This month, the Peacebuilding Advisory Group (PAG) travelled to Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique. The region has been the epicentre of a violent conflict which has claimed the lives of around 4 600 people, displaced approximately 1 200 000, and caused immense damage to local infrastructure, economic activity, and livelihood generation.
The objective of the mission was to engage with a diversity of local stakeholders in an open and non-partisan manner to better understand the dynamics of the conflict and see the potential for dialogue as a tool to bring sustainable peace and inclusive development to the region. To this end, the PAG met with members of government, local religious and civil society organisations, as well as internally displaced and conflict-impacted communities.
The PAG sees the use of dialogue – anchored in the principle of ubuntu, and with the knowledge that modern conflicts are not resolved through military solutions alone – as paramount to transforming conflict in Cabo Delgado. The group endeavors to continue working with all stakeholders to bring peace and unlock the region’s significant human and development potential.
Bishop Trevor Mwamba
Chair PAG
16 February 2023
