The Southern African Development Community (SADC) held the meeting of the Extraordinary Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO) Troika, plus Personnel Contributing Countries and the Republic of Mozambique on 3rd April, 2022 in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa to discuss the prevailing security situation and progress of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM).
The meeting was chaired by Honourable Dr Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa in her capacity as the Chairperson of the SADC Ministerial Committee of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
Honourable Dr Pandor expressed gratitude to the SADC Member States for the continued commitment and support to the fight against terrorism, which continues to threaten the gains that the region is making towards integration and socio-economic development.
She also applauded the inauguration of the Regional Counter-Terrorism Centre (RCTC) on 28 February 2022 in the United Republic of Tanzania, as an important step towards strengthening SADC regional security architecture. The RCTC was established to ensure enhanced coordination, strengthened partnerships, as well as to foster timely response to terrorism and violent extremism within the SADC Region.
The Chairperson of the MCO welcomed the financial support from the European Union to SAMIM under the African Union Early Response Mechanism (ERM) which focuses on non-military interventions especially on youths and women empowerment, dialogue with civic leaders and capacity building of Police and Correctional Services Officers, among other key interventions.
The SADC Executive Secretary, His Excellency Mr Elias Magosi said the needs to continue strategising and working collectively and collaboratively to enhance and consolidate achievements made in the area of regional peace and security, as the the ever changing dynamics of acts of terrorism and violent extremism have potential spill over effects.
H.E. Magosi thanked the Government of Mozambique for the continued cooperation with the Secretariat and the SAMIM, which he said, demonstrates the shared commitment to ensure SAMIM succeeds in its mandate of restoring peace and stability in affected parts of Cabo Delgado Province.
During their meeting the Ministers commended the SAMIM leadership and men and women on the ground for their sacrifices and commitment to the fight against the terrorists acts in some parts of Cabo Delgado Province.
The Ministers directed the Head of SAMIM, supported by the Force Headquarters and the Regional Coordination Mechanism, to coordinate the Humanitarian Assistance in the Mission area in order to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and to continue providing security to organisations providing humanitarian assistance to IDPs, particularly in areas that are difficult to access.
Noting that combating terrorism requires a holistic approach, including supporting the Republic of Mozambique in undertaking confidence building measures to achieve public support against terrorists, several SADC Member States pledged to contribute critical capability requirements, including humanitarian support, in addition to troop personnel contributions.
The SADC Troika of the Organ, which is responsible for promoting peace and security in the region includes, South Africa (Chair of the Organ), Botswana (Outgoing Chair of the Organ) and Namibia (Incoming Chair of the Organ); Personnel Contributing Countries to SAMIM include Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Namibia, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Personnel Contributing Countries to SAMIM are; Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
