Mozambican civil society has called on the United Nations (UN) and the Council of Europe to intervene urgently and stop the escalation of violence in the country, following the post-election crisis.
The request, submitted by the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP) and the Decide Platform, comes in response to the repression of the demonstrations that followed the announcement of the election results, which were contested by various sectors of society.
Since the protests began on 19 October, there have been almost 300 deaths, 80 percent of which were the result of police shootings, according to the figures presented by the organisations. In addition, there have been 4,201 arrests, more than 3,000 injuries and more than 20 demonstrators are still missing.
The report denounces serious human rights violations, including murders, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances, in a crackdown labelled alarming by civil society.
The organisations accuse the authorities of treating political dissent as vandalism, crime and terrorism, restricting the right to demonstrate and putting citizens’ lives at risk.
In the document sent to the UN, the Council of Europe and the International Republican Institute (IRI), they denounce that opposition leaders and civil society activists have been threatened with death and persecuted, and several have been killed in recent weeks.
According to the appeal, the crisis could have been avoided if the government had promoted political dialogue before the election results were announced.
However, the organisations accuse President Filipe Nyusi of holding meetings without a clear agenda and without the presence of the main political players, which, they claim, only served to give the international community the appearance of action, without actually creating concrete solutions to prevent the violence.
Civil society is also warning of the risk of new clashes in the coming days, especially as the inauguration of the new president approaches, which could further exacerbate instability in the country.
Faced with this scenario, CIP and the Decide Platform are reinforcing their call for the UN and the Council of Europe to adopt firm and immediate measures in order to halt the repression and protect citizens’ rights.
The document emphasises that ‘Mozambique needs urgent action, not waiting’, stressing that the international community has a responsibility to act before the situation gets even worse.
