The United Nations Operations in Mozambique (ONUMOZ, ) was a UN peace mission to Mozambique established in December 1992 under Security Council Resolution 797 with the assignment to monitor the implementation of the Rome General Peace Accords agreed upon by the Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano of FRELIMO, the Front for Liberation of Mozambique, and Afonso Dhlakama of RENAMO, the Mozambican National Resistance. The operation was one of the most significant and extensive UN operations and it sought to demobilize and disarm troops, provide humanitarian aid, and oversee the elections. The operation ended in December 1994.
Background
After Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal, Frelimo whose leaders were now in power, sought to rebuild and expand the state's role. Yet this was not an easy task. At the time, there were very few trained Mozambican doctors or teachers, and 95% of the population was illiterate. To help the mission, the Eastern Bloc supplied them with medical staff, teachers, government advisers, and Western volunteers excited to engage in socialist state-building. They thus embarked on a mission to expand the state's social services, education, and hospital systems. Ultimately, this group of soldiers formed Renamo and persuaded many other Mozambicans from rural towns and the countryside to join them. Together, they introduced violence and destruction into the country.
The end of the war and the General Peace Agreement
In the late 1980s, both Renamo and Frelimo had become uninterested in fighting. The Mozambican government was recovering from debt and no longer wholeheartedly committed to a Marxist–Leninist government framework. Instead of ‘People’s Republic,’ Mozambique was now solely named ‘Republic.’ The government also instituted freedom of speech and separated the judiciary from the government. They were willing to allow for multi-party democracy and to give up total control of the state. Renamo's internal support was also waning as they were partially responsible for the ongoing famine. They had destroyed most of the country's infrastructure, which led the drought to have a greater impact on the country. During their first meeting, they agreed only to end the violence in the Beira and Limpopo corridors.
Military
The military division was in charge of demobilizing active Frelimo and Renamo troops and aimed to do it before the elections. This was a top priority for the mission to ensure long lasting peace.
Demobilization was set to begin in March 1993, but several issues arose between June and September 1993 that stalled the process. Dhlakama declared that he did not think demobilization had to be achieved before the elections. In the end, there were 12,000 soldiers in the new army, but they initially expected 30,000 soldiers in total. In parliament, Frelimo got 129 seats, Renamo got 112, and the Democratic Union got 9 seats out of 250 seats. The Democratic Union was the only third party to get enough votes to be part of parliament. This led the UN to declare its mission complete.
The outcome of the intervention
Officially, the UN intervention came to a close and many considered it to be a largely successful operation for its breadth and depth. Officials were responding directly to what was happening on the ground and updating their plans regularly to accommodate changes in the field.
References
Source cited
- United Nations: ONUMOZ Mission