Africa-Press – Mozambique. Analysts said on Wednesday that the Mozambican government intends to “project the country’s prestige,” with possible election to a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (SC) and with the mobilisation of the international community for its “domestic agenda.
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday officially launched the country’s candidacy for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for the 2023/24 term with peace as a priority.
Calton Cadeado, a specialist in Peace and Conflicts at Joaquim Chissano University, a state institution, told Lusa that the Mozambican executive intends to “project the international prestige” of the country and attract the international community’s attention to its “internal agenda, mainly peacekeeping.
“With a seat on the United Nations Security Council, even without effective power, Mozambique increases its visibility in the world and gains respectability as an actor in the concert of nations,” Cadeado noted.
The presence in that body, he continued, will allow the country to mobilise the international community for the challenges of peace and security it faces, particularly against the action of “terrorism in Cabo Delgado.
“The government does not hide the fact that Mozambique is facing a transnational phenomenon of terrorism,” Cadeado said,
Adriano Nuvunga, a political scientist and director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a Mozambican non-governmental organisation, also pointed out that the Mozambican government wants to raise its international image and prestige after a period of decline caused by the scandal of hidden debts, electoral processes of dubious credibility and armed conflicts.
“The executive sees the presence in the United Nations Security Council as an opportunity for its external rehabilitation, after having been viewed with much mistrust by international partners,” Nuvunga noted.
The academic warned of the risk of “wasting an opportunity” if the government did not take advantage of its presence on that international body to promote an agenda of respect for human rights, good governance and openness to dialogue with civil society.
“If the Government does not change its stance on human rights, dialogue with civil society and good governance, then the seat on the UN Security Council will be a charm operation,” argued Adriano Nuvunga.
Fernando Lima, journalist and president of Mediacoop, the oldest private media group in Mozambique, also considered that Maputo aims at “rescue of prestige”, following the cooling of relations with international partners, due to the hidden debt scandal and decline in international indicators on good governance and human rights.
“The Mozambican government knows that there are international partners jealous of the country’s position about the main indicators of good governance and human rights, and as long as the ‘rankings’ are negative, an atmosphere of mistrust and even distancing will persist,” he noted.
The country’s status as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, he continued, could serve to show a more committed face to international issues, particularly the agenda of peace and the fight against terrorism.
“But it may be nothing more than cosmetic if the Government does not use that instance to promote a new path about issues such as respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” he stressed.
At the ceremony to launch Mozambique’s candidacy on the 16th, Filipe Nyusi stressed that the country’s commitment to peace is total and unwavering.
The head of state pointed out that “time and again, the country has lent its valences, whether representing the state or individually by Mozambicans to mitigate conflicts or find negotiated solutions” to situations of divergence.
“Our commitment to the peace agenda within the Security Council is all that motivates us because we know how harmful the absence of peace is and how beneficial harmony is,” he stressed.
The UN Security Council comprises 15 members, five permanent and ten non-permanent, elected for two-year terms, five of whom are replaced each year.
There is a fixed number of seats for the different regional groups into which the UN General Assembly is divided in the election.
In this case, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) endorsed the Mozambican candidacy, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Verónica Macamo, announced a year ago, when she started to address the issue with diplomatic representations.
In his message, Filipe Nyusi stressed that the candidacy enjoyed the unanimous support of the 15 members of SADC and the 54 member states of the African Union (AU), as well as expressions of sympathy and encouragement from nations on other continents, particularly within the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP).
The elections will occur in 2022, and the two-year mandate will begin on 1 January 2023, ending on 31 December 2024.
