Mozambique

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In one province in Mozambique, the great majority of young people called up for military service "did not turn up", reports O Pais.

By law, all Mozambicans (men and women) must register for military service in the year of their 18th birthday. The armed forces (FADM) then selects those it wishes to recruit and submits them to medical tests to check whether they are "fit to join the military".

Those who have not responded to the call up have 30 days to justify their absence before they are considered deserters.

A study by the Mozambican youth organisation Parlamento Juvenil found that young people in the country see conscription as a waste of time. The study also recommended professionalising the country's military, and making military service voluntary.

According to the military service law, conscription in Mozambique is obligatory for men and women between 18 and 35 years, and military service lasts for two years.

31/07/1998 1 Conscription

conscription exists

Since achieving independence in 1975, there has been conscription. It is believed that following the 1992 peace agreement between the government and the armed opposition RENAMO, conscription has not been enforced.

However, conscription was reintroduced on 3 November 1997, when a 124 against 103 majority in the Mozambican parliament voted in favour of a new conscription law.