Africa-Press – Mozambique. A delegation from the Swedish agency Folke Bernadotte Academy will build capacity among those involved in Renamo’s Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process, as part of the peace agreement signed between the party and the Mozambican government.
“The objective of the training is to develop gender-sensitive strategies and messages aimed at DDR beneficiaries throughout the ongoing process in the country,” said a statement from the Swedish embassy in Mozambique.
The capacity building will benefit the people directly involved in the process, with emphasis on the joint technical group for DDR, the joint technical monitoring and verification group and peace clubs created under the agreement, as well as focal points in the provinces covered.
“Peace and security negotiations must be based on a gender perspective in order to ensure that the needs of the entire population, including women, are considered,” said Mette Sunnergren, Swedish Ambassador to Mozambique, quoted in the statement.
The Folke Bernadotte Academy is the Swedish government’s agency for peace, security and development.🇸🇪@FBAFolke supports international peace operations by conducting training and research to strengthen peacebuilding and state building in conflict and post-conflict countries❗ pic.twitter.com/8Cjr16JQbf
— EU Civilian Training Initiative – EUCTI (@eucti_eu) June 17, 2021
The Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement was signed on 06 August 2019 in Maputo by the current President, Filipe Nyusi, and the leader of the opposition Renamo, Ossufo Momade, providing, among other things, for the DDR of Renamo’s armed wing, involving about 5,000 members.
The process has already covered more than 2,600 Renamo guerrillas, but the party has criticised an alleged lack of interest of its guerrillas in joining the police, and delays in the disbursement of subsidies to former guerrillas already covered.
The agreement is contested by the self-proclaimed Renamo Military Junta, to which attacks on civilian and state targets in the centre of the country are attributed with more than 30 deaths since August 2019.
The group, led by Mariano Nhongo, a Renamo guerrilla general, accuses the current party leadership of having betrayed the ideals of the organisation’s defunct president, Afonso Dhlakama, in the commitments it made to the leadership of the Frelimo executive.
