Press release by Justiça Ambiental, ReCommon, Friends of the Earth France, BankTrack, urgewal

01 April 2026 – Campaign members of the “Say No to Gas! In Mozambique” coalition share the serious concerns expressed by UN-appointed human rights experts regarding the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) $150 million loan to support the Coral North Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) project [1]. They demand that all financial institutions respond to the call of these experts, by committing to not support the gas expansion in northern Mozambique and suspend financing for new fossil fuel projects. 

The project, led by Italian company Eni, consists of a floating platform designed for gas extraction and liquefaction off the coast of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s northernmost province. It is effectively a replica of Eni’s Coral South FLNG, which has been operational and exporting liquefied gas since November 2022. For the past eight years, the region has been the scene of violent conflict between the Mozambican army and insurgent groups. 

In the UN statement, the human rights experts state that the Coral North project “risks exacerbating human rights violations, contributing to climate change and diverting already scarce public funds away from urgent investments in renewable energy”. They also warned that it could compound existing tensions and human rights challenges caused by the gas sector in Cabo Delgado province.

Three other gas extraction and processing projects in northern Mozambique are on the radar – TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG, Rovuma LNG led by ExxonMobil and Eni, and Coral South FLNG led by Eni. According to the human rights experts: “Previous LNG projects in Cabo Delgado have suffered from inadequate consultation, which has undermined local participation in key project decisions and resulted in loss of livelihoods and long-term socioeconomic disruption for communities who depend heavily on fishing, agriculture and natural resources. Despite promises of employment creation, high illiteracy rates and limited access to education mean that local communities have reportedly benefited little from job opportunities generated to date”. They highlight that this has occurred in a region where armed conflict and climate change have already caused large-scale displacement.

Previously, experts have warned that the Coral North FLNG project could have a significant climate impact, with excessive greenhouse gas emissions, an issue that was highlighted as early as March 2025. ReCommon’s investigation ‘Hidden Flames’, examined the climate impacts of the Coral South FLNG plant, with a particular focus on gas flaring and associated emissions – both of which were underestimated by Eni [3]. 

In correspondence with the AfDB, members of the StopMozGas coalition were assured that the Coral North FLNG project has “integrated strong environmental and climate measures, including flaring minimisation and emissions management, positioning Coral North among the cleaner LNG projects.” However, flaring is not an uncommon concern at LNG plants, with a recent investigation by Data Desk showing that LNG terminals tend to flare for significantly longer than the industry claims once they start producing, and that flaring remains persistent for decades at many facilities [4]. 

The UN human rights experts state: “We are deeply concerned that a leading multilateral development bank would finance a project of this nature at a time when the harmful environmental and climate consequences of fossil fuel expansion are well understood…. Financial institutions and businesses have a responsibility, under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to identify, prevent, mitigate, and remedy human rights impacts linked to their activities and business relationships.”

Their warning explicitly refers to Coral North FLNG and is addressed to the AfDB, but the audience it addresses between the lines is much broader. TotalEnergies is involved in two criminal proceedings in France: the first for involuntary manslaughter and failure to assist persons in danger [5], the second for complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance [6]. The site on which the French multinational’s Mozambique LNG project is due to be built is shared with ExxonMobil and Eni’s Rovuma LNG. These factors – relating to Coral North FLNG and other fossil fuel projects in the area – must not be overlooked by the international financial backers of the infrastructure, both confirmed and potential.

According to the UN statement, the African Development Bank’s decision appears to be at odds with its 2021–2030 Strategy on Climate Change and Green Growth, with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on climate change, and with the imperative, enshrined in international human rights law, to decarbonise economies over the course of this decade. The experts are urging the bank to suspend all financing for fossil fuel projects. 

“The costs of the gas to Mozambique are mounting, the promised revenues are sinking further, and local people and businesses are cut off from opportunities, in the process of exploiting fossil reserves that will contribute little to Mozambique’s energy security. The African Development Bank – along with all financial institutions that remain involved – must reconsider its involvement in both Coral North FLNG and Mozambique LNG,” says Anabela Lemos, Director at Justiça Ambiental, Maputo. 

“The statement from UN human rights experts is crystal clear: it acknowledges that the majors that have taken control over Mozambique’s gas reserves are responsible for a disastrous track record of human rights violations. This reality is starkly documented with regard to Total’s activities in Cabo Delgado and its Mozambique LNG project. Once these facts are established, the course of action is equally clear to these experts: financial institutions are subject to obligations, and must refuse to support fossil fuel projects in Mozambique and around the world. This obviously applies to the French banks Crédit Agricole and Société Générale, which stubbornly continue to finance Total in a gas project that has already claimed far too many victims,” says Lorette Philippot, Private Finance Campaigner at Friends of the Earth France. 

“Even UN human rights experts have come out against new gas projects in Mozambique, citing a long list of human rights issues. TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG project is a prime example of the challenges such endeavors face. Siemens Energy should heed the UN experts’ advice and call off its plans to supply gas turbines for this disastrous project,” says Sonja Meister, Energy Campaigner at Urgewald.

“Gas expansion in Mozambique is violating human rights, destroying pristine nature and contributing to climate chaos in one of the countries most vulnerable to climate catastrophes, as the recent and still ongoing massive floods show – with hundreds of thousands of affected individuals and widespread displacements. Commercial banks, like Standard Chartered, Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank and Absa Banks, have a duty to stop finance to all of Mozambique’s gas expansion, or face the increased risks of committing finance to ever more well-documented harmful business practices,” says Diogo Silva, Banks and Climate campaign lead at BankTrack.

“SACE and Cassa Depositi Prestiti have decided to confirm their financial support for Mozambique LNG despite the serious human rights violations associated with the project. UBI Banca, now controlled by Intesa Sanpaolo, financed Coral South FLNG. All these financial institutions are vying to support both Coral North FLNG and Rovuma LNG with public and private capital. We call on them to heed the warning from UN experts and not to provide financial support for these projects. Projects which, in the domestic context, would exacerbate Italy’s dependence on fossil fuels – a short-sighted choice given the energy and economic repercussions resulting from the recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” says Simone Ogno, campaigner at ReCommon.

Contacts

• Daniel Ribeiro, Justiça Ambiental / daniel.ja.mz@gmail.com
• Simone Ogno, ReCommon / simoneogno@recommon.org 
• Lorette Philippot, Friends of the Earth France / +33 640188284 / lorette.philippot@amisdelaterre.org 
• Sonja Meister, Urgewald, sonja.meister@urgewald.org, 0049 17664608515
• Diogo Silva, BanksTrack, diogo@banktrack.org, +351 912 490 209
  

Notes
[1] Mozambique: UN experts concerned by African Development Bank funding for floating LNG project | OHCHR 

[2] Mozambique: Harsh economic warning from Standard Bank and Oxford Economics – By Joseph Hanlon; Poisoned Gift – Moz24h 

[3] ENI non ha rivelato la reale portata delle emissioni di gas climalteranti in Mozambico, lo rivela il nuovo rapporto di ReCommon “Fiamme Nascoste”; Hidden flames: flaring at Coral South FLNG – StopMozGas 

[4] Revealed: the hidden climate impact of LNG  

[5] French prosecutors launch manslaughter probe against TotalEnergies over Mozambique attack 

[6] TotalEnergies faces criminal complaint for complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance in Mozambique

Southern Mozambique and parts of Zimbabwe and South Africa have been – and some
areas still are – once again under water. Being a downstream country, Mozambique is one of
the most climate vulnerable countries in the world. The reality of this is lived by our people
almost annually now. Over 150 people are dead and 400,000 people have been displaced,
with a total of almost 1 million affected people, due to the severe floods in January 2026.
In 2000, the country suffered other terrible floods, and the iconic image of those floods was a
baby being born on a tree before being rescued. The country and the world followed her
story. Despite all the media attention and support, Rosita Pedro died last month at the age of
25 from treatable illnesses. It is impossible not to think of so many other people who
continue to die across the country as a result of a state with misplaced priorities.

During this year’s floods, history repeated itself, with a few more “miracle babies”. A girl was
born on 19 January on a school desk in the village of 3 de Fevereiro, in the district of
Manhiça, Maputo province. Her mother, Erica Raimundo Mimbir, named her Rosita, certainly
hoping she outlives the ill-fated miracle baby of 2000.

The severity of these floods were known for many months, probably since September 2025.
Heavy rains were expected. Dams in the region had been on high alert, and as usual, ended
up contributing to exacerbating the disaster instead of mitigating it. Our government was
negligent: emergency response teams were not on site, and people already living in areas of
poverty and high risk did not receive the resources they needed to survive the floods. Where
were the evacuation plans, the preparation of public and private spaces to house the
displaced, the practical information about where is safe to go when the water begins to flood
our homes?

‘We all live downstream’ is a core part of environmental justice ethics, highlighting the
principles of environmental responsibility and ecological stewardship, our
interconnectedness as peoples and ecology. Our ubuntu.

It is the recognition that what some do affects everyone, and for generations to come. At JA!,
we are focused on building people power across the country, the continent and the world to
dismantle the different systems that oppress us – such as capitalism, racism and patriarchy.
We did not create JA! with the intention of being a humanitarian aid association. Yet the
crisis escalates daily, impacting our neighbors, our families, our own homes. After visiting a
few sites across Maputo city hosting floods survivors, we decided to focus our initial support
on Escola Mariazinha, in Hulene neighbourhood. We have already taken supplies and our
giant pots and pans multiple times now, running a solidarity kitchen and cooking and eating
with more than 100 adults and children each time. Many are still sheltering at the school
weeks later, with their homes still submerged.

We know that this emergency is not the end of this struggle, and so even as we contribute to
meeting basic needs, we are assessing the next steps with the community – discussing what
can be done to change conditions on the ground. An intervention with the Municipal Council
to demand that they pump out the water that has accumulated there, denounce the
corruption that exists in the emergency relief teams, and organise community clean-ups in
the streets are among the ideas that have emerged from the affected people themselves.
Meanwhile, comrades and partners from around the world are ready to mobilise and support
their Mozambican brothers and sisters, but receiving this solidarity also means navigating
bureaucracies that were designed to divide us: barriers to obtaining visas, accommodation
costs, non-existent state infrastructure to coordinate international support. Our government

has become so addicted to cycles of international debt with neoliberal predators that it has
forgotten the importance of true internationalist solidarity in times of crisis – something that
was so crucial in our liberation struggle against the Portuguese colonial regime. Our
government also seems to forget that, although Mozambique is on the front line of the
impacts of climate catastrophe, we have contributed almost nothing to global greenhouse
gas emissions, the main cause of climate change. We do not have to beg in international
forums, we do not need charity – we are entitled to payment of a climate debt by the
countries that have polluted the most.

The multiple interrelated crises will only continue to worsen. But we are not just victims: we
are agents of change. Organised and united communities are capable of taking action to
improve their lives today and in the long term. And because we believe this, we prioritise
building and strengthening movements at the local level, but also internationally. JA! is part
of, among other networks and alliances, the creation of the international movement of
communities affected by dams and the climate crisis, launched in Belém in November 2025,
which brings together people and collectives from all continents, united in the struggle for our
rights and for a systemic change.

If we know that the waters will rise, we must work together to learn to swim, build boats,
build communities, and demand change. As the waters rise, we must also rise. Our
collective survival depends on it.

Total Energies faces criminal complaint for complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance in Mozambique

18 November 2025. Berlin, Paris, Maputo – Today, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) filed a criminal complaint in France against Total Energies¹ for complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance. The oil and gas major is accused of having directly financed and materially supported the Joint Task Force, composed of Mozambican armed forces, which between July and September 2021, allegedly detained, tortured and killed dozens of civilians on TotalEnergies’ gas site. The complaint has been filed with the French National Anti Terrorism Prosecutor (PNAT), which also has a mandate to investigate international crimes.

This filing comes as TotalEnergies just announced the lifting of the force majeure declared in April 2021 on its liquified natural gas project, Mozambique LNG, despite a persistent conflict, intensifying deadly attacks and a major humanitarian crisis. The final restart of the project however still depends on the Mozambican government agreeing to TotalEnergies’ revised budget and to cover for the $4.5 billion extra cost of the project.

The complaint centers on the so-called “container massacre” at the company’s facility. These allegations were first reported by the newspaper Politico in September 2024, followed by Source Material and Le Monde. Following an insurgent attack on Palma town by the armed group Al-Shabab in March and April 2021² , the Mozambican army – including members of the Joint Task Force supported by TotalEnergies – allegedly arbitrarily detained dozens of civilians in metal containers situated at the facility entrance between July and September 2021. The civilians were fleeing their home villages as a result of attacks by Al-Shabab when they were intercepted by the army. According to reported allegations, detainees were tortured, subjected to enforced disappearance and some of them executed. In September 2021, the final 26 detainees were released.

The Joint Task Force was established through a 2020 memorandum between TotalEnergies’ Mozambique subsidiary and the Mozambican government as a dedicated security unit to protect the Mozambique LNG project operations.

TotalEnergies knew of human rights violations committed by armed forces before massacre

“TotalEnergies knew that the Mozambican armed forces had been accused of systematic human rights violations, yet continued to support them with the only objective to secure its own facility” says Clara Gonzales from ECCHR. “The involvement of TotalEnergies with local armed forces and the gravity of allegations ought to lead to the opening of an investigation by French judicial authorities. Companies and their executives are not neutral actors when they operate in conflict zones: if they enable or fuel crimes, they might be complicit and should be held accountable”

Internal TotalEnergies documents, including from its security contractor, detail acts of violence against civilians committed by Mozambican armed forces from May 2020, revealing that the company was aware of serious human rights violations carried out by the Joint Task Force in close proximity to its facility before the container massacre.

Those documents were obtained through freedom of information requests addressed to public financiers of the project³.

Some have been reported on by Le Monde and SourceMaterial, but the complaint analyzes new documents sent by the Dutch government, in which TotalEnergies details its security system, as well as the human rights risks associated with the employment of the Joint Task Force.

Despite this knowledge, TotalEnergies continued to directly support the Joint Task Force by providing accommodation, food, equipment, and soldier bonuses – while stipulating that bonuses would be withdrawn if soldiers committed human rights violations.

Media investigation sparks official probes

The Politico article prompted investigations by Mozambican authorities, as well as by two public financiers of the project, the UK Export Finance agency and the Dutch government – via Atradius. However, no European judicial investigation has yet been opened.

Lorette Philippot from Friends of the Earth France says: “The seriousness of the allegations against Total, laid out in this criminal complaint, must set a red line for the financial backers of Mozambique LNG. More than 30 public and private banks have decided to place their trust in TotalEnergies in 2020 by signing loans, but they did not sign blank cheques. TotalEnergies continues to demonstrate that it has learned nothing from the past: it just announced the lifting of the force majeure on its gas project, despite the dramatic security and humanitarian situation. The UK and Dutch governments, like the French banks Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, must now refuse to renew their financial support and withdraw from Mozambique LNG. ”

Daniel Ribeiro from Justiça Ambiental says: “The local communities have experienced repeated violations of their human rights, yet to date have received no justice. The perpetrators of these crimes have not faced any consequences. This case is an important step toward justice, where the business interests of a company like TotalEnergies do not override the rights and lives of local people” .

Second complaint against TotalEnergies regarding its Mozambique LNG project

This case follows another criminal complaint filed in 2023 by survivors and relatives of victims of the March and April 2021 Palma attack, in which Total Energies is separately accused of failing to ensure the safety of its subcontractors who were targeted, and for some of them killed. In March 2025, the Prosecutor in Nanterre opened a preliminary investigation against TotalEnergies on charges of manslaughter and failure to assist persons in danger.

Companies can be held criminally liable: in France, the Lafarge case has led to the indictment of the company and executives for complicity in crimes against humanity committed by ISIS in Syria, and an on-going trial for terrorism financing in front of Paris court. In Sweden, a trial is also taking place against two former executives at the Swedish oil company Lundin for complicity in war crimes committed by Sudan’s regime – now South Sudan. Beyond its association with numerous accusations of human rights violations, the project could contribute to emit up to 4.5 billion tons of CO₂ equivalent over its lifetime, making it one of the carbon bombs threatening the Paris Agreement’s goals.

Notes to editors

• Friends of the Earth Mozambique (Justiça Ambiental), Friends of the Earth France and Friends of the Earth Europe, who have been engaged for years in a campaign against human rights violations associated with the TotalEnergies Mozambique LNG project, are supporting the legal action.

• This case builds on ECCHR’s ongoing casework on corporate accountability in conflict. More information on the ECCHR’s case against Lafarge in Syria for complicity in crimes against humanity can be found here.

Contacts

• ECCHR: Maria Bause, presse@ecchr.eu, +33 6 37 57 39 44

• Les Amis de la Terre France / Friends of the Earth France: Lorette Philippot, +33 6 40 18 82

84, lorette.philippot@amisdelaterre.org

• Justiça Ambiental! / Friends of the Earth Mozambique: Daniel Ribeiro, +258 86 620 5608,

daniel.ja.mz@gmail.com

^{1 And against “X”: unknown persons that are not identified in the complaint but could be during the criminal investigation,such as executives of the company.}

^{2 Al-Shabab is a non-state armed group, active since 2017 in the northern region of Mozambique, Cabo Delgado. It is officially affiliated to the Islamic state since May 2022, and also designated as “Islamic State Mozambique (ISM)}

3 _{The Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Italy’s public development bank, and ATRADIUS, Netherlands’ public development bank.}

Understanding Mozambique’s post-electoral uprise through Orlando’s story

A Story of Resistance

We met with Orlando in Maputo. He was in town to undergo medical exams — the result of the
police violence he was subjected to during his arrests in the aftermath of last year’s presidential
elections in Mozambique and of the ensuing almost seven months of jail time he spent in one of
the country’s most infamous prisons.

A quiet and very timid man, Orlando is nonetheless very well spoken, and in spite of his current
noticeable physical frailty, his moral fiber and convictions remain as strong as ever.
Orlando is not a criminal. He is one of thousands of Mozambicans who were arrested in the
months following the October 2024 presidential elections — not because they were simply
rightfully protesting or happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time like so many others
— but because they were deliberately targeted.

The regime, feeling extremely threatened by the more than justifiable wrath of its people after
yet another shamelessly and undeniably rigged election, called on its security forces to
suppress all known threats and dissident voices in an attempt to quiet things down.
A member of the Mudada community in southern Mozambique, which alongside Mudissa
community, were stripped of their lands to make way for Moçambique Dugongo Cimentos Co.,
SA, a cement factory with crystal-clear ties to the party in power, Orlando had long been
outspoken about the company’s unfulfilled promises and wrongdoings — jobs for community
members that never materialized as outsiders were hired instead, a hospital and a school that
were promised but never built, and a poorly planned and built resettlement village that floods
every time there are heavy rains, constructed only long after it was promised and after much
popular pressure. Many of the displaced families are still waiting for their promised resettlement
homes and compensations today, over fifteen years after being displaced…

More than a pattern, this is Africa’s most infamous tale. Used countless times to con
communities in Mozambique and across the continent in the name of “development”, presenting
foreign investments as transformative for local people while ultimately serving outsiders and
elite interests — a story with devastating consequences for people and the planet.

In spite of not being a community leader, Orlando’s outspokenness earned him the respect of
his peers but also the reputation — amid the local government and the government-captured
community power structures — of being a troublemaker and agitator. This reputation earned him
two brutal arrests.

The first ¹ , on February 6 th 2025, at the hands of UIR — Mozambique’s riot police. Him and two
other men from his community were detained for three days after protesting the disappearance
of a local resident — Leonardo — who he claims was taken by the army and whose
whereabouts the authorities refused to explain or acknowledge. (Later on, during his seven
month imprisonment, Orlando would find Leonardo in jail — alive, but detained and facing the
same kind of charges.) After being arrested, Orlando was transported lying down in the back of
a police pick-up truck, blindfolded, under the feet of the policemen sitting above him, who kept
kicking him and hitting him with their rifles. He was brutally beaten and tortured, and released
after 3 days.

The second arrest ² came just 10 days after this ordeal. This time on a sunday night,
Mozambique’s criminal investigation police (SERNIC) entered his home uninvited and without a
warrant, beat him up in front of his family, forced him into a car where he was brutally assaulted
on their way to Maputo and presented with a document containing a list of people he was asked
if he knew — a detail that clearly exposes the persecutory nature of these arrests.

When asked whether his imprisonment had instilled fear into his community, he was blatantly
honest: “Certainly. Even the community leader is now afraid to speak up.”

What happened to Orlando is not an isolated case. It mirrors the political climate that has been
increasingly defining Mozambique for decades now — a climate of fear, repression, and deep
institutional decay.

From Revolution to Repression

Mozambique’s current political crisis is rooted in a long and turbulent past. The country’s
troubles began with over four centuries of Portuguese rule, which deeply entrenched a system
built for colonial exploitation and domination.

In 1962, inspired by Marxist ideals, FRELIMO was founded with a clear mission: fight for
liberation and dismantle the imperialist system of oppression imposed by the Portuguese.
Independence came in 1975, following the downfall of Portugal’s fascist regime and over a
decade of armed struggle. Samora Machel, FRELIMO’s charismatic leader, became the
country’s first president. Under his rule, the government nationalized land and key industries
and launched mass literacy and health campaigns, aligning itself with global socialist
movements.

Though idealistic and widely supported, the new state faced serious challenges from the start:

Economic isolation – as Western powers pulled away because of its Marxist-Leninist stance,
and the Eastern bloc’s support wasn’t enough to prevent the hardship.

Sabotage by neighboring white-minority regimes – who saw Mozambique’s socialist
revolution as a threat to their own racial and colonial order.

State authoritarianism – despite its emancipatory rhetoric, Frelimo justified brutal missteps as
resistance against a genuine imperialist threat, framing any critique as counter-revolutionary
and being ruthless toward dissent.

Slowly but surely, the revolution’s egalitarian ideals began to erode under the strain of internal
contradictions and external sabotage.

In 1977, a brutal civil war broke out between Frelimo and Renamo, a rebel movement
sponsored by the South African apartheid regime. It would last for 16 years. Between combat
and starvation, over 1 million people died.

The untimely death of Machel in 1986 marked a significant turning point, leading to a change in
FRELIMO’s political direction. By the 1990s, FRELIMO had shed its Marxist ideals, embracing
neoliberalism and consolidating power through elite political and military networks – that make
the country virtually coup-proof – along with systemic corruption.

The IMF promoted the emergence of state oligarchs, who used their political status to gain
economic power. In exchange, the new oligarchs ensured that foreign companies and countries
benefitted from the gas, coal, rubies and hydroelectricity ³ .

The revolutionaries became oligarchs, and the oligarchs became the local administrators for a
new form of colonialism. The dream of liberation gave way to a reality of systemic inequality,
Hanlon, Joseph. 2025. Moçambique recolonizado através da corrupção.

state capture, and political decay. The very system FRELIMO once vowed to dismantle had won
– and it prevails to this day, ironically with FRELIMO’s own elite now sitting at its helm.
Over the past 30 years, corruption, inequality, and sheer marginalization deepened, but with the
advent of social media and mobile devices, it became harder to withhold information and control
the narrative. Public disillusionment grew exponentially, and as FRELIMO felt its grip slipping,
repression grew too, space for democracy shrank, and elections became a sham. Once hailed
as heroes of the liberation struggle, FRELIMO became estranged from the very people it had
fought to liberate.

The death of prominent hip hop artist Azagaia in March 2023 – a fierce and fearless critic of the
regime – ignited the dormant fire of Mozambique’s own “Arab Spring,” awakening a generation
hungry for justice, dignity, and economic emancipation. Just like in 2008 when he wrote “Povo
no Poder” amidst another wave of protests, his music became the soundtrack to the protests
that followed the rigged municipal elections later in 2023, and again during the general elections
in October 2024.

Last Year’s General Elections

On October 9th, 2024, Mozambique held its seventh general election since the introduction of
multiparty democracy in 1994. The ever-ruling FRELIMO party’s candidate, Daniel Chapo, was
declared the winner with over 70% of the vote.

His main challenger, Venâncio Mondlane – a populist preacher with conservative-leaning
political views and ties, who over the past few years built a strong following by cleverly using
social media to engage and mobilize his supporters – contested the results, claiming to have
won. Allegations of widespread electoral fraud – corroborated by independent observers –
pointed to ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and manipulated results. Mozambique’s electoral
bodies turned a blind eye to these allegations. The Constitutional Council, seen as politically
captured, upheld the official results, dismissing allegations of fraud. This rubber-stamp decision
further eroded public trust and fueled continued protests.

These fraud allegations sparked protests across the country, both spontaneous and coordinated
by Mondlane and his team. The government responded with denial, downplaying, and heavy-
handed repression, including live ammunition, arbitrary arrests, and beatings.
On October 19 th , two key opposition members – Elvino Dias, Mondlane’s lawyer, and Paulo
Guambe, a senior official in his campaign – were killed in a targeted attack in Maputo, shocking
civil society and intensifying unrest. Mondlane left the country citing serious threats and called
for 25 days of protest – one for each bullet fired at his colleagues.

From then until the end of January 2025, Amnesty International reports over 300 dead, more
than 3,000 injured, and over 3,500 arbitrarily detained. Many remain incarcerated until this day.
These protests were led primarily by young people, unimpressed and disconnected from
FRELIMO’s absence of leadership and vision, deprived and dispossessed by a government that
insists on prioritizing the interests of a few over the future of all. However, very soon it became
evident that the uprise was less of a generational mood and more of a structural socio-economic
crisis, gathering people from all tiers of society, reflecting a shared discontent that transcended
age, class, and background. This was further attested by the geography of the protests: clearly
concentrated around the main urban centers; extractive industries; and transport corridors.
Popular discontent was clearly a reflection of the neoliberal extractives-led and export oriented
paradygm of development in the country. ⁴

In early January 2025, Mondlane returned to Maputo, declaring himself “the people’s president”
outside the airport terminal in a symbolic performance aimed at his supporters. Six days later,
Chapo’s heavily secured inauguration took place at Independence Square with no opposition
presence and hardly no supporters, signaling a display of power rather than legitimacy.
Money talks

But this political crisis is not just about power – it’s also, and perhaps above all, about money. At
the heart of Mozambique’s turmoil lies a ruthless competition for control over the country’s vast
natural resources. FRELIMO’s grip on the state is not ideological or institutional; it is economic.
Political dominance provides access to lucrative contracts, influence over megaprojects, and
control over flows of foreign investment and development aid. In this context, elections are not a
mechanism for democratic choice – they are high-stakes contests to secure the keys to
exploitation. Global capital and their proxies (including foreign aid agencies, embassies, and
above all, transnational corporations) know well which hands to shake – and, as expected, they
also played a key role in legitimizing FRELIMO despite the electoral scandal, and therefore
securing the continuation of their economic interests in the country.

This scenario directly shapes the country’s development path. Rather than fostering inclusive
growth or building resilient, people-centered systems, successive governments have doubled
down on a model of extractivism that prioritizes short-term profits and foreign interests over
long-term national well-being. This corporate capture of the Mozambican state has
systematically eroded public institutions, transformed policy-making into a vehicle for private
profit, and subordinated national sovereignty to the demands of transnational capital. And
nowhere is this clearer than in Cabo Delgado, where offshore gas fields ⁵ – led by companies
like TotalEnergies, ENI and ExxonMobil and backed by national and foreign militaries – have
turned the region into a militarized enclave, displacing communities, fueling conflict, while
further enriching the elite.

The same logic applies to other megaprojects like the planned Mphanda Nkuwa project ⁶ – an
environmentally devastating and socially unjust hydropower dam that threatens to deepen the
country’s dependence on centralized, export-oriented energy systems. And then there are the
heavy sands, the rubies, the eucalyptus plantations, and so many other extractive ventures that
line the pockets of a few while leaving the majority of Mozambicans poorer, more vulnerable,
and increasingly dispossessed.

This is the real cost of a political regime held hostage by the tentacles of organized
transnational capital: a development model that is neither sustainable nor just – one that locks
the country into cycles of debt, dependency, ecological destruction and social unrest. So long as
political power remains the gatekeeper to economic privilege, and development is reduced to a
spreadsheet of megaprojects, Mozambique will continue to stumble forward, rich in resources
but bankrupt in justice. And every chapter of our past has taught us the same lesson: without
justice, there will be no peace.

Justice and Accountability

The road ahead for Mozambique must go beyond the cosmetic gestures of reform that have so
often been used to cleanse the regime’s image in the eyes of the international community. What

the country needs is not another “dialogue” process orchestrated by those in power, while we
continue to witness selective prosecutions designed to ‘calm things down’. True justice must be
people-centered — rooted in the lived experiences of survivors like Orlando, those who have
borne the weight of repression, poverty, and neglect, the families of those killed, and the
thousands who remain missing or unjustly imprisoned. It must be built on truth-telling,
restitution, and the dismantling of the structures that enable state violence and impunity. And to
be meaningful, it must come hand in hand with accountability – at all levels.

The process must recognize the depth of the wounds inflicted upon society and the systemic
nature of this violence, stemming from the necropolitics that sustain our neoliberal economic
policy. Only through genuine accountability, radical systemic transformation and the dismantling
of the neocolonial order can Mozambique begin to rebuild trust between citizens and the state.
Only through a structural overhaul of our development paradigm – one that rejects violent
dispossession and respects peoples’ right to self-determination, heals and restores our sacred
relationship with earth, and ensures a conscious use of our resources for the common good of
current and future generations – will we be able to rebuild a united nation and move forward
together.

As long as this remains a mirage and the new looks very similar to the old, as long as Cardosos,
Siba Sibas, Mataveles, Elvinos continue to be brutally murdered in front of our eyes as a
constant and pungent reminder of our lawlessness, as long as Orlandos are tortured and jailed
for protesting against the grabbing of their land or the stolen votes, the possibility of revolt will
continue to be one centimeter below the surface.

1- https://justicaambiental.wordpress.com/2025/02/12/tortura-coaccao-e-esquizofrenia-geografica-o-caso-da-detencao-de-tres-cidadaos-manifestantes-de-matutuine/

2- https://justicaambiental.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/violacao-da-lei-tortura-e-impunidade-o-novo-normal-da-prm/

3- Hanlon, Joseph. 2025. Moçambique recolonizado através da corrupção.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jWmnGBxGXTQuKAd0Kr3ApmfvTqKPk6Sw/view

4- Feijó, João. 2025. Afinal “foi só Maputo”? – A geografia do protesto pós-eleitoral.
https://omrmz.org/destaque_rural/dr-324-afinal-foi-so-maputo-a-geografia-do-protesto-pos-eleitoral/5

5- https://ja4change.org/2020/06/16/report-release/

6 https://ja4change.org/2025/10/15/press-release-mphanda-nkuwa-dam-project-in-mozambique-green-colonialism-threatening-communities-and-the-zambezi-river/

27 October 2025 — TotalEnergies’ decision to lift force majeure for its Mozambique
LNG project despite increasingly dangerous security conditions ignores warnings
that the security arrangements for the project jeopardises the safety of communities.
It demonstrates deep disrespect for the unresolved community grievances and
human rights, environmental and climate risks associated with Mozambique LNG. It
could strain Mozambique’s economy even further by hitting the country with a heavy
bill for delays to the project. Civil society organisations are — again — urging that
financial institutions and companies involved with the project withdraw their support.
After a four-year suspension marred by severe human rights violations scandals,
TotalEnergies informed the President of Mozambique in a letter on Friday of its decision to
lift force majeure on its USD 20 billion Mozambique LNG project. However, according to this
letter, signed by TotalEnergies’ CEO Patrick Pouyanné and seen by our organizations, the
restart is still conditional on Mozambique’s agreement on the terms and conditions set by the
French company.

The letter shows that TotalEnergies’ new development plan, updated budget and schedule
for the project still need to be approved by the Mozambican government. Patrick Pouyanné
states that “This revised budget’s approval shall cover the incremental costs incurred by the
project due to Force Majeure, which amount to 4.5 billion dollars”. However, Mozambique is
still to present its own estimate. TotalEnergies is also requesting a ten-year extension of the
development and production period of the project. This negotiation is happening in the
context of already very unfavorable conditions for Mozambique, as TotalEnergies initially
negotiated unfair contracts [1] and benefits from exploitative investor protection clauses in
international agreements [2].
Daniel Ribeiro, Justiça Ambiental: “TotalEnergies is attempting a new tour de force to
obtain ultra-favourable restart conditions. But the enormous favours requested by the
company should also be seen as the severe failure of TotalEnergies: its investment plan is a
disaster, and it needs Mozambique to keep its gas project afloat. One of the world’s richest
companies is holding one of the poorest countries hostage. The Mozambican government
has been pressured to provide public security forces to protect the TotalEnergies project —
and now is being required to pay the costs of the delays. This would weaken Mozambique’s
economy, worsen living conditions for Mozambicans, and further fuel the insurgency.”
A violent regional insurgency, ongoing since October 2017 and driven by social discontent
and worsened socio-economic conditions, has been triggered by the discovery of the gas
reserves and the development of extractive industries that local people do not believe they
will benefit from. Militarisation of the region has continuously failed to stop the insurgency [3].

Since July, insurgent activity has been increasing across the province, including in Palma
town which neighbours the gas project and the nearby port town of Mocimboa da Praia. The
new security arrangements for the gas project concentrate troops at the Afungi gas site,
turning the project into an isolated “fortress” [4]. There are well-founded fears that this will
increase the vulnerability of local people to insurgent attacks.
Mozambique LNG was suspended in April 2021 because of a major attack on Palma town.
During the attack, at least 1,200 people were killed [5], yet the gas project remained safe
under military protection. TotalEnergies is accused of failing to ensure the safety of its
subcontractors during the attack, and is currently under judicial investigation in France for
involuntary manslaughter [6]. The company’s responsibility is also called into question in the
so-called “container massacre” reported by Politico [7].
Lorette Philippot, Friends of the Earth France: “TotalEnergies paid soldiers that, during
three months in 2021, allegedly detained and tortured dozens of civilians on its gas site [8].
Only 26 out of at least 150 people are reported to have survived. But while victims are still
calling for justice, Patrick Pouyanné simply denied their voices and suffering [9]. Not only
must these allegations of serious crimes not go unpunished for those potentially responsible,
but TotalEnergies must be prevented from applying its recipe for chaos once again : putting
its profits before communities safety, as it has been doing since 2019 in Mozambique.”
According to TotalEnergies, the lifting of the force majeure required approval by each of the
31 financial institutions which participated in the USD 14.9 billion financing to Mozambique
LNG in July 2020. [10]
Rieke Butijn, BankTrack: “Our coalition has provided financial institutions with extensive
reports, expert accounts and community testimonies showing that the project endangers
workers and communities and offers very little benefit to Mozambique. With the lifting of the
force majeure, now is the time for these institutions to show that they understand the gravity
of the situation and to make the only responsible financial decision: withdraw their support
for the Mozambique LNG project.”
Among the financial institutions involved, the UK Export Finance agency and the Dutch
government both opened investigations in 2025 into the reported “container massacre” –
with no results made public yet.
Isabelle Geuskens, Milieudefensie: “It is shocking to see TotalEnergies push the
Mozambican government and lift force majeure at a time when the security situation in the
region of the gas area is horrific. Locals are fleeing their communities again, people are
being killed and some of the aid organisations had to retreat because of the escalating
violence. The total disregard for what is happening to Mozambican citizens is appalling. The
Dutch government — which is currently re-assessing its ECA support — should act
responsibly as a public financier, and discontinue its support for this gas project. No Dutch
taxpayer money should back up this rich French company´s dirty project, which is gambling
with the rights and well-being of the people of Cabo Delgado, one of the poorest regions in
the world!”
Simone Ogno, ReCommon: “Oil and gas companies and financial institutions want to press
ahead at all costs with the exploitation of Mozambique’s natural resources, regardless of the

consequences: human rights violations that could potentially amount to war crimes, forced
displacement of people and a burden on Mozambique’s public finances. Added to this are
the potential impacts on the marine environment and climate from offshore projects.This
applies to the Mozambique LNG project as well as to Rovuma LNG (ExxonMobil and ENI) —
which share land use rights and infrastructure with the Mozambique LNG project — and
Coral North FLNG (ENI). A gamble at the expense of the Mozambican people. If the human
rights violations reported to have occurred in 2021 are confirmed, the consequences will also
fall on the project’s financial sponsors, primarily export credit agencies, including SACE.”
Sonja Meister, urgewald: “Siemens Energy holds a key to the start of the Mozambique
LNG project- a non-delivery of its gas turbines and other essential equipment would
represent a main bottleneck further delaying the project from restarting. Deutsche Bank has
already helped TotalEnergies on several occasions to raise new funds that could also be
used to finance the project. German companies and banks should immediately withdraw
their support for Mozambique LNG and TotalEnergies if they do not want to be complicit in
this disastrous project.”
Contacts :
● Daniel Ribeiro, Justiça Ambiental / daniel.ja.mz@gmail.com
● Lorette Philippot, Friends of the Earth France / +33 640188284 /
lorette.philippot@amisdelaterre.org
● Sonja Meister, urgewald / +49 176 64608515 / sonja.meister@urgewald.org
● Rieke Butijn, BankTrack / henrieke@banktrack.org
● Antoine Bouhey, Reclaim Finance / antoine@reclaimfinance.org
● Simone Ogno, ReCommon / simoneogno@recommon.org
● Isa Geuskens, Milieudefensie / isabelle.geuskens@milieudefensie.nl
Notes :
[1] https://www.e3g.org/publications/the-failure-of-gas-for-development-mozambique-case-
study
[2] https://stopmozgas.org/report/report-isds-mozambique-2024/
[3] https://issafrica.org/iss-today/cabo-delgado-insurgency-persists-amid-failed-military-
strategy
[4] https://www.zitamar.com/shut-out-of-fortress-afungi/
[5] https://www.alex-perry.com/palma-massacre/
[6] https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2025/03/15/french-prosecutors-launch-
manslaughter-probe-against-totalenergies-over-mozambique-attack_6739177_124.html
[7] https://www.politico.eu/article/totalenergies-mozambique-patrick-pouyanne-atrocites-
afungi-palma-cabo-delgado-al-shabab-isis/
[8] https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/video/2025/01/28/comment-des-soldats-payes-par-
totalenergies-ont-sequestre-des-civils-au-mozambique_6520247_3212.html
[9] Statement by Patrick Pouyanné in June 2025, questioned on Mozambique LNG as part of
an Inquiry Commission in the French Parliament.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU5z9Rxq2Xw
[10] [https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/totalenergies-further-delays-20-bln-
mozambique-lng-project-ft-reports-2025-01-22/

31 financial institutions participated in the USD 14.9 billion financing to Mozambique LNG in
July 2020.
● Public financial institutions: Export Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM);
Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC); UK Export Finance (UKEF); Export-
Import Bank of Thailand (Thai Exim); Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero
(SACE); Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI); Export Credit Insurance
Corporation of South Africa (ECIC); Atradius Dutch State Business (ADSB); Cassa
Depositi e Prestiti; African Development Bank (AfDB); African Export Import Bank;
Development Bank of Southern Africa; Industrial Development Corporation of South
Africa; Korea Development Bank; Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM); US
International Development Finance Corp (DFC).
● Private financial institutions: Société Générale; Crédit Agricole; Mizuho Bank; JP
Morgan; Standard Chartered Bank; MUFG Bank; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking
Corporation; Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank; SBI Shinsei Bank; Nippon Life Insurance;
ABSA Bank; Nedbank; Rand Merchant Bank; Standard Bank; ICBC.

Maputo/Paris/Berlin – October 15, 2025

Mozambique

September 2025
Once-thriving communities on the Afungi Peninsula of Palma Bay, in the far north of
Mozambique, have become landless, “slim”, and dispossessed of peaceful futures – as a
direct result of mega liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects majority owned by TotalEnergies,
ENI, and ExxonMobil.
The resettlement process for the communities required to relocate for the gas projects has
been mangled, and it is the most vulnerable who are paying the cost for energy giants to
industrialise their lands. While the Mozambique LNG project remains suspended, and two
others remain without final investment decision, African financial institutions must take the
moment to assess if they will continue their support for a project that has directly harmed
local peoples.
The grandparents of Palma – who have born great losses – testify to experiences of struggle
in the resource-rich Cabo Delgado province.
“Since the day we left until today, we have not received any support, not even farmland…at
my age, I can’t get food, I don’t have a farm,” explains Senhora. F, originally from
Barabarane village where she farmed, fished, and gathered firewood and medicines from the
land.
Senhora. A, who supported her family from the sale of fish brought in by local fishing boats
says: “Without fish I am lifeless…Our lives now are made up of land struggle.”

For the elderly of Palma, who have watched their communities disintegrate since the gas
companies arrived, there is now only a bleak hope that their families can live in dignity.
Commercially viable gas fields were found far offshore in the Rovuma Basin in around 2010.
Then, the grandparents of Palma were still strong, working the shore and their vast lands,
and spending long days at sea. Life was hard, and socio-economic conditions were not
idyllic, but they were surrounded by beauty, they had stable homes in thriving communities,
and their children were healthy.
When their lands were required for the gas projects, they entered into negotiations for
resettlement with hopes fed by promises of a better life for their children – promises of new
homes and farmlands to replace what they had lost, education and jobs for their children, a
hospital, a football field, and an expansion area for their children, who would soon start their
own families.The first families were relocated in 2019. Since then, they have been caught up
in negotiation processes aimed at serving the gas interests. The land and livelihoods they
hoped to leave as inheritance have become sites of struggle where their children – now
adults – are driven to protest at the company gates to demand what was promised to their
parents.
Senhor S, who lived his life and raised his children in Barabarane states, “My children left
behind land, houses, and everything they had, and to this day they have not been
compensated for their property.” He wears a kofi (a type of cloth cap) as a symbol of faith,
wisdom, and respect in the community.
Some lament their lost homes and destroyed livelihoods, and speak of poor or no
compensation, and no support. Many speak of hunger, of their children and neighbours
looking “slim”, of the daily search for food and water. In addition to lands taken, access is
now restricted to many important coastal and fishing grounds.
Senhor B, who once had a fishing business in Milamba village states, “With the arrival of the
company, I am unable to carry out fishing activities due to the resettlement they have
imposed on us…. I can’t feed my children either, as I did before Total came along.”
Losing land and access to the sea means losing the ability to survive. There are enormous
intangible losses that can never be compensated, such as the unforgettable flavor of local
food, guaranteed by the centuries-old mango trees; the shelter and food provided by the old
coconut palms; and the colorful bed mats woven from wild strawn.
Senhor S, who lost farmlands in Nsemo, explains that the limited cash compensation is not a
fair replacement for ever-providing natural resources, “If you give us money how are we
going to live as human beings? How will my children and grandchildren survive?”
French company TotalEnergies leads the resettlement work on the Afungi gas site, and is
majority owner of the Mozambique LNG project. The project shares land use rights for the
gas site with the Rovuma LNG project of Italian company ENI and American company
ExxonMobil. About 32 financial institutions have committed approximately USD 15 billion to
Mozambique LNG, including four South African banks and five African public institutions.
Collectively, the African financial institutions involved have committed around
USD 2.5 billion. All have been informed of the communities’ unresolved resettlement
grievances as well as other severe risks, including environmental and climate risks.
Over the years, tireless attempts and proposals from communities for a resolution were
largely ignored by the company, and formal complaints processes through the Mozambican
government yielded further delays. Confusion and tension were also created when fields in
some communities were taken – some without payment, some without even agreement –
and then allocated as compensation fields to resettled communities. A key flaw in the

resettlement process is that communities were not provided legal assistance, and civil
society organisations were impeded from providing support. It was only after a series of
brave protests starting in November 2024 that the gas company re-entered negotiation.
Since then, new agreements have been signed in some communities but payments have not
been made, and in other communities, negotiations are still underway.
Across Africa, similar grievances have been raised against TotalEnergies relating to lands
taken, livelihoods destroyed, inadequate or lack of compensation, and unmet compensation
promises, in addition to the severe environmental and climate risks of the company’s
projects, and links to human rights violations. In late August, affected communities and civil
society connected their struggles across the continent to call TotalEnergies and its
supporters to account. As part of the Kick Total Out of Africa week of action, the Cabo
Delgado communities spoke at an intercontinental tribunal, alongside communities in
Uganda, South African and the DRC, demanding accountability and reparations for the
socio-economic, environmental and human rights violations associated with the company.
In Palma, the gas-related displacement cannot be separated from the instability created by
the raging regional insurgency, or the responding militarisation of the region that was
accompanied by further extortion and violence against civilians. Ultimately, gas development
would deliver low economic benefits for Mozambique, and only after about another decade.
The projects make use of tax avoidance mechanisms, the gas stakes of Mozambican state
company ENH are considered to be “virtually worthess”, and the gas is already potentially
stranded.
Although there is ongoing insistence that the TotalEnergies project will resume (albeit with
shifting target dates), the risks associated with gas development remain extremely high. For
the people of Palma, the hopes of a better life from gas have become a reality of loss and
hunger. Financial institutions must take into account the real experiences of the men and
women who have witnessed the projects unfolding and experienced their impacts. They
must withdraw their support for development that offers little to Mozambique in return for the
lands and sea it takes.

Déclaration de Maputo de solidarité avec les peuples Palestinien et Sahraoui

Demande des participants au 9e atelier de Maputo sur l’impunité des entreprises et les droits humains pour la libération de la Palestine et du Sahara Occidental, Maputo, 1er août 2025

En tant que personnes et organisations venues de 30 pays à Maputo pour renforcer la solidarité internationale et élaborer une stratégie de résistance contre l’exploitation de nos terres et de nos mers par les sociétés transnationales, nous reconnaissons leur complicité dans l’occupation des territoires des peuples autochtones à travers le monde. Cela est évident tant en Palestine qu’au Sahara Occidental.

Nous sommes fermement solidaires du peuple Palestinien qui subit un génocide. La situation à Gaza s’est détériorée à des niveaux sans précédent. L’occupation israélienne utilise la famine comme arme de guerre, les civils se voient refuser l’accès à la nourriture, à l’eau et aux fournitures médicales essentielles, ce qui entraîne une malnutrition généralisée et des décès évitables. Les zones résidentielles, les hôpitaux et les écoles ont été soumis à des frappes aériennes incessantes, causant la mort de plus de soixante mille civils, en particulier des femmes et des enfants. Plus de 1,5 million de personnes ont été déplacées de force, pour ensuite subir de nouvelles attaques. Pendant ce temps, une guerre silencieuse se déroule en Cisjordanie et Israël poursuit son annexion. Comme le souligne le dernier rapport de la Rapporteuse Spéciale des Nations unies sur les territoires palestiniens occupés, Francesca Albanese, intitulé « De l’économie de l’occupation à l’économie du génocide », les entreprises ont contribué de manière significative au génocide en cours et en ont tiré profit, en fournissant à Israël les armes et les machines nécessaires pour détruire des maisons, des écoles, des hôpitaux, des lieux de loisirs et de culte, des moyens de subsistance et des actifs productifs, afin de séparer et de contrôler les communautés et de restreindre l’accès aux ressources naturelles.

En tant qu’organisations engagées en faveur des droits humains et de la justice, nous exhortons tous les gouvernements, organisations de la société civile, institutions et individus à prendre des mesures décisives contre le génocide en cours.

Le Sahara Occidental reste une colonie en Afrique, dont la majeure partie du territoire est occupée par le Maroc depuis 1975, après le départ soudain et la décolonisation non conclue du territoire par l’Espagne, l’ancienne puissance coloniale. Le peuple sahraoui poursuit sa lutte pour l’indépendance et continue d’être victime de violations des droits humains, notamment des tortures et des disparitions. Ses terres et ses ressources sont exploitées à la fois par le Maroc et par des sociétés transnationales, sans le consentement du peuple sahraoui, ce qui est contraire au droit international.

Pour la Palestine, le Sahara Occidental et les autres territoires occupés ou des territoires en proie à des conflits incessants, tels que la République Démocratique du Congo, le Soudan, Cabo Delgado au Mozambique, nous condamnons toutes les formes de colonisation et dénonçons la complicité des sociétés transnationales. Nous demandons que soit reconnu que les pays et les citoyens du monde entier qui profitent des ressources pillées dans les territoires occupés sont complices de ces occupations et des violations brutales des droits humains. Nous sommes fermement solidaires des peuples qui résistent à la spoliation et à la destruction de leurs territoires. Nous unissons nos forces pour exiger un avenir où la vie passe toujours avant le profit.

Pour la Palestine, nous demandons:

1. Un cessez-le-feu immédiat: l’arrêt inconditionnel et permanent de toutes les opérations militaires à Gaza.
2. Un accès humanitaire sans restriction: ouvrir les frontières et permettre aux organisations humanitaires d’acheminer des fournitures essentielles à la population de Gaza, et à la population de Gaza d’accéder à ces fournitures en toute sécurité.
3. La responsabilité des crimes de guerre: mener des enquêtes indépendantes sur tous les crimes de guerre et toutes les violations du droit international, et tenir les auteurs responsables.
4. La liberté et la protection des prisonniers palestiniens et la fin de leur traitement inhumain dans les prisons Israéliennes.
5. La libre circulation des Palestiniens: reconnaître et garantir le droit des Palestiniens à la libre circulation.
6. La fin de l’occupation et l’affirmation des droits et de la liberté des Palestiniens: nous défendons les droits humains inaliénables des Palestiniens à la liberté, à la justice, au retour et à l’autodétermination, ainsi que le retrait complet des troupes étrangères et des occupants illégaux du territoire palestinien.
7. Boycott, désinvestissement et sanctions économiques: Appeler les gouvernements à rompre leurs relations diplomatiques, à mettre en place des embargos commerciaux et des sanctions économiques contre l’occupation israélienne. Appeler également au boycott académique et sportif ainsi qu’au désinvestissement dans les entreprises israéliennes.
8. Les États doivent respecter leurs obligations au titre de la Convention des Nations Unies pour la prévention et la répression du crime de génocide.

De plus, nous pensons que la seule solution juste et durable consiste à établir un seul État démocratique, du fleuve à la mer, où les réfugiés palestiniens puissent retourner, où les colonies israéliennes soient démantelées et où tous les habitants jouissent de droits de citoyenneté égaux dans un pays décolonisé qui garantit la liberté et la dignité pour tous à travers un processus de vérité et de réconciliation qui traite les injustices historiques et offre des réparations pour la dépossession des Palestiniens.

Pour le Sahara Occidental, nous demandons:

1. La fin de l’occupation illégale: Appeler à la fin de l’occupation marocaine des territoires du Sahara Occidental.
2. Respect du droit à l’autodétermination du peuple Sahraoui, qui doit être libre de décider de son avenir politique, notamment par la reconnaissance de la République arabe sahraouie démocratique (RASD) comme gouvernement légitime du Sahara occidental.
3. Retour des réfugiés Sahraouis, garantissant ainsi le droit des personnes vivant dans les camps de retourner dans leur patrie dans des conditions sûres et dignes.
4. La libération des prisonniers politiques: Libérer tous les prisonniers sahraouis illégalement emprisonnés par la puissance occupante.
5. La protection des ressources naturelles: Mettre fin au pillage des ressources naturelles du Sahara Occidental par la puissance occupante et les sociétés transnationales.
6. La protection des droits humains: garantir la surveillance et la protection des droits humains dans les territoires occupés par des organismes internationaux indépendants.
7. La liberté de circulation de tous les Sahraouis: garantir et assurer le droit de circulation de tout le peuple sahraoui.
8. Les États africains doivent respecter leurs engagements régionaux et internationaux: l’Union africaine et ses États membres doivent veiller au respect des objectifs de l’Acte constitutif de l’Union en matière de respect et de protection des droits du peuple sahraoui en vertu de la Charte africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples et des instruments pertinents relatifs aux droits des peuples.

A luta continua!

SIGNATURES

Organisations nationales

Justiça Ambiental (JA!) – Friends of the Earth Moçambique

Palestine Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON), Friends of the Earth Palestine

National Union of Sahrawi Women (UNMS) – Western Sahara

Les Amis de la Terre – Togo / Friends of the Earth – Togo

Sikkim Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association (SILTA) – North East India

Affected citizens of Teesta (ACT) Sikkim – North East India

Climáximo – Portugal

Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) – India

Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) – Liberia

10. Núcleo para Desenvolvimento Comunitário de Cabo Delgado (NUDEC) – Moçambique

11. Centre Congolais pour le ( Droit du ) Développement Durable (CODED) – R.D. Congo

12. Magamba Network – Zimbabwe

13. Buni Media – Kenya

14. Journal Rappe – Senegal

15. Mouvement Africain pour les Droits Environnementaux dans la région de l’Est BURKINA Faso (MADEE) – Burkina Faso

16. Natural Resource Women Platform (NRWP) – Liberia

17. Plataforma da Sociedade Civil da Província de Manica (PLASOC) – Moçambique

18. Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF) – Zimbabwe 

19. Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) – Nigeria 

20. International Labour, Research & Information Group (ILRIG) – South Africa

21. Help Initiative For Social Justice and Humanitarian Development – Nigeria

22. Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) Gauteng – South Africa

23. Landless Peoples Movement – South Africa

24. West Coast Food Sovereignty and Solidarity Forum – South Africa

25. South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) – South Africa

26. Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) – Nigeria

27. Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement (JVE) – Côte d’Ivoire 

28. Advocacy Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture (ACSA) – Uganda

29. Friends of the Earth Japan – Japan

30. South African BDS Coalition – South Africa

31. Ondjango Feminista – Angola 

32. Associação Observatório de Políticas de Género – Angola 

33. Healthcare Workers 4 Palestine – South Africa 

34. African Water Commons Collective – South Africa

35. Women on Mining and Extractives – Sierra Leone

36. ATTAC CADTM – Togo

37. Civic Forum on Housing and Habitat – Zambia 

38. All Youth Foundation for Community Development – Yemen 

39. Centre for Social Change, University of Johannesburg – South Africa

40. Community Action Movement – Nigeria

41. Missão Tabita, Zambézia – Moçambique

42. Les Amis de la Terre – Belgique (ASBL) – Belgium

43. groundWork, Friends of the Earth South Africa

44. Participatory Action Research Coalition – India

45. Rights not Recuse Trust – Namibia

46. Amigas de la Tierra España / Friends of the Earth Spain

47. Young Women of Africa (YWOA) 

48. Amigas da Terra Brasil / Friends of the Earth Brazil

49. Center for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) – Nepal

50. The Grail – International Women Movement – Moçambique

51. Grana Nostra – Collectif Algérien Pour la Biodiversité – Algérie

52. National Sudanese Women Association (NSWA) – Sudan 

53. Friends of the Earth Denmark (NOAH) – Denmark

54. Associação para Promoção dos Direitos de Transgéneros de Moçambique (ANTRA) – Moçambique

55. Sahabat Alam Malaysia / Friends of the Earth Malaysia (SAM) – Malaysia

56. Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team (LEAT) / Friends of the Earth Tanzania

57. Centre For Alternative Research and Studies (CARES) – Mauritius

58. Censat Agua Viva / Friends of the Earth Colombia

59. Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF) – Nigeria 

60. Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center – Friends of the Earth Philippines

61. Lok Shakti Abhiyan – India

62. Centre For Studies on Climate Justice – Bhubaneswar, India

63. Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment & Management (CECIC) – Uganda

64. Afrikagrupperna – Sweden 

65. Sahrawi Organization Against Moroccan Occupation – Western Sahara

66. Association of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara

67. Association for the Protection of Sahrawi Prisoners in Moroccan prisons – Western Sahara

68. Association for the Monitoring of the Resources and for the Protection of the Environment in Western Sahara (AMRPENWS) – Western Sahara

69. Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grace Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH) – Western Sahara

70. Sahrawi Association for the Protection and Promotion of Sahrawi Culture and Heritage – Western Sahara

71. Union Nationale des Femmes Algériennes – Western Sahara

72. Committee for the Defense of the Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara (CODAPSO) – Western Sahara

73. Committee for the Protection of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders – Western Sahara

74. Sahrawi Observatory for Child Protection – Western Sahara

75. Sahrawi Committee of Arbitrarily Dismissed Employees and Workers by Moroccan State – Western Sahara

76. Committee of the Families of the Abducted – Western Sahara

77. Committee for the Protection of Natural Resources and Defense of the Settlement Plan – Western Sahara

78. Port Arthur Community Action Network (PACAN) – United States of America

79. MA’AN Development Center – Palestine

80. Arab Agronomists Association (AAA) – Palestine

81. Rural Women Development Society (RWDS) – Palestine

82. Union Nationale des Femmes Algériennes (UNFA) – Algérie

83. Friends of the Earth – Grenada (West Indies) 

84. Ramani Collective – Kenya

85. Coletivo Refúgio Humanitário Palestina Brasil

86. Sunflower Association – Palestine

87. Comitê Capixabas pela Palestina – Brasil

88. Zelena akcija / Friends of the Earth Croatia


Organisations internationales / régionales

89. La Via Campesina Southern and Eastern Africa (LVC – SEAF)

90. Convergence Globale des Luttes pour la Terre, l’Eau et  les Semences Paysannes Ouest africain (CGLTE-OA)

91. Green Advocates International (GAI)

92. Amigos da Terra África / Friends of the Earth Africa

93. Housing and Land Rights Network – Habitat International Coalition – Switzerland and Egypt

94. Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples’ Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity

95. Africa Just Transition Network (AJTN) – Africa

96. South Asian Solidarity Collective

97. Oilwatch Africa

98. No REDD in Africa Network (NRAN)

99. Oilwatch International

100. Laudato Si Movement Africa

101. Third World Network (TWN)

102. Womin African Alliance

103. Asia Peoples Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD)

104. Transnational Institute (TNI) – Netherlands / International

105. Natural Justice: Lawyers for Communities’ and the Environment – Africa

July 29^th to August 1^st 2025, Hotel Glória, Maputo – Mozambique

In 2025, amidst huge geopolitical shifts, crises, and televised as well as invisibilized genocides across the globe, the African continent remains an important site of reproduction of the brutal global fossil capitalism – but also of struggle and resistance against it. What we are witnessing is not new: from enclosures of the commons to electoral and constitutional crises to austerity to rolling back of women’s rights to intensified forms of extraction and ecocide to wars to crackdown on political and environmental activists… we are rather experiencing expanded and accelerated forms of accumulation, while being hit by a full-blown climate and ecological breakdown to which we contributed very little. These and other phenomena all have a link with capitalism, either because capitalism feeds them and benefits from them, or because they are more or less direct consequences of capitalism, or simply because they are its breeding ground.

The deep crises in the African region are rooted, among others, in how the wealth of our land and our people continue to be internationally plundered by transnational corporations, facilitated by inherited colonial structures of accumulation. In order to address the existential threat of the climate crisis, our response needs to be radically decolonial, anti-patriarchal and anti-capitalist. 

We hope that the 9^th Maputo Workshop on Corporate Impunity and Human Rights serves as a space for exchanges between movements and organisations around the protection of communities rights’ and the environment. It is a call to engage truthfully about our collective commitment to change the current system. How do we reconnect with our African values in order to build a development paradigm that is peoples-centered and in line with the African vision of human dignity? What forms of solidarities (transnational, transversal, cross-movement, feminist etc) are necessary at this precise moment, and how do we deepen them? How are we plotting for our immediate needs and survival, and strengthening our movements from within, in the light of our future anticipated crises? What can we draw from the fees must fall movement in South Africa, the winds of anti-imperialism coming from the Sahel, or the youth uprises in Kenya and Mozambique?

The awakening of Panafrican politics of liberation is urgent – and might well be underway.

For additional information and to register: impunidade.corporativa@gmail.com / +258 84 3106010