The armed conflicts in the country have created "opportunities" for the violation of human rights, leaving the populations of the areas affected by the violence vulnerable, says the Mozambique Bar Association (OAM) Human Rights Report released yesterday in Maputo.

"In the central and northern regions, the [human rights] situation has worsened, due to the occurrence of armed conflicts that caused the displacement of populations and generated opportunities for human rights violations," reads the conclusions of the report, which covers the period 2020-2021 cited by Lusa.

Regarding the war in Cabo Delgado province, where government forces are fighting insurgents associated with terrorism, the assessment notes that "concerns persist about human rights violations regarding the involvement of defense and security authorities."

It recognizes, however, that the involvement of the joint forces of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda in combating armed groups in Cabo Delgado has resulted in progress in improving the security situation.

Pointing out that attacks on human dignity have been systematic in the country, the assessment also points to the restrictions imposed by covid-19 and natural disasters as other events that have fostered abuses.

The covid-19 was used by the authorities to disproportionately limit rights and commit attacks, the text indicates.

The pandemic has also brought to the surface the exclusion of part of the population from health services and the right to education, due to a lack of technological means for distance learning, the document states.

Between 2021 and 2022, it continues, there were reports of summary executions carried out by law and order agents and the involvement of investigators from the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) with gangs engaged in kidnappings.

An environment of "hostility" to the exercise of press freedoms and freedom of expression has also been created, through reports of harassment of journalists, the OAM charges.

The report also deplores the fact that society has been excluded from the debate on the decentralization process through the monopoly of discussion on the subject by the country's main parties.

The lawyers' analysis of the human rights situation in Mozambique also refers to the trampling of community rights in the areas where the extractive industry is located, pointing out problems related to the resettlement of populations and lack of transparency in the attribution of mining activity licenses, as well as in the management of revenues collected from these operations.

On the positive side, the geographical expansion of the country's judicial network is mentioned, through the construction of more courts and activation of legal aid services, as well as the passing of more laws protecting human rights.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the presentation of the report, the president of OAM, Duarte Casimiro, said that the framework of human rights in Mozambique shows advances and setbacks.

"We are moving forward, but with difficulties, there are indeed some gains, but there are also setbacks, let's admit that we are improving, but with many difficulties," he emphasized.

In the central region, the military instability was led by armed actions of a dissidence of the armed wing of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the main opposition party, but which lost strength after the shooting of its leader, Mariano Nhongo.

Cabo Delgado province has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.