Activities around the celebration in Mozambique mark the commitment of this country to lasting peace, following the signing on 5 September 2014 of a cease-fire between the government and the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO), converted into national law.

This initiative is also a practical response to the goals of the UN Resolution 55/282 which established the celebration of an International Day of Peace in 2001, to be "be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day."

The theme chosen by the United Nations to mark the Day in 2014 is also taken into account: "The right of peoples to peace". Mozambique has been concretely involved with a national action campaign around the slogan "O que fazes pel paz?” [What are you doing for Peace?], including a series of activities with:

• Interviews of eminent personalities from civil society, including religious leaders and scholars on topics related to peace;
• Awareness-raising and sensitizing campaigns for promoting a culture of peace and non-violence:
  - through interviews on the network of UNESCO’s community radios;
  - by free SMS messages on mobile phones

It is expected that this momentum will serve as a basis for the formulation and implementation of a Culture of Peace Programme at the national level, in close cooperation with the UN Country Team, in the margins of the presidential and general elections to be held in Mozambique on 15 October 2014.

It is important to recall that Mozambique was the second country in 1994, after El Salvador in 1991, to benefit from the establishment by UNESCO of a National Culture of Peace Program.

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