Africa-Press – Mozambique. Donors who have been funding the peace process in Mozambique said pacification work must continue after the closure of the last base of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), celebrated on Thursday in Vunduzi, Gorongosa Mountains.
“Although former combatants have begun their transition to civilian life, the work for definitive peace in Mozambique does not end here,” a statement said.
“The time has come to devote greater attention to the factors of a sustainable peace, including reconciliation and decentralisation, and to promote long-term socio-economic reintegration,” the document added.
The donors highlighted that “inclusion, especially of women and girls, and respect for diversity and human rights are proven pathways to peace around the world.”
“A society in which everyone can participate fully and meaningfully in all facets of social, economic and political life will be more resilient, peaceful and just”, and this “includes the fundamental work of women as peacebuilders, negotiators, mediators and activists,” the note said.
The International Donor Group for Mozambique’s National Peace Process is composed of Canada, the European Union (EU), Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (USA).
The Netherlands and Norway are other donor countries.
The group said “with the closure of the Vanduzi base in Sofala province and the demobilisation of all remaining former combatants located there, a key milestone of the Maputo Accord,” concluded in 2019, has been achieved.
The base closed 30 years and eight months after the end of the Mozambican civil war.
The ceremony represented the end of the demobilisation process for 5,221 guerrillas who remained at the bases in remote areas and who began handing in their weapons four years ago as part of the peace agreement.
This is followed by the reintegration phase, which includes the start of pension payments to the demobilised.
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