethnic groups
(Ovimbundu - 37%, Ambundu - 25%, Bakongó - 13%,
Ovambo, Herrero, Lunda, Chokwe, Koisan, Mulat,
Portuguese, etc.)
 Religions: Christians (75 %), Animists (20%), negligible
number of Muslims
 Rich in natural resources, dynamically developing (mid-level
income) country, agriculture has a prominent role in the
economy

5. The Angolan Conflict I.
 Portuguese colonisation – between 1480 and 1919 – Portuguese West
Africa, mass immigration of Portuguese
 1961-1975 war of liberation against the Portuguese – MPLA, FNLA,
UNITA
 November 1975 – Angolan People’s Republic, president: Agostinho Neto
 Conflict among MPLA on one side UNITA, FNLA organisations on the
other; USSR and Cuba support the government (MPLA)
 March 1976 – FNLA decively defeated, UNITA receives US and South-
African support; conflict is internationalised
 November 1987 to March 1988 – Cuito Cuanavale – stalemate in the war
– a question of negotiations
 1988 – negotiations begin with US mediation
 January 1988 – UNAVEM I.
 22 December 1988 – New York agreement, Cuban and South-African
forces withdrawn

6. The Angolan Conflict II.
 1 May 1991 – Bicesse – peace agreement – UNAVEM II. begins
operations
 29-30 September 1992 – parliamentary and presidential elections
 October 1992 – renewed conflict between MPLA and UNITA – last nearly
10 years with variegated results
 15 November 1994 – Lusaka Accord
 February 1995 to June 1997 – UNAVEM III.
 30 June 1997 to 26 February 1999 – MONUA
 1998 – ”Third Angolan War”
 1999 – the UN quits the Angolan conflict due to UNITA – sanctions
against the organisation
 22 February 2002 - Moxico Province, death of Savimbi
 4 April 2002 – real peace agreement between government and UNITA –
reconstruction of the country begins

7. UNAVEMII.
 The UN’s second Angolan
Verification Mission (UNAVEM-II) –
between June 1991 and February
1995
 Mandate:
 enforcement of the provisions of
the peace accord
 verification of ceasefire provisions
 supervision of Angolan police
 observation of elections and
validation of results
 Mediation between belligerents
 Numberof Hungarian military
personnel: 42

8. UNAVEMIII.
 UN’s third Angolan Verification Mission (UNAVEM-III) -
between February 1995 and June 1997
 Mandate:
 enforcement of the provisions of the Lusaka Accord
 verification of ceasefire provisions
 support for the establishment of the state’s institutions
 Conversion of UNITA from armed group to political party
 disarmament of the armed groups and civilian population – DDR
programmes
 Numberof Hungarian military personnel: about 20

9. MONUA
 UN Observation Mission in Angola (MONUA) between 30 June 1997
and 26 february 1999
 Mandate:
 verify the reconstruction of state administration
 promote and verify assimilation of UNITA organisational units into the
new government, armed forces, police and civilian life
 verify and enforcement of the ceasefire provisions
 collect and destroy weapons
 support human rights for the population, create civil society, support
the creation and functioning of various civil organisations
 support the work of humanitarian organisations, coordinate aid to
those in need
 Numberof Hungarian military personnel: 26

10. Hungary
 Good relations with Angola – economic, educational, military, police,
etc.
 Monitoring the conflict from the 1980s
 1988 – possible Hungarian participation in resolving the conflict
mentioned
 15 May 1991 – Hungary gives official notice of its intention to participate
in UNAVEM II operations with 15 personnel
 End of 1992 – evacuation of the Hungarian Embassy, due to an
outbreak of hostilities
 1993 – Embassy reopened, then closed for good in accordance with
Govt Decision 3188/1993 – part of the Hungarian contingent is
withdrawn
 1993-1999 – reduced Hungarian contingent participates in UNAVEM II.;
Hungary also participates in UNAVEM III. and MONUA
 20 March 1999 – last Hungarian peace-support personnel leave Angola

11. Selection
 Personnel were selected by HDF GS Operations Directorate and
Personnel Directorate
 Requirements:
 Mid-level English
 Excellent health
 Peace operations experience
 Of the 155 00 military personnel 94 individuals and the specialist
personnel of the Military Intelligence Bureau were qualified to
participate. Therefore diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (as reservist officers) were drafted.
 The selection process included thorough medical examination
and language test (conversation, translation of professional text)

12. Training
 The first group was trained at the Budapest installation of the HDF Force
Reduction Information and Verification Center. Relief groups were trained
by the Peace Support Training Centre in Budapest and Szolnok, with the
assistance of military and diplomatic personnel.
 Experience gained in previous peace saupport operations was utilised
 Training:
 health
 driving
 radio message traffic
 mapreading
 basic mission tasks – ceasefire verification, separation and
disarmament of armed groups, organisation ofelections
 survival skills
 UN training on location – English test, driving test

13. Equipment
 Standard Hungarian military equipment – limited utility (70M
field uniform, boots, sleeping bag, sunglasses, duffle bag, etc)
 Meteriel purchased specifically for the operation – better utility
(mosquito net, athletic clothing, tropical uniform, etc)
 Medical kit – ration packs
 Equipment purchased locally by deployed personnel (shoes,
boots, other equipment)
 Equipment was generally suitable – clothing service survey,
collection ofexperience – due to reorganisation and shortage of
funds only minimal results

14. Activities of peace-support
personnel
 Rotation, deployment to camps (A, B, C)
 Classic peace support operation activities
 Patrolling on foot, ground vehicle and helicopter
 Observation of belligerents, verification , documentation and
reporting of their strength
 Disarmament of belligerents, collection of weapons
 Escorting humanitarian convoys
 Runnig the parliamentary elections
 Coordination, mediation between belligerents
 Everyday activities – camp management, self-sufficiency
(cooking, cleaning, carrying water, washing, etc)

17. Conclusions
 Selection, training and equipment of the Hungarians deployed to
Angola (in spite of minor deficiencies) matched those of other
European nations. Due to our professionalism and human touch,
we were among the top peace support personnel.
 Experience was not processed adequately, although some of it was
used in the Angola mission training
 Some of the knowledge and experience gained in Angola was lost
to the HDF
 In accordance with international trends, Africa’s role is becoming
more important, due to economic, political, diplomatic and other
(humanitarian, migration, etc.) reasons
 The task is to involve those who participated in the mission and
process the Angolan experience, then publish it to the widest
possible audience

19. Biography
 Besenyő János; Búr Gábor; Horváth Sándor; Rákóczi
István: A participação da Hungria nas missões de paz da
ONU em Angola. 214 p, Budapest: Honvéd Vezérkar
Tudományos Kutatóhely (HVK TKH), 2017.(ISBN:978-615-
80864-0-0), pp. 8-17.
https://figshare.com/articles/Experi_ncias_dos_operacionai
s_h_ngaros_em_Angola_depoimentos/7092989
 János Besenyő: The participation of Hungarian soldiers in
UN peacekeeping operations in Angola - Proelium –
Revista cientifica da academia Militar (Portugal), Serie VII,
no. 9, pp. 121-137. (2015),
https://figshare.com/articles/The_participation_of_Hungaria
n_soldiers_in_UN_peacekeeping_operations_in_Angola/70
16585

20. Questions?
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