On Tuesday the Government approved an agreement through which the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD) will contribute 1.5 million euros to a European project to eradicate gender violence in Mozambique.

This transfer agreement is the first between the ACCD and the European Commission, and will allow the ACCD to be an integral part of the project technical monitoring committee, along with the Delegation of the European Union in Mozambique, and to participate in field visits, institutional events and joint communication actions.

The programme will also highlight the work of Catalan cooperation in Mozambique, where it has an established track record in promoting equality and women’s human rights. Within the framework of the action, work will be done to find synergies and collaborations with Catalan organisations on the ground.

The project “Zero tolerance to gender-based violence” (Tolêrancia Zero! à violência baseada no género, in Portuguese) will support the Government of Mozambique’s strategies for the prevention and response to gender-based violence in the provinces of Manica, Gaza and Maputo, in the centre and south of the country. It also includes technical assistance to the Mozambican Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action.

The intervention has four specific objectives:

1. Prevent sexual and gender-based violence through the promotion of social norms, attitudes and behaviours that favour equity.
2. Provide accessible and quality services to women and girls experiencing violence and harmful practices.
3. Facilitate the participation of women’s movements and civil society in the fight against male violence.
4. Strengthen the capacities of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action to move towards an integrated response to gender-based violence.

A transfer agreement is an instrument of collaboration between a donor country and the European Commission to work together to implement specific programmes and shared interests. In this case, the project will materialise through an agreement with the Government of Mozambique, and will be implemented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The action is aligned with the Strategic Plan for Foreign Action and European Union Relations 2023-2026, approved by the Catalan Government in June 2023, and with the Development Cooperation Master Plan 2023-2026. At the community level, the intervention is a continuation of the Spotlight Initiative, a global initiative of the European Union and the United Nations implemented in 30 countries, including Mozambique, between 2018 and 2022.

This is the first transfer agreement between the Government of Catalonia and the European Commission