Public Affairs Section

Supporting Human Rights and Democracy - Mozambique 2006

Mozambique is a constitutional democracy. President Armando Guebuza was elected in December 2004 in what national and international observers judged to
be generally free and fair elections, despite some irregularities. The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, the ruling political party since independence in 1975, heavily influenced government policymaking and implementation. Although there were improvements in a few areas during the year, serious human rights and societal problems remained, including: police use of excessive force resulting in unlawful killings and injuries; lynchings and mob violence; extremely harsh and life-threatening prison conditions resulting in several deaths; arbitrary arrest and detention; lengthy pretrial detention; lack of transparency and official corruption; police harassment and arbitrary detention of journalists; widespread domestic
violence and discrimination against women; abuse and criminal exploitation of children, including child prostitution; trafficking in women and children; discrimination against persons with disabilities and HIV/AIDS; child labor in the informal sector and forced child labor; and poor enforcement of labor legislation.

During the year the United States carried out several programs to strengthen the country’s democracy by supporting improvements in national institutions and in governance. US Government support for key government agencies and civil society groups through its 2005 human rights and democracy fund resulted in a draft freedom of information law which was submitted to the National Assembly. Parliamentary debate and approval of the law is expected in 2007.

The United States continued to fund a five-year project to help the municipalities of Nacala, Monapo, Gurue, Vilankulos, and Chimoio to strengthen the quality and level of broad-based citizen participation and engagement in municipal governance, increase the accountability of and quality of services provided by municipal governments, and strengthen systems to combat corruption and increase accountability at the local level.

With the help of the US Government, the country made progress on press freedom issues, as evidenced by the willingness of journalists to cover politically sensitive cases. In addition, several NGOs noted that fewer journalists were detained and that the government increased its efforts to divulge information to the public, compared with previous years. Nonetheless, many journalists continued to practice self-censorship. The US Government supported radio and print organizations to enhance media independence. Through its Partnership for International Journalism
Program, two local journalists traveled to the United States. In Zambezia and Nampula, the two most populous provinces, the United States supported the production of radio programs in local languages on topics such as the constitution, conflict resolution, and respect for human rights.

To strengthen democracy and good governance, the United States continued its emphasis on anticorruption programs, including activities with both the government and civil society. The United States worked to improve the performance of the Central Office for the Combat of Corruption in the Office of the Attorney General by providing funds to train prosecutors in investigative skills. The United States also supported technical assistance and scholarships for students in the areas of law and auditing. A report on corruption in the country, which was prepared by outside consultants with US funding and released in March, has become an important part of the dialogue about corruption in the country. It was frequently noted in the media and noticeably expanded the parameters within which corruption and mechanisms for combating corruption are debated.

US-funded anticorruption programs supported citizen awareness campaigns by encouraging citizens to denounce corrupt behavior and publicizing the corruption reporting process. With US Government assistance during part of the year, an anticorruption NGO operated corruption reporting centers in several provincial capitals. The centers received approximately 100 citizen reports of corruption and directed them to appropriate institutions for investigation. The visitors program funded travel to the United States for two government officials to attend a conference on transparency and good governance.

US officials met often with a local NGO that monitored prison conditions, allegations of torture, and other serious human rights abuses. In August the
United States also hosted a public roundtable on domestic violence and child abuse.

The United States conducted activities to promote religious freedom and tolerance, particularly with respect to the Islamic community. Through its international visitors program, two local Muslim leaders traveled to the United States during the year. During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the United States hosted several Iftaar dinners in the country to demonstrate support for and respect for religious observances.

The United States continued to actively advocate for the drafting and passage of the country’s first antitrafficking in persons law. Specifically, the United States worked with a women’s rights NGO to provide technical assistance to government officials drafting the law. The country is a source country for an estimated 1,000 women trafficked to South Africa each year for the purpose of sexual exploitation. In addition, children were taken to South Africa to work on farms under extremely harsh conditions. Despite an interest in combating such trafficking, the government had limited resources and consequently had made little progress on prevention or prosecution. The United States also laid the groundwork for linking antitrafficking efforts to existing HIV/AIDS activities in the country’s main transit corridors. The United States also organized and hosted a trafficking forum to coordinate information and efforts among the government, embassies, and NGO community. Since the first forum, several have been hosted by other governments.

In May, with support from US funding, the civil society organization Civic Education Forum opened the country’s first permanent shelter for trafficking victims near the South African border outside the town of Moamba. The Moamba District government donated 20 hectares of land to be used to grow food for the shelter. During the ceremony the Civic Education Forum announced it would start screening for victims of trafficking among the 800 to 1,000 illegal immigrants repatriated by South African immigration authorities every two weeks.

Through its human rights and democracy fund, the United States supported a program to disseminate information about the 2005 Family Law, about which few women in the country were informed. The project raised awareness of the provisions of the new law, with a particular emphasis on domestic violence.