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Photos: Courtesy of Ordem dos Advogados de Moçambique-OAM
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday urged lawyers from the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to play their role in the challenges of guaranteeing sustainable and transparent management of natural resources, as a contribution towards attaining social justice.
Speaking in Maputo, at the opening session of the 19th Annual Conference of the SADC Lawyers’ Association, Nyusi said that lawyers are an essential group in establishing social harmony. He described them as part of civil society that intervenes in defence of the rights and obligations of citizens.
He added that, in joining the efforts of SADC governments to secure social justice, lawyers will be complying with their social responsibility to improve the living conditions of citizens.
The conference is being held under the theme “Promoting inclusive legal policies for sustainable socio-economic development in Mozambique”.
Nyusi believed that natural resources are key to sustainable development. Ensuring that citizens of SADC countries enjoy equality of opportunity and rights of access to resources, he said, would require the definition of public policies based on clear and logical legal foundations.
“This is where lawyers play a fundamental role”, he said. “This contribution must be grounded on the assumption that the distribution of wealth is not a unilateral act by the state on behalf of its citizens, but an active and responsible participation of everyone in the construction of a society where all participate and benefit from the existing opportunities. This is an invitation we address to lawyers to make history”.
“As the government of Mozambique, we are clear about the challenges facing us if we are to reach comfortable levels of social justice, particularly when we understand that there is a long way to go”, added, Nyusi.
The chairperson of the Mozambican Bar Association (OAM), Flavio Menete, which organised the event, said he was aware that “our intervention as legal professionals will only be of value, if it contributes to improving the living conditions of citizens in each of our countries”.
Lawyers are not just members of a liberal profession who work to secure the sustenance of their families, he added, “but are a class with a very heavy social responsibility”.
He recognised that in some SADC countries (which he did not name) “our colleagues face challenges, but the solidarity amongst us is strong, and when our Association was set up the challenges were still greater”.
“So we shall remain firm in our struggle”, Menete declared. “Side by side, we shall contribute so that southern Africa may be a reference point for sustainable and inclusive development, where rights, freedoms and guarantees are a reality”.
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