Mozambique to Establish a National Commission for Human Rights

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Mozambique to Establish a National Commission for Human Rights

Posted on admin on August 20, 2010 // Leave Your Comment

Mozambique is ready to establish a national commission that will supervise issues concerning to human rights nationwide and whose base will be the promotion and protection of human rights, Justice Minister Benvida Levy said in Maputo on Friday.

“The establishment of this institution is considered crucial to creating an environment conducive to the observance of human rights in the country, with the involvement of civil society,” Levi said at a gathering in the capital convened to exchange experiences on best practices and challenges to achieve this end.

The representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Jocely Mason praised the enterprise and said that for the proper exercise of the agency to be created, they need the interest of various sectors.

Mozambique has often been cited by international intuitions as one of the countries where human rights are low on the list of priorities.

Amnesty International said in its 2009 annual report that violence is the first resort, excessive use of force, and abuse by police remained problems as police operated “with a license to kill,” and the weak police accountability system had led to a general climate of impunity.

This was also endorsed by a local non-governmental organization ; Human Rights League (LDH) which said police officers summarily executed several citizens during the first nine months of the year in Maputo and its satellite suburb of Matola.

However, the authorities in a few cases brought criminal charges against a few officers for disciplinary offences during the year.

High levels of crime in and around Maputo, especially with the return of nearly 50,000 citizens fleeing violence in South Africa last year, and continued violence against the police by criminal gangs, were seen as likely factors in the number of unlawful killings committed by security forces during the year as over-anxious police officers reacted with a strong show of force and often resorted to violence.

There were incidents in 2009 when police fired rubber bullets, teargas, and live ammunition at demonstrators in Maputo when protesting residents demonstrated against increases in the cost of living and particularly a rise in fuel prices prompting transport fare hikes.

The national commission, according to Levi, will be up and running before the end of the year.

Source African Press Agency

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