The Mozambican state and civil society say that it is necessary to strengthen the work of human rights institutions in regions where there are natural resources.

Where there are natural resource exploitation mega-projects, there continue to be reports of violations of community rights. Civil society frequently denounces non-compliance with resettlement plans, failures in the implementation of social responsibility measures, and lack of transparency in the allocation and management of benefits for the population.

Both civil society and the Government understand that it is urgent to strengthen the performance of justice institutions to ensure respect for human rights in business environment, particularly in Northern Mozambique. That is why the two entities launched on Monday (07.11) a project to promote human rights in business environment.

Elisa Samuel, director of the Legal and Judiciary Training Center of Maputo, told DW, that the Attorney General's Office, the National Human Rights Commission, the Bar Association, the police and the courts will create a united front in favor of the communities: "We will work with these segments so that they understand what the role of each one is when it comes to analyzing, evaluating and guaranteeing human rights".

Corruption and lack of means

The director of the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD), Adriano Nuvunga, is confident that the country is capable of administering justice, but corruption is still a problem.

"When [companies] come here, they leave a little something for the boss," he mentions.

Nuvunga therefore advocates for human rights defenders to remain in resource extraction areas. "And in case of threats, of being persecuted or prosecuted, they must be defended by a judiciary with independence and a sense of mission, defending the dignity of the people."

The director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Training, Elisa Samuel, warns, however, that justice in Mozambique still lacks the necessary tools to deal with several cases. She gives the example of the case of the British mining company Gemfields, which, almost three years ago, agreed to pay over eight million dollars after more than 200 complaints from miners, who accused the company's security guards of beating them or sexually abusing them during ruby mining in Montepuez, Cabo Delgado province.

The case was tried in London because of the "judicial vacuum" in Mozambique, says Elisa Samuel.

The project to promote human rights, presented this Monday, focuses on the Justice sector for this very reason: "When we say we are going to promote access to judicial remedies that ensure that complaints are properly handled within our courts, that means strengthening this knowledge," she said.