Angola has been in a constant state of civil war since declaring independence from Portugal in 1975. Although there was a period of peace from 1994-1998 after the rebels were allowed to hold government positions, fighting resumed quickly and has remained the norm since.
The two factions involved in the civil war are the popularly supported government and The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Much of the conflict centers around the nature of the "democratic" government. Although Angola is technically a democracy with an elected president, it resembles a dictatorship in many other ways. First, President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos has been in office since 1979 when he was elected (in a one-party system) without opposition. The next election was held in 1992, the results have been widely disputed because neither candidate achieved 50% of the vote which would have required another run-off election. This has yet to be held of scheduled. Also, since the president appoints all justices and cabinet members, the government is almost entirely made to suit the president and his views. The parliament is elected as well, but the last election was held in 1992. This is the basis for UNITA's claims against the government. UNITA claims it is a wholly non-discriminate democratic humanist group.
The UN Security Council has already been very active in Angola. Is has sponsored three peace-keeping missions in Angola, all of which have been completed (the last in June 1997). But since the resumption of fighting in 1998, there have been more calls for peace-keeping missions. Although many resolutions have been passed since that time, no move has been made for another mission and the Security Council seems to have come to a stalemate on the issue.