The human rights environment in Mozambique did not improve in 2024. The humanitarian situation worsened due to massive displacement in conflict-hit Cabo Delgado province and a drought affecting Southern Africa. As of August, over 850,000 people were displaced within Mozambique due to the conflict and the impact of the climate crisis, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. Children’s rights continued to be seriously hindered by the conflict in Cabo Delgado province. Police were implicated in widespread abuses against journalists, civil society activists, and election observers ahead of the October general elections. Authorities appeared to make some progress in the fight against kidnappings for ransom across the country.
Humanitarian Situation in Conflict-hit Region
The humanitarian situation continued to worsen as the conflict in Cabo Delgado province and the severe drought affecting the Southern African region led to widespread displacement. The conflict continued to have a significant impact on public health services, particularly with the destruction of health facilities by armed groups, which severely impacted people’s access to essential health care.
The warring parties in the conflict increased the use of explosive devices that killed civilians and security force personnel. In June, at least five people were killed in incidents linked to explosive devices in Cabo Delgado’s Mocímboa da Praia district.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) ended in July. In the same month, a new wave of deadly attacks by the Islamic State (ISIS) linked group locally known as Al-Shabab or Mashababos, in Chiure, Macomia and Nangade districts, forced thousands of people to flee.
Children’s Rights
Children continued to be among the most affected by the conflict in Cabo Delgado province. The ISIS-linked armed group recruited boys as young as 13 and used them to raid and loot Macomia town in May. It is unclear if the children also engaged in fighting against government armed forces. Some of the children who escaped or were rescued faced serious challenges with learning and stigma during efforts by the authorities to reintegrate them into society.
In July, more than 70 children went missing after a surge in attacks by the Mashababos armed groups, with authorities fearing that many of them had drowned in a river or were abducted by the militants.
Cases of child marriage increased significantly in Cabo Delgado province, according to the humanitarian organization Save The Children. The organization, in a report identified socio-economic challenges being the “key factors that lead families to subject girls to child marriage.”
Mozambique’s adolescent pregnancy rate is the highest in East and Southern Africa. In April, President Filipe Nyusi acknowledged that adolescent pregnancies and child marriage were two of the country’s biggest challenges in the path to gender equality. Mozambique continued to have one of the lowest secondary school enrollment rates of girls across Southern Africa. Thousands of girls dropped out of school because they were pregnant or parenting and faced discrimination, stigma or lack of financial and social support to stay in school.
In Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces, more than 100 schools closed due to insecurity, affecting the learning of over 50,000 children, according to UNICEF.
Election-Related Violence
Police officers were implicated in widespread abuses against journalists and civil society activists, seriously affecting their work ahead of the October 9 elections. The authorities rarely investigated complaints of harassment, threats, physical assault, and arbitrary arrest and detention that targeted journalists, activists, and others covering election-related activities.
Police used tear gas, on October 21 to disperse people during a protest against election irregularities and the killing of two prominent opposition members, in Maputo. Opposition lawyer Elvino Dias and party official Paulo Guambe were travelling by car, on October 29, in Maputo city, when gunmen followed the car and fired several times at them.
In August, the spokesman of the Election Commission accused the Mozambican police of being responsible for violence during campaigns, and the judicial system of “promoting impunity.”
During the campaign, security forces reportedly detained and harrassed local election observers. On at least one occasion, members of the riot police detained an observer in Cabo Delgado province, accusing him of being a “terrorist.”
Unidentified people and alleged members of the ruling party reportedly intimidated, harassed, and destroyed property of opposition supporters during election campaigns. Despite the insecurity in some areas of Cabo Delgado province, the election commission said that it had created conditions to ensure voting would take place in all the districts of the province.
In October, following disputed elections, international observers including from the African Union, European Union and the Commonwealth expressed concern about the credibility of the process and called for an investigation into claims of election irregularities.
Unresolved Kidnappings
Authorities appeared to make some progress in the fight against kidnappings for ransom across the country.
In August, police detained five South African nationals in connection with kidnappings of Mozambicans. In the same month, the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) revealed that it had identified three Mozambicans resident in neighboring South Africa as the masterminds of the kidnappings of businesspeople. Earlier, President Nyusi had called on the police to step up their efforts and arrest “at least one mastermind” of kidnappings to regain public trust.
More than 100 businesspeople have reportedly abandoned Mozambique, due to fear and insecurity caused by the wave of kidnappings across the country.
In May, the United Kingdom warned its citizens visiting Mozambique of the risk of kidnapping, noting that “while most victims are Mozambican, foreign nationals may also be targeted." In July, Portugal’s ambassador to Mozambique called on the Mozambican government to end the wave of kidnappings as it was harming foreign investment in the country.