After 30 years of war, Angola faces the challenge of creating a civil society. This report presents key findings of a visit to Angola, December 1-13, 1996, by the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. The report describes conditions facing women and children affected by war in Angola, addresses the return process of refugees from Zaire and Zambia, and identifies how well women's and children's needs are being addressed by relief efforts. Section 1 of the report presents the executive summary. Section 2 provides a historical overview of the situation in Angola. Section 3 discusses refugee repatriation and the protection and reintegration of returnees, while section 4 addresses problems of internally displaced persons. Section 5 assesses emergency needs in Angola regarding protection and human rights, health care, human resources, and education. Section 6 focuses on the needs of child soldiers, street children, and abused and exploited children. Section 7 addresses problems in improving women's self-sufficiency. Section 8 deals with landmines, programs to assist amputees, and landmine awareness education. Key findings noted in the report indicate that most assistance has been directed toward demobilized soldiers and their families and not to women and children. There is no clear policy on women's roles in decision making and program implementation. The report recommends that: (1) women be integrated into programming and encouraged to participate in all aspects of society; (2) children's needs be made a priority; (3) the government devote natural resources to health, education, and human development rather than to the military; (4) United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations make vocational training, income generation, and public health priorities; and (5) a timetable be established for destroying stockpiled landmines and other ordnances. (KB)