A protest in support of
human rights in Swaziland is planned for King Mswati III’s 50th
birthday.
It will be in London on 19
April 2018 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit.
Organisers ACTSA (Action
for Southern Africa) said in a
statement, ‘King Mswati III, Africa’s
last absolute monarch, is likely to be in the UK for the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting that week. 19 April is actually the King’s 50th
birthday – but for many Swazis the occasion won’t be one to celebrate.
Swaziland is deeply unequal and corruption at all levels is rife. Yet those who
peacefully challenge the King and his government face repression.’
It added, ‘The Commonwealth
has singularly failed to hold the Swazi authorities to account. The
Commonwealth Secretariat does not appear to have a strategy for applying
pressure on the King. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group must now review
Swaziland’s status and the Commonwealth Secretary General must explicitly
support this action. The Commonwealth’s credibility is on the line.’
ACTSA said the protest would
be outside the Commonwealth Secretariat (Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London
SW1Y 5HX) from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm. Swazi diaspora groups and international
trade unionists, among others, would be participating in the protest, it said.
ACTSA, the successor to the
Anti-Apartheid Movement, has a long history
of advocacy for human rights in Swaziland. One
briefing paper Swaziland’s
Downward Spiral: The International Community Must Act Now
warned that Swaziland might plunge into a protracted crisis unless the
international community, including the UK, applied serious pressure on the
Government of Swaziland so that it respected human rights and developed a
genuinely democratic constitution. UNISON and other UK trade unionists have
also been supportive of the development of a Swazi Rural Women’s Charter, which
is discussed in another ACTSA publication Women’s
Rights in Swaziland.
The paper
reported that King Mswati III, the absolute monarch in
Swaziland, was one of the main reasons why women in the kingdom remain
oppressed. ACTSA reported that despite claims that Swaziland was a modern
country, ‘the reality is, despite pledges and commitments, women continue to
suffer discrimination, are treated as inferior to men, and are denied rights’.
ACTSA added, ‘The King has demonstrated he is
unwilling to change the status quo and promotes multiple aspects of the
patriarchal society.’
See also
UK
UNIONS BACK SWAZI RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
KING
‘TO BLAME’ FOR WOMEN’S INEQUALITY
CALL
FOR GLOBAL PRESURE ON GOVT
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