After Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal, Frelimo whose leaders were now in power, sought to rebuild and expand the state's role.

[4] To help the mission, the Eastern Bloc supplied them with medical staff, teachers, government advisers, and Western volunteers excited to engage in socialist state-building.

Therefore, the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Agency began an operation inside Mozambique with the goal of toppling the Frelimo government.

[4] Fighting the Renamo forces left the government, run by Frelimo, with enormous amounts of debt, especially since the Soviet Union was no longer funding them.

Frelimo's political ideologies were initially socialist, but privatizing companies, reducing the role of the state, and cutting taxes, were the price they had to pay to save the country.

[4] Medical facilities were no longer functioning, and infant mortality had risen to the second highest in the world: one in three children died before the age of five.

[5] As requested by both parties, The United Nations became responsible for ensuring that both sides would remain committed to the General Peace Agreement and that all soldiers would demobilize and disarm before the parliamentary and presidential elections.

[7] Mozambique's government requested that the UN begin the operation immediately after the General Peace Agreement was signed, but the UN was only able to come up with a plan three months later.

[6] The military component directly aimed to promote peace, demobilize and disarm troops, and create a new national army.

[6] ONUMOZ' mandate was: The military division was in charge of demobilizing active Frelimo and Renamo troops and aimed to do it before the elections.

If Renamo troops began to demobilize, they would become militarily vulnerable, and Frelimo would take advantage of the situation to regain complete control.

On a visit to Mozambique, Secretary General Boutros-Ghali said that if they continued to refuse to follow through with the plan to demobilize, the UN would withdraw its support.

[6]  Aldo Ajello, the Interim Special Representative for Mozambique, also convinced Dhlakama to demobilize by telling him that all of the UN's funds would be directed to the government if he did not comply.

Boutros-Ghali and Ajello's actions were successful, and the government and Dhlakama shared their final troop assembly location lists.

[7] UNOHAC, the Office of Humanitarian Aid Co-ordination, focused on reintegrating Mozambicans refugees and former Frelimo and Renamo soldiers who had demobilized back into society.

The UNHCR assisted with preparing the country to receive the influx of people by repairing roads, health facilities, schools, and food production mechanisms.

Although the program initially faced bureaucratic hurdles and worked slowly, it eventually created a Mine Clearance Training Centre and cleared 5,790 kilometres of roads.

Furthermore, many donors preferred to fund NGOs to distribute food and revitalize the country's education and hospital systems since the government relief agency, DPCCN, was accused of corruption.

In such areas, international NGOs such as The World Food Programme and European Union, and one national NGO, The Mozambican Red Cross, were the only organizations allowed to enter.

The United Nations Development Programme hired 2,350 observers both foreigners and locals to implement the goal of free and fair elections.

[6] They began a civic education campaign where they televised videos explaining the electoral process and convincing people to vote.

[5] Some argue that what made it successful was that both Frelimo and Renamo were willing, for the most part, to comply with UN's demands, end the war, and transition to a multi-party democracy.