Mozambique: Renamo calls for U-turn on Russia-Ukraine position

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Renamo calls for U-turn on Russia-Ukraine position

6:49 CAT | 04 Jan 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only [File photo: Lusa]

The Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the largest opposition party, suggested on Tuesday that Mozambique “reformulate” its neutral position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the day the country begins its term on the UN Security Council.

“Renamo calls on the government of Mozambique to reformulate its position on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, having been elected by expressive votes from countries that in general condemned the invasion of a sovereign country,” Renamo President Ossufo Momade said in a message on his Facebook page.

Mozambique was among the countries that abstained from three resolutions that have been voted on in the United Nations General Assembly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

For Renamo, the fact that Mozambique remains neutral about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine may be synonymous with “agreement and complicity” with the invading country, in this case, Russia.

Ossufo said that if Mozambique stayed neutral about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it could be synonymous with “agreement and complicity” with the invading country, in this case, Russia.

The largest opposition party also called for Mozambique to use its position on the Security Council to “promote and defend human rights, combat terrorism, threats to international peace and security,” in addition to fighting “global warming and climate change.

Mozambiqueon Tuesday began its term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2023 and 2024, after being elected on 9 June.

READ: Mozambique: Global community ‘must unite’ against terrorism in Africa – diplomat | Watch

This body, created to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations, has five permanent members – the United States of America, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and China – and 10 non-permanent members.

Each year, the General Assembly elects five from a total of 10 non-permanent members, which under a UN resolution are distributed as follows: five African and Asian, one from Eastern Europe, two from Latin America, two from Western Europe and other States.

The UN indicated on Tuesday that it has confirmed that 6,919 civilians have been killed and 11,075 injured in Ukraine since the invasion by Russia.

However, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that these figures are far short of the real ones, especially in the regions where fighting is most intense and where the monitoring work of the organisation’s observers is most difficult.

The military offensive launched on 24 February last year by Russia also caused the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced and more than 7.8 million to European countries – according to the latest data from the UN, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).

At the moment, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food and shelter.

The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to “denazify” and demilitarise Ukraine for Russia’s security – has been condemned by the international community in general, which has responded by sending arms to Kyiv and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.

Source: Lusa