Restrictions on freedom of association and assembly in
Swaziland (eSwatini) continued in the past year, a
new report from Human Rights Watch said.
The new Police Service Act of 2018 limited police
powers to prevent gatherings as it required only a ‘notice of gathering’ to be
submitted to the relevant local authority, unlike the previous 1963 law that needed
the police to issue a license to permit public gatherings, HRW said.
In a review of events in 2019 it said in August, Swazi
public servants began mobilizing for a nationwide strike to demand an increase
in wages.
‘The police did not disrupt the nationwide mobilization
campaigns, but fired
teargas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesting
government workers on September 23,’ HRW said.
Although eSwatini signed the African Charter on
Democracy, Elections and Governance in January 2018, the government did not
take steps to ratify or implement the Charter.
The public servants were part of the Swaziland
National Association of Teachers (SNAT), the Swaziland National Association of
Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP), and the National Public Services and
Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU).
HRW said, ‘The various legislative improvements on
freedom of association and assembly contained in the new Public Order Act of
2017, which imposes restrictions on the government’s power to limit freedoms of
assembly and association, were not fully tested in practice in 2019 as
restrictions on freedom of association and assembly continued.’
HRW said eSwatini remained an absolute monarchy ruled
by King Mswati III, who has led the kingdom since 1986, with a 1973 decree banning opposition political parties. Despite
the adoption of the 2005
constitution which guarantees basic rights, and the kingdom’s international
human rights commitments, the government had not reviewed the decree or changed
the law to allow the formation, registration, and participation of political
parties in elections.
This was not the first report to detail human rights
abuses in Swaziland. The United States State Department in its review
of events in 2018 reported there was no appetite to investigate human
rights abuses or corruption.
A 24-page
report detailed ‘human rights issues’ across a wide range of areas which included,
‘restrictions on political participation, corruption, rape and violence against
women linked in part to government inaction, criminalization of same-sex sexual
conduct, although rarely enforced, and child labor’.
The report stated, ‘The government often did not
investigate, prosecute, or administratively punish officials who committed
human rights abuses. With very few exceptions, the government did not identify
officials who committed abuses. Impunity was widespread.’
Freedom House scored Swaziland 16 out of a possible
100 points in its Freedom in
the World 2019 report. It concluded that Swaziland was ‘not free’.
Freedom House stated, ‘The king exercises ultimate
authority over all branches of the national government and effectively controls
local governance through his influence over traditional chiefs. Political dissent
and civic and labor activism are subject to harsh punishment under sedition and
other laws. Additional human rights problems include impunity for security
forces and discrimination
against women and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people.’
Freedom House scored Swaziland one point out of a
possible 16 for ‘political pluralism and participation’ stating, ‘The king has
tight control over the political system in law and in practice, leaving no room
for the emergence of an organized opposition with the potential to enter
government. The vast majority of candidates who contested the 2018 general
elections were supporters of the king.’
See also
Swaziland
in economic freefall with human rights failings, report shows
King
Mswati in complete control as another year of human rights struggle ends in
Swaziland
Police
violence, undemocratic elections, hunger and disease: highlights of Swaziland’s
human rights violations
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