The international community supporting the peace process in Mozambique has urged all players to continue to take concrete steps to implement the Maputo Agreement in its entirety.

In a Joint Declaration, the ambassadors and high commissioners of Canada, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, as current contributors to the Peace Process Fund and associated activities, pledge to participate in the process "to achieve a sustainable peace for the future of all Mozambicans".

The Joint Declaration was issued on the occasion of the demobilization, this Thursday (15), of the last guerrillas of Renamo, the largest opposition party in Mozambique, and the respective closure of the last base, located in Vunduzi, Gorongosa district, in the central province of Sofala, as part of the implementation of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process.

"Although the former combatants have begun their transition to civilian life, the work for definitive peace in Mozambique does not end here. The time has come to devote greater attention to the factors of sustainable peace, including reconciliation and decentralization, and to promote long-term socio-economic reintegration," reads the Declaration, quoted in a press release.

According to the donors, inclusion, especially of women and girls, and respect for diversity and human rights are proven paths to peace around the world.

"A society in which all people can participate fully and meaningfully in all facets of social, economic and political life will be more resilient, peaceful and just. This includes the fundamental work of women as peacebuilders, negotiators, mediators and activists," emphasizes the International Donors Group of the National Peace Process.

"Today marks an important milestone in the journey towards definitive peace under the Maputo Agreement for Peace and National Reconciliation in Mozambique. With the closure of the Vunduzi base, in Sofala province, and the demobilization of all the remaining former combatants located there, a fundamental milestone of the Maputo Agreement has been reached," the document stresses.

As long-standing supporters of the national peace process, the Donor Group congratulates the Mozambican Head of State, Filipe Nyusi, and the President of Renamo, Ossufo Momade, "for their dedication to dialogue, to finding innovative solutions to complex challenges and to advancing the full implementation of the Maputo Agreement."