Transition from civil war to peace: The role of the United Nations and international community in Mozambique

With the heavy involvement of the United Nations (UN) and the international community, the Rome General Peace Agreement (GPA) of 1992 ended more than 16 years of civil war in Mozambique. The peace agreement and post-conflict initiatives by the international community was successful in transforming the Mozambique National Resistance?(Renamo) from a rebel group into a viable political party. Key components of Mozambique's success in negotiating peace and creating conditions for political stability and democracy were the provision of demobilisation before democratisation, decentralisation of humanitarian and relief efforts to provincial and district levels, financial support directly for the development of political parties and budget support to sectors relevant to peacebuilding. Though imperfect, Mozambique remains an important case study in how the UN and international community can help in post-conflict environments. Thus, the paper argues (both theoretically and empirically) that success in peacebuilding operations depends on credible and impartial international support through the UN, as opposed to 'unilateral' peacebuilding operation through a 'powerful state'.