In 2023, Mozambique was the scene of several incidents of serious violence and electoral intimidation during the local elections in October, with the police reacting violently to protests by opposition supporters against the way the electoral process was run.

According to the report on Human Rights in the World 2023, published by the US State Department on Monday (22) in Washington and quoted by VOA, the year was also marked by strong harassment of the media during the voting and results tabulation processes.

The document, however, says that the Mozambican government has taken credible steps to investigate, prosecute and punish some officials who have committed human rights violations, but impunity remains a problem.

According to the report, the scenario described includes illegal or arbitrary executions, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, harsh and life-threatening conditions, arbitrary arrest or detention, serious abuses due to the conflict in Cabo Delgado, with unlawful killings and injuries, kidnappings, physical abuse and war-related violence or sexual punishment, and the illegal use of child soldiers by private organizations.

Cabo Delgado, a breeding ground for rights violations

The rapporteurs also point to "severe restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence and threats of violence against journalists and unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, substantial interference with freedom of peaceful assembly, serious government corruption, widespread gender-based violence and lack of investigation and accountability for such acts, and the existence of the worst forms of child labor."

The US State Department document recalls that during the year the Islamic State-Mozambique "continued to perpetrate violent attacks against state security forces and civilian populations in Cabo Delgado province", but with joint operations by Rwandan forces, and separately with the forces of the Southern African Development Community, the Defense and Security Forces "recovered the territory taken by the Islamic State-Mozambique, allowing many displaced people to return to their homes and some government services to be resumed".

Despite progress and setbacks, human rights organizations, the media and the government have reported that "terrorists have committed human rights violations against civilians, which have included beheadings, kidnappings and the illegal use of child soldiers", as well as forcibly displacing civilians, burning down houses and destroying infrastructure.

For their part, "abuses by the security forces allegedly included arbitrary arrests and detentions and extrajudicial killings, the authorities investigated some reports of abuses, but few people were charged and prosecuted," says the report.

"There were reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or illegal executions, including extrajudicial killings, during the year," reads the document, which cites press reports that "attributed abuses to members of the security forces, including the Mozambique Armed Defense Forces, the National Police (PRM), the PRM's Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) and local militias affiliated with the government in Cabo Delgado province."

The Attorney General's Office, which is responsible for investigating and prosecuting the perpetrators of murders committed by security forces, according to civil society groups, "has not investigated many reports of abuses".

The kidnappings of businessmen are also mentioned in the report, but without results.

Lack of protection for freedoms

In the area of freedoms, the US State Department report states that the "government has not always effectively protected or respected these freedoms" and cites that "academics, journalists, representatives of opposition parties and civil society organizations reported an atmosphere of intimidation and fear that restricted freedom of expression, the press and other media".

The journalists expressed concern about intimidation of the government by the security forces, especially the police, and "stated that they practiced self-censorship due to fear of official retaliation".

The Committee to Protect Journalists, says the document, reported that five border police officers in Zambezia province beat radio journalist Rosário Cardoso with truncheons in January after he accused them of taking bribes.

Cardoso also claimed that the staff at the local police station initially refused to register his complaint, but eventually gave in.

Heavy repression of peaceful demonstrations

In the field of demonstrations and associations, the document says that civil society leaders have reported cases of police intimidation when delivering petitions to government departments

"The security forces have sometimes responded to peaceful demonstrations with violence and arrests," write the rapporteurs, who point out that, in March, citizens demonstrated peacefully across the country to pay tribute to the popular rapper and social activist Azagaia, but the "police responded with intimidation, dispersing the crowd with tear gas, arrests of some demonstrators and, in some cases, violence".

In July 2022, the police prevented representatives of civil society from holding a vigil for Macassar Abacar, a man who died in police custody in Maputo, with the authorities arguing "that the vigil could have led to public disorder".

Displaced people in vulnerable situations

With the country facing instability and environmental disasters, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that in June there were approximately 834,000 internally displaced people and that approximately 313,000 people remained displaced due to catastrophic cyclones since 2019.

"Organizations continued to report that displaced women and girls remained at high risk of gender-based violence, and reports of abuse included sex with local authorities and security agents in exchange for food and other essentials," the report said.

International organizations supporting the displaced "said that women reported an increase in aggression and violence from male partners because they were excluded from social protection systems."

Meanwhile, the State Department, in its report, recognizes that the Mozambican Executive has taken credible steps to investigate, prosecute and punish some officials who have committed human rights violations, however, "impunity among members of the state security forces, law enforcement officials and civilian authorities remains a significant problem".