CPLP: Mozambique plummets, Angola rises in global peace index

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CPLP: Mozambique plummets, Angola rises in global peace index

3:35 CAT | 15 Jun 2022

in file CoM

Mozambique had one of the biggest falls in the Global Peace Index, to 122nd out of 163 countries, due to terrorism in the country, while Angola climbed 14 places to 78th, according to the report published on Wednesday.

Mozambique fell 11 places, the second highest drop in the protection and security indicator, behind only Ukraine, due to the conflict in the country with terrorist groups, the analysis by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) said.

This has resulted in an increase in the number of refugees, violent demonstrations and political terror.

“However, the impact of terrorism has improved and deaths from internal conflict have also reduced,” noted IEP founder and director Steve Killelea, who attributed the progress to Maputo’s collaboration with Rwanda and the Southern Africa African Development Community in the fight against Islamic State.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but has been terrorised since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

There are 784,000 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops with the support of Rwanda, later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), allowed for the recovery of areas where there was a rebel presence, in the north near Tanzania, but the flight of the rebels has led to new attacks in other districts used as transit or temporary refuge.

By contrast, Angola climbed 14 places in the Index to 78th place due to improvements in reducing violent demonstrations, the impact of terrorism, and improved perceptions of criminality, although it does record a strong economic cost of violence in the country.

The 2022 Global Peace Index (GPI) report, the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness, reveals that the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.3 per cent.

Download the full report. https://t.co/NZhbUmeR1a pic.twitter.com/jxU54dTcrk

— IEP Global Peace Index (@GlobPeaceIndex) June 15, 2022

“It has also shown a greater commitment to funding peacekeeping [missions] and has reduced spending on the armed forces as a percentage of GDP [Gross Domestic Product] and imported fewer weapons,” Killelea stressed, in statements to Lusa news agency.

Of the remaining Portuguese-speaking countries analysed, Timor-Leste remained in 54th place, Equatorial Guinea dropped six places to 59th and Guinea Bissau fell nine places to 110th of the list of 163 countries. Brazil remained in 130th place.

The Global Peace Index, currently in its 16th edition, provides an analysis on peace trends, economic value and how to develop peaceful societies, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators in three domains: the level of security and social protection, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarisation.

Source: Lusa