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President,

I want to congratulate you for the initiative of today’s meeting. The EU welcomes the presence of President Nyusi of Mozambique. Mr. President, your participation sends a strong signal on Mozambique’s commitment to peacebuilding, not only at home but also as an example around the world. And as current president of the UN Security Council, it demonstrates the importance you attach to close coordination between the Council and the Peacebuilding Commission, a line we fully endorse.

I will focus my intervention on Mozambique’s peacebuilding efforts, on the EU’s support to this process, and on what lessons this experience holds for other countries.

We wish to congratulate Mozambique on its progress in the implementation of the 2019 Maputo Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, supported by the EU. Mozambique’s peace process has been characterized by strong national ownership, continued and open dialogue between the parties, effective community engagement, and support from regional and international partners. The EU welcomes how throughout the process gender considerations have been mainstreamed. The approval last week by Mozambique’s Council of Ministers of a crucial Decree that extends a pension to eligible women and men demobilised as part of implementation of the Peace Agreement is an important step towards the completion of the process. It will contribute toward lasting peace in Mozambique and we hope this measure will materialise as soon as possible.

At the request of Mozambique, the EU has been closely engaged in support of stabilisation and peacebuilding efforts in the country. In Cabo Delgado, for instance, our support can be seen as a model of implementing an integrated approach, encompassing humanitarian, development, peace building and security actions. In terms of humanitarian assistance to Cabo Delgado, the EU’s support in 2021 and 2022 amounted to over EUR 44 million, among others to support the pressing needs of the communities affected by armed violence. Our development cooperation for the period 2021-2024 encompasses 428 mio EUR for green growth, youth and governance. Out of this amount, EUR 100 mio was allocated last year to support the resilience of the northern Mozambique - in line with the Northern Mozambique Resilience and Integrated Development Program (PREDIN). In terms of peacebuilding, we have supported the implementation of the Maputo Peace Agreement with a 62 mio EUR support programme for local governance, decentralization and reconciliation.

Moreover, in order to maximise synergy and complementarity, we support national efforts by building capacities of the Mozambican armed forces (1) through a “train and equip” programme comprising an EU Training Mission and the delivery of non-lethal equipment to the Mozambican Quick Reaction Force for EUR 89 million, (2) through regional efforts: supporting the SADC mission in Mozambique as part of our general support to the AU and (3) through bilateral efforts in collaboration with Rwanda. We provide this support under the European Peace Facility and always in the spirit of “African solutions to African problems”.

Our integrated approach in Mozambique has taught us a number of lessons applicable also in other contexts. Firstly, a response focusing exclusively on security and defence cannot be sufficient to tackle the security and humanitarian challenges, given the complex root causes of the violence. We fully support Mozambique’s emphasis on the promotion of development initiatives and of community resilience as an integral step of the global strategy to prevent violent extremism, considering how poverty and exclusion can lead to mobilisation and recruitment of armed groups. And it has also demonstrated the importance of building peace bottom up, promoting a positive rights based agenda based on inclusion. Finally, we also strongly believe in the added value of close coordination with international partners, including UN agencies and regional organizations.

In fact, our portfolio of peacebuilding activities includes working with different UN agencies such as the IOM on community security, with UNICEF on the protection of children, adolescents and young people and with UNODC to strengthen criminal justice responses to terrorism, including capacities for collecting, preserving and sharing of evidence in line with human rights standards. We also support peacebuilding efforts by SAMIM under the Early Response Mechanism of the African Union Commission and by civil society organisations engaged in social cohesion and dialogue efforts.

President,

Mozambique has succeeded in maintaining stability, reconciliation and democracy, despite ongoing security challenges. As a close partner, the EU is proud to support Mozambique’s ongoing path to peace and we will remain committed to doing so in the future.

I thank you.