Maputo (Mozambique), 16 February 2024 – Good governance. Justice for all. Future generations united against organized crime. Economic prosperity. Safeguarding fundamental rights. A safer future for their children.
These were some of the sentiments expressed by stakeholders attending the national consultation on Mozambique’s proposed National Strategy against Organized Crime, when asked to envision the future of Mozambique if the strategic document is successfully implemented.
The draft Strategy was presented to a wide variety of institutions at a national consultation workshop held in February 2024 in Maputo, co-organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Ministry of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs of Mozambique.
Attending institutions included not only criminal justice actors such as the Office of the Prosecutor General, the prison service and the national criminal investigation service but also multiple ministries – from national defence to education and health. Crucially, the consultations featured the participation of the National Commission on Human Rights, the Institute of Legal Aid and Sponsorship, the Gender and Development Observatory Center and the International Organization for Migration.
“At UNODC, We firmly believe that an effective response to organized crime must be comprehensive and inclusive, featuring coordinated, synergetic and comprehensive collaboration between stakeholders beyond security and justice institutions, from health and education to civil society. The active participation and contributions of stakeholders attending these consultations reflects this,” said Antonio De Vivo, Head of UNODC’s Programme Office in Mozambique.
“Mozambique’s geographical location, porous borders and vast coastline, as well the discovery of natural resources, have made it a hub for transnational organized criminal groups to maximize ill-gotten gains from human trafficking, wildlife crime and drug trafficking crime,” warned Justino Tonela, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice. Developed since 2022 by a Technical Work Group with the support of UNODC, the Strategy takes into account three critical risks faced by Mozambique: corruption, money laundering, and the sophistication and interlinkages between organized criminal groups.
Such threats and vulnerabilities, Tonela warned, are further compounded by institutional silos, limited information flow between agencies and a lack of a unified vision, highlighting the need for such a Strategy that “reflects Mozambique’s reality.” Mozambique’s National Strategy will be built upon four pillars: PREVENT organized crime from (re)infiltrating communities, the economy and political institutions; PURSUE organized criminal groups and their illicit gains; PROTECT vulnerable persons and victims from (further) harm; and PROMOTE partnerships and cooperation at all levels, including across international borders – in what amounts to a whole-of-society approach.
The proposed Strategy reflects the need to provide extensive human and material resources for law enforcement and criminal justice officials, stamp out corruption, increase inter-agency and multisectoral information-sharing and collaboration, implement rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for individuals convicted of organized crime-related offences to prevent criminal recidivism, and enhance regional and international cooperation, in particular with countries bordering Mozambique, among other strategic interventions. A common message called for throughout the consultation was the need to invest in community-based interventions, education and awareness-raising against organized crime.
“Education will be a crucial component for the effective implementation of the Strategy, in particular to raise awareness on the different types of crime and their impact and on how to prevent such crimes,” said Benjamim Mangave, representing the Ministry of Education and Human Development of Mozambique.
In addition to socializing and refining the draft Strategy, the workshop also served as a platform for discussing and defining implementation and governance mechanisms, as well as strengthening multi-stakeholder partnerships to ensure full and effective implementation of the Strategy.
Flavia Romiti, Coordinator of UNODC’s project on supporting States in developing strategies against organized crime, described the event as the “culmination of a process of development, revision and exchange between a large number of institutions,” adding that “the final product will be more solid, thanks to the contribution of a very broad number of partners within the Mozambican government and to the participation of civil society organizations and academia.”
Mozambique is well on its way to joining the ranks of others countries that have so far launched strategies based on UNODC’s Organized Crime Strategy Toolkit, such as Chile, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ecuador. “We at UNODC are both grateful and proud to be able to support the Mozambican government in this ambitious task,” said De Vivo. “It is our hope that, following the launch of this strategic document, Mozambique’s experience and know-how in this process can serve as an example and inspiration for other countries in Southern Africa and beyond.”
The Strategy will be a key component in ensuring the effectiveness of efforts to prevent and combat organized crime and advance the achievement of the Maputo Roadmap outcomes, paving the way towards a safer Mozambique.
UNODC thanks the Kingdom of Norway, the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany for their financial support in the strategy development process in Mozambique.
The “Global Programme on Implementing the Organized Crime Convention: from Theory to Practice” supports States in building stronger normative and policy responses to transnational organized crime in order to enhance the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC). More information here.
This webstory was firstly published on the website of UNODC Mozambique.
