Oil company TotalEnergies has commissioned a human rights expert to assess the situation in Cabo Delgado in order to decide whether there are conditions to resume the gas exploration project it was building in the region, it was announced yesterday.

The decision was communicated by the CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, to the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, after a visit to the region.

"During this visit, Patrick Pouyanné said he had entrusted Jean-Christophe Rufin," a Portuguese-speaking doctor, writer and diplomat who is a recognized "expert in humanitarian action and human rights", with an independent mission to assess the humanitarian situation in the province of Cabo Delgado," reads a statement.

The mission will also evaluate "the actions taken by Mozambique LNG", the consortium led by Total, and should propose "additional actions to be implemented, if necessary".

"The report of this mission will be delivered at the end of February and its conclusions will be shared with all Mozambique LNG's partners, who will decide whether the conditions are met to resume the project's activities," said the note quoted by Lusa.

The industrial perimeter under construction in Palma to liquefy natural gas from the Rovuma basin is the largest private investment in Africa, suspended since March 2021 after an armed attack by insurgents who have terrorized the region for five years.

"Since 2021, the situation in Cabo Delgado province has improved significantly, thanks in particular to the support provided by African countries that have committed themselves to restoring peace and security," Patrick Pouyanné said yesterday.

The leader of TotalEnergies said that "the resumption of activities requires the restoration of security in the region, the resumption of public services and the return to normal life for the people of the region".

"The mission entrusted to Jean-Christophe Rufin should allow Mozambique LNG's partners to assess whether the current situation allows for the resumption of activities with respect for human rights," he concluded.

As a doctor, writer and diplomat, the chosen expert has held various positions.

Representing the French state, Rufin was cultural and cooperation attaché in Brazil in the late 1980s and 1990s, a country he wrote about in the 2001 novel "Rouge Brésil" ("Red Brazil").

In the field of humanitarian action, as a doctor, he has been on missions since 1977 to Nicaragua, Eritrea, Sudan and the Philippines, having been vice-president of Médecins Sans Frontières (1991-92) and president of Action Against Hunger (2003-2006).

The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency for five years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.