Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Friday swore into office three new members of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH).
All three, Antonio Amelia, Rosalia Lumbala and Aderito Zimba, were elected unanimously to the Commission by the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic.
“Your election”, Chapo claimed, “is an unequivocal sign of the democratic maturity of our country, and of the centrality which Mozambique grants to the promotion and protection of human rights”.
The new members of the CNDH, he said, were taking office in the wake of “the violent post-election demonstrations, with all the damage they caused “, and the trail of destruction left by natural disasters such as cyclones Chido, Dikeledi and Jude which hit the country in late 2024 and early 2025.
At the same time, terrorism based on religious extremism had continued to strike parts of the northern province of Cabo Delgado, and had spilled into attacks in the Niassa Reserve, the largest conservation area in the country.
“These acts are assaults against our sovereignty, our independence and our territorial integrity”, said Chapo, “and also endanger the most basic human rights, such as the rights to life, to physical integrity and to the freedom of conscience and religion”.
The main victims, he stressed, “are always the most vulnerable and the poorest citizens, particularly elderly people, children and women”.
“In difficult moments, such as those we are now going through, we are obliged to adopt measures and take decisions, in defence of our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to maintain public order, some of which may, involuntarily, favour the violation of human rights”. Chapo admitted.
This led to denunciations of human rights violations “which must deserve our and your attention”, he told the CNDH members, “and we are investigating all the cases which have come to our knowledge”.
The CNDH, Chapo said, “plays a crucial role in monitoring the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens, in mediating conflicts, in promoting a culture of peace, and in preventing practices which could lead to the violation of human rights”.
As an independent national institution, the President added, the CNDH “has the noble and urgent mission of promoting and defending the rights of all citizens, regardless of their political or religious affiliation, their ethnic origin, their race or anything else which makes us different”.
This work, he continued, “is still more relevant at a time when Mozambique is facing complex challenges which put to the test our social cohesion, our political maturity and our commitment to the building of a fairer and more inclusive future”.
Trust in institutions such as the CNDS, Chapo warned, “depends on their independence, competence, responsibility and integrity”. The new members of the Commission should exercise their duties “with impartiality, courage and sensitivity. You should know how to be firm in the face of injustice, prudent in your analyses and close to the people – close above all to those who suffer most, and whose voices are least heard”.
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