STATEMENT -CHILDREN'S EXPOSURE TO POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE IN MOZAMBIQUE

The Platform 3R, jointly led by the Children's Network (Rede da Criança), the REDE CAME, and ROSC, seeks synergies to promote and protect children's rights in Mozambique. Our mission is to combat and mitigate all forms of violence against children and contribute to a healthy coexistence by advocating and raising awareness for a child-friendly society. 

As a result of the post-election violence that began on October 24 and has resulted in public demonstrations in the country's main cities, we have been following cases of violence and even the shooting and killing of children with great concern.

The platform has so far registered 28 cases of violence against children, 4 of which happened in the city and province of Maputo on November 4, when we witnessed the shooting and death of a child in Magoanine C, a child in Malhampswene and two children in the Hulene neighborhood. According to locals, all the children were returning from school. 

In the Chamanculo neighborhood, a child was shot while returning from the bakery with her mother, while in the Patrice Lumumba neighborhood, another six-month-old child lost his life because of inhaling tear gas. From the city of Tete, specifically from Castro Teófilo Primary School, we received shocking images of children running away as the police fired several shots to disperse demonstrators. 

These and other worrying episodes that attack the physical and emotional integrity of our children cannot be part of our lives, as they seriously violate all national, regional, and international precepts in defense of children's human rights. Children are our future and our hope, which is why we are of the firm opinion that the state must: 

• Align their approach and actions with the framework established in Article 22(3) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child regarding the state's responsibility to protect children in conflict or armed tension. 
• The police must refrain from using any means and instruments that could cause emotional and physical harm to children, specifically suspending the use of tear gas and real bullets in residential areas, on the streets, in neighborhoods, and in all other places where the population lives. 
• We request that the Ministry of Education immediately suspend classes as long as the insecurity continues. 
• Parents, guardians, and other family members: do not allow children and minors to be exposed to situations that endanger their physical integrity and their lives and compromise their rights. 
• For state entities and specialized civil society to prioritize the provision of psychosocial support services, remotely or in person, for traumatized children and adults.
• We call on the government, all the political parties, including the opposition, civil society, and all the players in Mozambican society to engage in a dialogue that leads to peace.

We also call for peaceful demonstrations and observance of the non-involvement of children to protect them. 

Remember that the violence that affects adults also has an impact on children's lives by increasing the already high levels of orphanhood, insecurity, and poverty among minors. 

We want to reiterate the platform's willingness to collaborate with institutions in children's best interests.