Over a three-day period from 27 to 29 October 1994, Mozambique conducted, with the assistance and support of the United Nations, the first free and fair multi-party elections in the country's history. The elections brought together in an open democratic contest the ruling Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO) and the Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (RENAMO), the country's two major political parties and former foes. Immediately after the results of the election were announced, my Special Representative declared the elections free and fair, based on reports from United Nations observers. This was fully supported by the Security Council. This was a welcome change from a long-running conflict that had claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, driven millions from their homes and destroyed much of Mozambique's economic and social infrastructure. The elections were the culmination of a major success story in United Nations peacemaking, peace-keeping, and humanitarian and electoral assistance.
The mandate entrusted to the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) by the Security Council in resolution 797 (1992) of 16 December 1992 was to verify and monitor the implementation of the General Peace Agreement, signed by the Government of Mozambique and RENAMO at Rome on 4 October 1992. The peace accords required the United Nations to supervise the cease-fire between the two parties, provide security for key transport corridors, monitor a comprehensive disarmament and demobilization programme, coordinate and monitor humanitarian assistance operations throughout the country, and provide assistance and verification for national elections. ONUMOZ subsequently undertook a number of additional tasks at the request of the parties.
One of the most important aspects of the operation was the emphasis it placed on peace-building. ONUMOZ's unprecedented endeavours in this regard were concentrated not only in its oversight of the electoral process but also in the channelling of special trust funds to strengthen the organizational capacity of parties contesting the election. This was particularly important in regard to RENAMO. The transformation of a guerrilla force into a political entity with a stake in the democratic process is one of the most significant legacies of the United Nations operation.
The final meeting of the Supervisory and Monitoring Commission established under the Rome Agreement was held on 6 December 1994. At that meeting, final reports were submitted by the Chairmen of the Cease-fire Commission, the Commission for the Formation of the Mozambican Defence Force, the Commission for Reintegration, the National Police Affairs Commission and the National Information Commission. My Special Representative, Mr. Aldo Ajello, handed these reports over to Mr. Joaquim Alberto Chissano, the President-elect. Subsequently, the new Assembly of the Republic was installed on 8 December, and the newly-elected President of Mozambique was inaugurated the next day; he appointed his Government on 16 December. In accordance with paragraph 4 of Security Council resolution 797 (1992), these events marked the expiry of the political mandate of ONUMOZ, and my Special Representative left Mozambique on 13 December 1994.
The withdrawal of the military, police and civilian components of the Mission proceeded according to plan, beginning on 15 November 1994. A limited force of four infantry companies and medical personnel, a skeleton headquarters staff, demining personnel and a small number of military observers were retained to assist in residual operations and the liquidation phase of the Mission. With the official closure of ONUMOZ at the end of January 1995, a small number of United Nations civilian logisticians remained in Mozambique to deal with outstanding financial, legal and logistic issues.
When the last ONUMOZ contingents departed from Mozambique in January 1995, they had overseen a remarkable transformation in the country, from the ravages of civil war to the implementation of democratic government and the creation of a peaceful environment in which economic activity could once again flourish. The strong commitment of the major participants to peace, along with firm support from the international community, were important prerequisites that enabled the United Nations to help bring about this transition. In this regard, neighbouring States played a vital role; first, in bringing the major participants to the negotiating table, and then in helping to sustain the peace process under ONUMOZ.
Although both the General Peace Agreement and the ONUMOZ mandate were successfully implemented, a number of concerns requiring further action remained at the time of the Mission's withdrawal. These included, on the security front, the continuing need to train and equip the new integrated armed forces and to upgrade the police in accordance with Security Council resolution 898 (1994) of 23 February 1994, while attending to the collection and disposal of outstanding caches of weapons. Mozambique also needed to strengthen its democratic institutions and to promote economic and social reconstruction so that peace, democracy and development could be sustained. While the last United Nations peace-keeping forces left Mozambique in January 1995, their colleagues from the development arm of the Organization remained behind to assist Mozambique in consolidating a peaceful and stable future.
I should like to express my appreciation to the international community and to those programmes and organizations whose financial and technical assistance to the Mozambican authorities made it possible to hold the elections in an exemplary manner. There is agreement among the international community that ONUMOZ was a success. Key factors that contributed to this result include: the political will of the Mozambican people and their leaders, demonstrated by their strong commitment to peace and national reconciliation; the clarity of the ONUMOZ mandate and the consistent support provided by the Security Council; and the international community's strong political, financial and technical support of the peace process.
The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Assistance Coordination (UNOHAC) was made the humanitarian component of ONUMOZ by the Security Council in resolution 797 (1992). In the transition from war to reconciliation to peace, UNOHAC and its humanitarian assistance partners addressed the emergency needs of between 4 and 5 million internally displaced persons, 1.5 million returning refugees and some 90,000 demobilized soldiers. Effective and coordinated humanitarian assistance activities helped to create conditions that allowed civilians affected by the war to begin rebuilding their lives. The success of the Consolidated Humanitarian Programme, developed by UNOHAC and its partners, received tremendous support from the international community, which contributed more than 82 per cent of the approximately $775 million required for execution of the Programme.
As the mandate of ONUMOZ neared termination in late 1994, UNOHAC focused its activities on ensuring completion of projects where possible, and on finalizing arrangements with humanitarian assistance partners in-country for the transfer of a number of responsibilities that would continue beyond the life of the peace-keeping operation.
One such hand-over involved the Trust Fund for Humanitarian Activities in Mozambique, established by the Department of Humanitarian Affairs to provide financial support for the implementation of 26 projects which were to be fully implemented only after the expiration of the ONUMOZ mandate on 15 November 1994. The Trust Fund financed a variety of critical activities within the Programme, including demobilization and reintegration of demobilized soldiers, emergency supply of non-food relief items, provision of seeds for the family sector, multisectoral area-based activities, and demining. In order to ensure effective continuation of these projects, the Department has passed responsibilities for trust fund project-monitoring and coordination to the office of the United Nations Development Programme in Maputo.
The area of demining also required carefully planned transition arrangements. The accelerated demining programme was designed by the Department of Humanitarian Affairs and UNOHAC to ensure that Mozambique would be provided with an indigenous demining capacity. The Department and UNDP agreed that at the expiration of the ONUMOZ mandate, UNDP would assume responsibility for the financial management of resources that are or will be made available for the implementation of the programme, while policy guidance and technical support for the programme would continue to be provided by the Department of Humanitarian Affairs.
The accelerated demining programme has established a Mozambican demining organization of 10 platoons (450 deminers), 15 supervisors, four survey teams, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, demining instructors, and the headquarters and support staff to manage the instructors and the organization. In total, 500 Mozambicans are employed by the programme. Since the commencement of demining operations in September 1994, 5,000 anti-personnel mines and some 400,000 square metres of land have been cleared. The emphasis of the programme is on training in order fully to develop local mine-clearance capability, resulting in a sustainable Mozambican entity able to address Mozambique's long-term mine-clearance problems.
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