Security provision and governance in fragile resource-rich settings: Lessons from Cabo Delgado, Mozambique

The report examines the complex security landscape in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, where large-scale investments in LNG, rubies, and graphite coexist with a violent insurgency. It identifies a 'hybrid security environment' comprising the Mozambican Republican Police (PRM), Mozambique Defense Armed Forces (FADM), community-based Força Locale, Rwandan Security Forces (RSF), and Private Security Companies (PSCs). The analysis highlights systemic human rights abuses by national forces, the relative effectiveness and trust associated with Rwandan forces, and the governance risks inherent in the private security sector. It concludes that uneven security provision—prioritising commercial assets over rural populations—fuels local grievances and instability, recommending standardised human rights due diligence and formalised public-private coordination.

• Cabo Delgado operates under a hybrid security environment where formal state forces, auxiliary community groups, and private actors coexist, often with unclear roles and variable accountability.
• National security forces, specifically the PRM and FADM, have been implicated in serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detentions, leading to a decline in public trust.
• The Rwandan Security Forces (RSF) are perceived as the most professional and best-equipped force in the region, with significantly fewer reported incidents of civilian targeting compared to national forces.
• Security provision is unevenly distributed, with protection concentrated around strategic mining and energy sites, leaving rural hinterlands exposed and reliant on poorly trained Força Locale militias.
• The insurgency led by Al-Sunnah Wa Jama’ah (ASWJ), also known as Islamic State Mozambique (ISM), has remained adaptive in 2025, using small-unit tactics and 'toll-style' disruptions on transport routes like the N14 corridor.
• The conflict has caused a protracted displacement crisis, with approximately 580,000 people displaced by mid-2024, predominantly women and children.
• Private Security Companies (PSCs) in Mozambique face significant governance risks, including uneven adherence to international standards, capacity gaps in state oversight, and systemic labour violations in smaller domestic firms.
• Extractive projects in the region, such as the Afungi Peninsula LNG project and Gemfields' ruby mining, have faced legal and operational risks due to their reliance on security arrangements linked to human rights abuses.

APA

Buchanan-Clarke, S., & Van Der Merwe, E. (n.d.). Security provision and governance in fragile resource-rich settings: Lessons from Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Good Governance Africa. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2026/02/GGA-SATrust-Mozambique-Report.pdf

Chicago

Buchanan-Clarke, Stephen, and Erika Van Der Merwe. Security provision and governance in fragile resource-rich settings: Lessons from Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Good Governance Africa, n.d. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2026/02/GGA-SATrust-Mozambique-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Buchanan-Clarke |first1=Stephen |last2=Van Der Merwe |first2=Erika |title=Security provision and governance in fragile resource-rich settings: Lessons from Cabo Delgado, Mozambique |publisher=Good Governance Africa |url=https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2026/02/GGA-SATrust-Mozambique-Report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{buchananclarkendsecurity, author = {Buchanan-Clarke, Stephen and Van Der Merwe, Erika}, title = {{Security provision and governance in fragile resource-rich settings: Lessons from Cabo Delgado, Mozambique}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, url = {https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2026/02/GGA-SATrust-Mozambique-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }