August 6, 2020 marks one year since the Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement was signed in Maputo. The agreement, signed by the President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi and RENAMO leader Ossufo Momade, and witnessed by regional and international political and religious leaders, ended the return to conflict that started in 2013.
It also paved the way for Mozambique’s national elections in October 2019. Since the agreement, the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) won a landslide victory in the elections, weakening RENAMO, and a splinter group has conducted targeted armed violence in Manica and Sofala provinces. Yet, the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) process has made progress.
At this event, senior figures reflect on the peace agreement and the key factors of its success. The event also draws upon insights from the authors of recent publications on the latest peace agreement in the context of longer term trends of democratization and peace-building in Mozambique.
A Chatham House Africa Programme research paper published in August 2019, Prospects for a Sustainable Elite Bargain in Mozambique: Third Time Lucky?, examined how the deal was achieved. The Portuguese version includes the full text of the peace accord. Read the research paper in Portuguese or English here.
Participants
Speakers:
Mirko Manzoni, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Mozambique
Eduardo Namburete, Senior Lecturer, School of Communication and Arts, Eduardo Mondlane University; Member of Parliament, Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) [2005-2010]
Chaloka Beyani, Associate Professor of International Law, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Neha Sanghrajka, Senior Advisor to the Peace Process in Mozambique
Discussants:
Kees Kingma, Author, Um olhar ao DDR em curso em Moçambique [A look at the DDR underway in Mozambique], EISA Briefing Note (2020)
Nikkie Wiegink, Author, Former Guerrillas in Mozambique (2020); Assistant Professor, Department of Cultural Anthropology, University of Utrecht
Closing Remarks:
The Right Reverend Carlos Simao Matsinhe, Bishop of Lebombo
Chair:
Alex Vines, Director, Africa Programme; Managing Director, Ethics, Risk and Resilience, Chatham House
