The Southern African Development Community (SADC) must ensure that the military deployment to the troubled region in Mozambique is accompanied by a transparent and comprehensive plan to prevent human rights abuses.
The call has been made by the In Transformation Initiative (ITI), which is led by Mathews Phosa and Roelf Meyer, the two former politicians who were involved in the negotiations for the new South African dispensation and have been involved in peace settlements in Ireland, Myanmar and other countries.
In a statement, the ITI said: “We welcome the decision of the SADC Double Troika to take decisive steps to assist Mozambique with the security situation in Cabo Delgado. We understand that possible military intervention by the SADC Standby Force is to be considered by an Extraordinary Summit of the Organ on Defence Politics and Security when convened. While this is a necessary step to protect civilians, experience has shown that military intervention against terrorist groups sometimes lead to human rights abuses and can lead to further violence.
“We therefore urge the SADC leaders to ensure that any military action be accompanied by a transparent and comprehensive plan to ensure the respect of human rights; the provision of humanitarian aid and the socio-economic development of the region. The In Transformation Initiative is willing to assist in this regard by helping to set up an emergency fund to provide humanitarian aid to victims of the violence.”
The ITI’s call came on the day the Mozambique Attorney General announced the formation of a special unit to investigate and prosecute cases of terrorism.
The insurgency broke out in the country’s northeast in 2017 and the rebels have stepped up attacks in the past year.
Last month, they assaulted the coastal town of Palma, near natural gas projects worth $60 billion that are meant to transform Mozambique’s economy. Dozens of people were killed, the government says.
Presenting her annual report to parliament, Attorney General Beatriz Buchili said a new special unit would be dedicated to investigating and prosecuting complex crimes, including terrorism.
“One cannot face the crime of terrorism disassociated from other legal types of crime that are related to them, such as trafficking in weapons, drugs and people, illegal exploitation of mineral, forest and wildlife resources, money laundering and financing of terrorism, which are other facets of crimes associated with violent extremism,” she said. – African Mirror Reporter and Thomson Reuters Foundation.
