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National Constitutional provisions – Mozambique

 

The constitution is the fundamental law of the country, reflecting the underlying and unifying values of society. It spells out the basic rights of each person; it serves as a framework for all other laws and policies, and cannot be easily changed. However, it can be changed and updated through a democratic process, and it is important to keep it alive, by popularising and using it, and by campaigning for its reform or amendment if necessary. Below we have picked out what we see as some of the most relevant articles, but please be encouraged to seek and read your constitution in its entirety.

The state is the central actor in any claim to the right to education: it is the prime duty-bearer and the prime implementer; it is the guarantor; and it is the state´s signature vis-à-vis the international norms and standards which binds it to respect, protect and fulfil the right to education. The state must therefore be judged or challenged on its central text on the right to education, whether this be the constitution, the laws or the policies.

The Constitution of Mozambique 2004

 

EDUCATION

 

Chapter V

Article 88

Right to Education

1. In the Republic of Mozambique, education shall be a right and a duty of all citizens.

2. The State shall promote the extension of education to professional and continuing vocational training, as well as equal access to the enjoyment of this right by all citizens.

 

Chapter I

Article 9

National Languages

The State shall esteem national languages as cultural and educational heritage, and shall promote their development and increasing use as languages that convey our identity.

 

Chapter V

Article 93

Physical Culture and Sport

1. Citizens shall have the right to physical education and to sport.

2. The State shall encourage, through educational and sporting institutions, the practice and the dissemination of physical education and sport.

 

Article 94

Freedom of Cultural Creativity

1. All citizens shall have the right to freedom of scientific, technical, literary and artistic creativity.

2. The State shall protect rights relating to intellectual property, including copyright, and shall promote the practice and dissemination of literature and art.

 

Chapter III

Article 113

Education

1. The Republic of Mozambique shall promote an educational strategy that aims towards national unity, wiping out illiteracy, mastering science and technology, and providing citizens with moral and civic values.

2. The State shall organise and develop education through a national system of education.

3. Public education shall not pertain to any religion.

4. Education provided by collective and other private entities shall be administered in accordance with the law and shall be subject to State control.

5. The State shall not plan education and culture in accordance with any specific philosophical, aesthetic, political, ideological or religious guidelines.

 

Article 114

Higher Education

1. Access to public institutions of higher education shall guarantee equal and equitable opportunities and the democratisation of education, taking into account the requirements in terms of qualified staff and the raising of educational and scientific standards of the country.

2. Public institutions of higher education shall be corporate persons governed by public law, and they shall have legal personality and enjoy scientific, teaching, financial and administrative autonomy, without prejudice to the appropriate evaluation of teaching standards, in accordance with the law

3. The State shall recognise and supervise private and co-operative education in accordance with the law.

 

Article 120

Motherhood and Fatherhood

1. Motherhood and fatherhood shall be afforded dignity and protection.

2. The family shall be responsible for raising children in a harmonious manner, and shall teach the new generations moral, ethical and social values.

3. The family and the State shall ensure the education of children, bringing them up in the values of national unity, love for the motherland, equality among men and women, respect and social solidarity.

4. Fathers and mothers shall support children born out of wedlock and those born in wedlock.

 

Article 123

Youth

(..) 5. The State, acting in co-operation with associations representing parents and persons in charge of education, and with private institutions and youth organisations, shall adopt a national youth policy capable of promoting and supporting the professional training of young people, their access to first jobs and free intellectual and physical development.

 

EQUALITY

 

Chapter I

Article 35

Principle of Universality

All citizens are equal before the law, and they shall enjoy the same rights and be subject to the same duties, regardless of colour, race, sex, ethnic origin, place of birth, religion, level of education, social position, the marital status of their parents, their profession or their political preference.

 

Article 39

Acts against National Unity

All acts intended to undermine national unity, to disturb social harmony or to create divisions or situations of privilege or discrimination based on colour, race, sex, ethnic origin, place of birth, religion, level of education, social position, physical or mental ability, the marital status of one’s parents, profession or political preference, shall be punished in terms of the law

 

GENDER

 

Chapter I

Article 36

Principle of Equality

Men and women shall be equal before the law in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life.

 

DISABILITY

 

Chapter I

Article 37

Disability

Disabled citizens shall enjoy fully the rights enshrined in the Constitution and shall be subject to the same duties, except those which their disability prevents them from exercising or fulfilling.

 

Chapter IV

Article 125

Disabled

1. The disabled shall have a right to special protection by the family, the society and the State.

2. The State shall promote the creation of conditions for learning and developing sign language.

3. The State shall promote the creation of conditions necessary for the economic and social integration of the disabled.

4. The State shall promote, in co-operation with associations of the disabled and with private entities, a policy that will guarantee:

a) the rehabilitation and integration of the disabled;

b) the creation of appropriate conditions to prevent them from becoming socially isolated and marginalized;

c) priority treatment of disabled citizens by public and private services;

d) easy access to public places.

5. The State shall encourage the establishment of associations of the disabled.

 

Article 95

Right to Assistance of the Disabled and the Aged

1. All citizens shall have the right to assistance in the case of disability or old age.

2. The State shall promote and encourage the creation of conditions for realising this right.

 

CHILDREN

 

Chapter I

Article 47

Rights of Children

1. Children shall have the right to protection and the care required for their well being.

2. Children may express their opinion freely on issues that relate to them, according to their age and maturity.

3. All acts carried out by public entities or private institutions in respect of children shall take into account, primarily, the paramount interests of the child.

 

Chapter IV

Article 121

Childhood

1. All children have the right to protection from the family, from society and from the State, having in mind their full development.

2. Children, in particular orphans and disabled and abandoned children, shall be protected by the family, by society and by the State against all forms of discrimination, ill treatment and the abusive use of authority within the family and in other institutions.

3. Children shall not be discriminated against on the grounds of their birth, nor shall they be subjected to ill treatment.

4. Child labour shall be prohibited, whether the children are of compulsory school going age or any other age.

 

RELIGION

 

Chapter II

Article 54

Freedom of Conscience, Religion and Worship

1. All citizens shall have the freedom to practice or not to practice a religion.

2. Nobody shall be discriminated against, persecuted, prejudiced, deprived of his or her rights, or benefit from or be exempt from duties, on the grounds of his faith or religious persuasion or practice.

3. Religious denominations shall have the right to pursue their religious aims freely and to own and acquire assets for realising their objectives.

4. The protection of places of worship shall be ensured.

5. The right to conscientious objection shall be guaranteed in terms of the law.

 

INTERNATIONAL LAW and HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

 

Chapter II

Article 18

International Law

1. Validly approved and ratified International treaties and agreements shall enter into force in the Mozambican legal order once they have been officially published and while they are internationally binding on the Mozambican State.

2. Norms of international law shall have the same force in the Mozambican legal order as have infra-constitutional legislative acts of the Assembly of the Republic and the Government, according to the respective manner in which they are received.

 

Chapter I

Article 43

Interpretation of Fundamental Rights

The constitutional principles in respect of fundamental rights shall be interpreted and integrated in harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights.

 

Article 3

Democratic Rule of Law

The Republic of Mozambique is a State governed by the rule of law, based on pluralism of expression and democratic political organisation and on the respect for and guarantee of fundamental human rights and freedoms.

 

Article 42

Scope and Meaning of Fundamental Rights

The fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution shall not exclude any other rights provided for by law.

 

Chapter III

Article 256

Definition

The Ombudsman is an office established to guarantee the rights of citizens and to uphold legality and justice in the actions of the Public Administration.