Introduction 1. This Report from the Government of the Republic of Mozambique covers the period between 1999 and 2010. The Report complies with Article 62 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter), which requires State Parties to submit periodic reports on legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures taken with a view to giving effect to the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed by the Charter. 2. This Report is divided into four parts. 3. Part I includes a brief introduction to the country’s geography, historic and political background, demographics, and a number of cultural and religious issues. It deals with the Constitutional provisions on the protection of human rights, the political structure of sovereign bodies, administrative division, and the manner in which the State judicial system has been organized to address human rights violations within the framework of access to justice by the country’s citizens. 4. Part I of the Report also deals with the legal framework for the protection and promotion of human rights in the country, in line with the main international juridical instruments which Mozambique has ratified and have been incorporated into the country’s juridical system, cooperation with international bodies responsible for promoting and protecting human rights bodies, and the institutional and social framework for the protection and promotion of such rights and the mechanisms to bring them into fruition. 5. Part II of the Report deals with the effective implementation, within a Mozambique context, of the rights enshrined in the Charter. It should be pointed out that although the provisions of the Charter have not been subdivided into civic, political, economic, social and cultural rights, the Report has adhered to this order, while taking into account the guidelines for drafting periodic Reports. This has been the methodology used in drafting this Report so as to ensure a sound structuring of its contents. 6. Part III addresses the duties of State Parties. Part IV includes the conclusions and a brief assessment of the level of implementation and compliance with the provisions of the Charter. 7. This Report is a joint effort by various State and Civil Society stakeholders. Information was collected from State institutions responsible for areas such as justice, education, culture, and health, as well as from government bodies which jointly define policies and strategic plans aimed at an effective implementation of the rights enshrined in the Charter. Combined Report from the Republic of Mozambique to the ACHPR, 1999-2010 5