The following is based on a communication sent by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Mozambique on 31 December 2025. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Unfortunately, the Government did not respond within this time frame. If a response is received, it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
Since the communication was sent, acts of intimidation and harassment against Sismo Eduardo have reportedly continued. The Special Rapporteur received disturbing news that in February 2026, individuals believed to have ties to the Government contacted the private education institute where Mr. Eduardo worked and threatened to close it if the human rights defender wasn’t dismissed. As a result, Mr. Eduardo was let go and lost his sole source of income.
While the Special Rapporteur acknowledges that previous incidents against Mr. Eduardo are currently being investigated by the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), she calls for the investigation to proceed in a timely manner and for necessary measures to be taken to ensure that intimidation against Mr. Eduardo ceases.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the threats against and the risks to the safety of human rights defender Sismo Eduardo.
Mr. Sismo Eduardo is a human rights defender and the coordinator of the civil society organization Associação de Paralegais para Assistência no Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Sustentável da Comunidade (APAADEC), based in Nampula, which promotes responsible natural resource management and good governance. Mr. Eduardo is also an outspoken critic of the Government. He hosts a television programme on Rádio Televisão Encontro in Nampula, broadcast three times a week, called Tribuna do Povo (“People’s Forum”). The programme addresses issues of injustice, economic governance, natural resource management, human rights and democracy.
During the 2024 post-election period, Mr. Eduardo was involved in the follow-up to situations of human rights violations in the context of the protests, including providing direct assistance to victims of police violence, and facilitating transport to wounded individuals to health facilities, despite significant logistical and security challenges. Between 24 and 26 November 2025, Mr. Eduardo was scheduled to participate in a training on human rights for civil society members in Nampula. However, fearing for his safety, he fled the province on 23 November and was unable to participate.
ALLEGATIONS
In October 2025, Mr. Eduardo started receiving a series of warnings indicating imminent threats to his safety. On 30 October 2025, he received a call from an acquaintance employed by the Government and affiliated with the ruling party Frelimo. The caller warned him that he was not safe and urged him to immediately return to the city (he was in Anchilo, approximately 20 km away from Nampula city, at the time).
On 18 or 19 November 2025, a young man known to him, who expressed concern for his wellbeing, warned him to “be careful” and to “stop doing what he does.”
On 21 November 2025, another acquaintance contacted Mr. Eduardo to ask about his whereabouts. Upon learning that he was in his neighborhood, the acquaintance urged him to leave immediately and either flee to a distant location or barricade himself at home, warning him again that he was not safe.
On 22 November 2025, Mr. Eduardo left home in the early hours and spent the day in hiding before returning in the evening. On the same day, the Mozambican Network of Human Rights Defenders (RMDDH) published a social media post reporting that he had been threatened by unidentified individuals and had fled his home in search of safety.
On 23 November, still feeling unsafe, he decided to leave the province altogether and go into hiding.
On 3 December 2025, the RMDDH reportedly submitted a formal complaint to the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), with knowledge of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, the Governor’s Office and the Office of the Secretary of State in Nampula.
On 4 December 2025, unknown individuals reportedly visited his home asking about his whereabouts, without identifying themselves. Several people also contacted his family to inquire about his whereabouts.
On 15 December 2025, Mr. Eduardo returned to Nampula with the support of the Provincial Governor’s Office, which reportedly covered the cost of his flight ticket. Notwithstanding this support, Mr. Eduardo has not been informed of any measures adopted to ensure his protection and continues to express concerns over his safety.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express our concern at these acts of intimidation and threats against Mr. Eduardo, in apparent direct relation with his human rights defence work and the exercise of his right to freedom of expression. We are concerned that Mr. Eduardo’s prominent and public work defending human rights in Mozambique may put him at elevated risk of attack, including threatening his life. We are equally concerned that not enough protection measures are being taken to ensure Mr. Eduardo’s safety.
In her report to the Human Rights Council in 2020, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders highlighted the link between the killing of human rights defenders and death threats, noting that “[n]ot all death threats to human rights defenders are followed by a murder, and not all such murders are preceded by death threats. However, many killings are preceded by a threat.”
