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UN Peacekeeping Force – 1992

The General Peace Agreement (GPA) for Mozambique had a provision for UN peacekeeping. As soon as the peace agreement was signed, and before the establishment of the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ), the interim Special Representative and a team of 21 military observers, drawn from existing United Nations peacekeeping missions, arrived in Mozambique on 15 October 1992.¹

“On 16 December 1992, the Security Council, by its resolution 797 (1992), approved the Secretary-General’s report and decided to establish ONUMOZ until 31 October 1993. The Council endorsed the Secretary-General’s recommendation that the elections not take place until the military aspects of the General Peace Agreement had been fully implemented. It called upon the Mozambican Government and RENAMO to cooperate fully with the United Nations and to respect scrupulously the ceasefire and their obligations under the Agreement.”² The mandate of ONUMOZ included four important elements: political, military, electoral and humanitarian.

The formal request for a UN peacekeeping mission led to the Security Council’s approval of a substantial and multifunctional UN peacekeeping operation to be deployed and operational until the first general elections took place. However, ONUMOZ was slow to deploy. In the first few months, peace was only sustained due to the exhaustion of the warring parties and the general enthusiasm and support of the population for the peace agreement. Although operating behind schedule, ONUMOZ was largely successful in fulfilling its mission.

1. “Mozambique — United Nations Operation in Mozambique — ONUMOZ,” United Nations, accessed September 2, 2010, http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/onumoz.htm.
2. “Mozambique – ONUMOZ Background,” United Nations, accessed June 4, 2010, http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/onumozFT.htm.