Guterres praised Mozambique for its disarmament and demobilization process

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised the “successful completion” of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process in Mozambique after receiving Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

“The Secretary-General thanked the government and people of Mozambique for the successful completion of the disarmament and demobilization phase in accordance with the 2019 Maputo Agreement for Peace and National Reconciliation,” said a statement released by the office of António Guterres after the meeting this Monday afternoon. with the Mozambican head of state on the sidelines of the 78th annual meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“The Secretary General and the President discussed the problems of peace and development in the country,” the report adds.

The DDR process, which began in 2018, involved 5,221 former guerrillas of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), Mozambique’s largest opposition party, of whom 257 were women, and ended last June with the closure of the Vunduzi base, the last of Renamo, located in the Gorongosa region, central province of Sofala.

The base closed 30 years and eight months after the end of Mozambique’s civil war, and the ceremony marked the completion of the demobilization of guerrillas who remained at bases in remote areas and began surrendering their weapons in 2019.

Next comes the reintegration phase, which includes the commencement of pensions for demobilized personnel, which the government says is also in the final stages of implementation.

The closure of the latest base is part of the Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement signed between the government, the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and Renamo in August 2019. were violated and led to armed confrontation after the election results were contested by the main opposition party.