Galp Mozambique donates 10 tonnes of food products to Makobo
Mozambique: NGO calls on foreign forces in Cabo Delgado to protect human rights
2:20 CAT | 19 Jul 2021
FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a civil society organisation in Mozambique, on Monday called on the foreign military forces that are being sent to the country to help in the fight against armed groups in the northern province of Cabo Delgado to protect human rights.
“The local population needs to know that they can trust foreign forces to act ethically and in accordance with the law to protect their lives and property,” the CDD said in a release analysing plans to deploy foreign troops in the country.
The military intervention should seek to limit its negative impact on the lives of the population, acting with proportionality of means and methods, the organisation stresses.
“In the context of the conflict in Cabo Delgado, international humanitarian law will serve to protect Mozambicans from human rights abuses,” it says.
The CDD stresses that respect for human rights will be key to winning the support of residents in the conflict zones.
Under international law, the analysis continues, sanctions can be applied to the perpetrators of human rights violations in the context of military intervention.
CDD warns that experience in other wars shows that military operations alone do not end an extremist and violent conflict, particularly when it is motivated by socio-economic deprivation, ethnic marginalisation, intra-religious frustrations, illicit trade and organised crime.
“Reliance on military approaches alone is more likely to exacerbate conflict than resolve it,” the analysis states.
The organisation says that combined military operations can play an important role in putting in place the conditions for conflict resolution, particularly if they are carefully designed and executed according to a coherent strategy.
This option should include dialogue, economic and social development, as well as preventing and countering violent extremist initiatives.
Rwanda began on 9 July to send military and police personnel to combat the insurgency in Cabo Delgado province as part of a 1,000-strong mission.
A Southern African Development Community (SADC) military force is also expected to be deployed in theatre in the province.
Armed groups have terrorised Cabo Delgado province since 2017, with responsibilty for some attacks claimed by the local affiliate of the Islamic State. There have been more than 2,800 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and 732,000 displaced people, according to the United Nations.
Source: Lusa
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