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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will support Mozambique in the creation of “specialised teams” to combat terrorism in Cabo Delgado, it was announced on Friday.
“Today marks a significant milestone in global efforts to combat terrorism and promote peace and stability, not just in Mozambique, but in southern Africa as a whole,” said Jane Marie Ongolo, UNODC Regional Representative for Southern Africa, after the signing in Maputo of a donation agreement worth US$6.5 million (€6 million) with the Government of Japan, to finance a 12-month project lasting through to March, 2025.
“It will allow UNODC to significantly increase its cooperation with national authorities in the fight against terrorism. This project, sponsored by Japan, embodies a deep commitment to promoting international cooperation and solidarity in the face of one of the most pressing challenges of our time,” Ongolo stressed.
Ongolo characterised the “effort” as “signifying a shared determination to face terrorism head-on and defend the values of justice, human rights and the rule of law”. “In implementing this project, our focus will be in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, for obvious reasons, an area that has unfortunately suffered the devastating impact of terrorist activities,” she said.
“Our objectives are very clear and ambitious: to support the country in the interception, investigation, prosecution and prosecution of crimes related to terrorism,” she added.
Specifically, and “guided by international recommendations and good practices”, the UNODC “is committed to working together with national authorities in promoting structural changes and creating specialized teams dedicated to combating terrorism in all its forms”.
Support will also be given for the “enforcement of maritime law”, through technical and operational support, “to dismantle maritime crime and terrorism, both on land and at sea”, as well as for the “operationalization” of the maritime courts that Mozambique plans to install.
“But let us not forget that this project is primarily about the lived realities of people, about empowering individuals, communities and missions to remain resilient against the scourge of terrorism. It is about supporting the energetic efforts of the Government of Mozambique to provide hope to those who have been affected by violence and insecurity. It is about promoting a future where each individual can live in peace and dignity, free from fear and oppression,” Ongolo concluded.
📣The Gov. of Japan 🇯🇵 and the UNODC 🇺🇳signed a new funding agreement to strengthen the response against terrorism in Cabo Delgado province 🇲🇿. This project will be implemented by the UNODC office in Moz, for a 12 months period. @JapanGov @UNODC_ROSAF @UNODC_MCP pic.twitter.com/b5i9IqfSJq
— UNODC Mozambique (@UNODCMozambique) March 8, 2024
After several months of relative normality in districts affected by armed violence in Cabo Delgado, the province has again been registering new movements and attacks by rebel groups, which have limited circulation to some points on the few paved roads that give access to the districts.
The new wave of terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, displaced 99,313 people in February, including 61,492 children (62%), according to an estimate released this week by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Mozambique’s Minister of National Defense, Cristóvão Chume, on February 29 confirmed attacks by insurgents in four districts of Cabo Delgado province, but said that this did not constitute “a resurgence” of terrorist activities in the north.
“I want to say that this is not what is happening, because if that were actually the case, we would be saying that there are districts or district headquarters that are occupied, with no access for the population. What happened is that there are small groups of terrorists who left their base in the Namarussia area and went further south, attacking some villages and creating panic,” Minister Chume said.
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