The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) expresses its deep concern about the calamitous situation that the Republic of Mozambique is facing following the significant increase in rainfall, which has severely affected the central and southern regions of the country, more precisely in the provinces of Gaza, Maputo, Inhambane and Sofala.
The African Commission is particularly alarmed by the scale of the impact, as official figures indicate that more than 513,000 people have been affected, over half of whom are children, with more than 50,000 people forced to flee their homes and currently sheltered in temporary centres.
The Commission also takes note of information indicating that the number of deaths across the region exceeds one hundred, including approximately 30 recorded in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The floods have also caused extensive damage to essential infrastructure, including roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, farmland and other critical infrastructure, severely disrupting supplies and access to humanitarian assistance.
The African Commission is also concerned about the increased risks of waterborne diseases, nutritional problems and disruptions in access to education and health care.
The Commission notes that the situation continues to evolve and is likely to worsen, due to continued rainfall, flooding and discharges, as well as the country’s entry into its annual cyclone season, further exposing populations to forced displacement and loss of their livelihoods.
In this context, the African Commission acknowledges and closely monitors the efforts undertaken by the Government of Mozambique, with the support of national and international partners, to provide assistance to directly affected communities, as well as the measures adopted to evacuate and protect populations at risk.
The Commission recalls that, in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, States Parties have the obligation to take appropriate measures to ensure the protection of fundamental rights, including the right to life, the right to dignity, the right to health, the right to education, and the right of peoples to a satisfactory environment conducive to their development.
The African Commission believes that Mozambique will spare no effort in taking appropriate measures to the situation. It therefore invites the Mozambican authorities to continue and strengthen, as necessary, measures aimed at, inter alia:
- Ensure effective, safe, and continuous access to drinking water, sanitation services, healthcare, adequate nutrition, and education, including within reception centres;
- Ensure greater protection of the most vulnerable people, in particular children, women, the elderly and persons with disabilities, including against the risks of abuse and exploitation in situations of displacement;
- Intensify alert, evacuation and risk prevention mechanisms, as well as coordination with humanitarian actors, so that assistance reaches affected communities quickly and unhindered.
The African Commission stands in solidarity with the Mozambican people at this time of pain and distress, deeply regretting the loss of human life and involuntary displacement, and calls on the regional and international community to mobilize in support of humanitarian response efforts, in order to enable the Government to address this emergency, whose impacts go beyond national borders and affect the continent as a whole.
In this regard, the Commission reiterates the importance of implementing human rights-based responses to climate disasters, in line with its resolution 417 (LXIV) 2019 on the human rights impacts of extreme weather in Eastern and Southern Africa due to climate change.
Banjul, 22 January 2026
Honorable Commissioner Maria Teresa MANUELA
Commissioner responsible for the situation of human rights in the Republic of Mozambique
Honorable Commissioner Selma SASSI-SAFER
Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR).
