The United States announced on Thursday (15 May 2014) that the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, had failed to retain its status under the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA). This means the kingdom will no longer receive preferential access to the US market.
US ambassador to Swaziland, Malika James said Swaziland had not fulfilled all the requirements of the programme, including respect for human rights.
Swaziland is allowed duty free trade with the US, which is used mainly for textile exports. However this arrangement will now lapse in January 2015. About 17,000 jobs in the textile industry may be under threat as a result.
James said in February 2014 that Swaziland had been given eight years to comply with the requirements but nothing significant had happened. The US set a deadline of 15 May 2014 for reforms to be made.
The US wanted Swaziland to implement the full passage of amendments to the Industrial Relations Act; full passage of amendments to the Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA); full passage of amendments to the Public Order Act; full passage of amendments to sections 40 and 97 of the Industrial Relations Act relating to civil and criminal liability to union leaders during protest actions; and establishing a code of conduct for the police during public protests.
James said that there needed to
be greater accountability of the police force in Swaziland. ‘There is a need to
give police better guidance so they can do proper law enforcement.’
International organisations
have over the past year highlighted numerous human rights abuses in Swaziland.
In July 2013, AfriMAP, a group that monitors and promotes good governance, reported, ‘The current form of governance in Swaziland is a complete anathema to the conventional wisdom that prevails in almost all AU [African Union] member states, and certainly in SADC [South African Development Community]; the issue of dictatorships, absolutism and total state control of the citizenry is a forgotten and unacceptable notion; which is why Swaziland government must realize that it cannot delay political reforms, since it will only undermine its credibility, delay progress, economic and social development of the very people it is supposed to uplift and protect.’
In July 2013, AfriMAP, a group that monitors and promotes good governance, reported, ‘The current form of governance in Swaziland is a complete anathema to the conventional wisdom that prevails in almost all AU [African Union] member states, and certainly in SADC [South African Development Community]; the issue of dictatorships, absolutism and total state control of the citizenry is a forgotten and unacceptable notion; which is why Swaziland government must realize that it cannot delay political reforms, since it will only undermine its credibility, delay progress, economic and social development of the very people it is supposed to uplift and protect.’
A report on human rights in
Swaziland, published in 2013 by the US State Department revealed, ‘The three
main human rights abuses [in 2012] were police use of excessive force,
including use of torture, beatings, and unlawful killings; restrictions on
freedoms of association, assembly, and speech; and discrimination and abuse of
women and children.
‘Other human rights problems
included arbitrary arrests and lengthy pretrial detention; arbitrary interference
with privacy and home; prohibitions on political activity and harassment of
political activists; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against
members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and
persons with albinism; harassment of labor leaders; child labor; mob violence;
and restrictions on worker rights.
‘In general perpetrators acted
with impunity, and the government took few or no steps to prosecute or punish
officials who committed abuses.’
In May 2013, in its annual
report on Swaziland, Amnesty
International reported, rights to freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly continued to be violated in the kingdom. There were also
‘arbitrary arrests and excessive force used to crush political protests,’ the
report stated, and ‘torture and other ill-treatment remained a persistent
concern’ in Swaziland.
Amnesty noted that in May 2012
the African Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution ‘expressing alarm’
at the Swazi Government’s failure to implement previous decisions and
recommendations of the Commission relating to the rights of freedom of
expression, association, and assembly.
These violations included the
use by police of, ‘rubber bullets, tear gas and batons to break up
demonstrations and gatherings viewed as illegal’.
In April 2013, the Open Society
Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) reported
that recently Swaziland police and state security forces had shown
‘increasingly violent and abusive behaviour’ that was leading to the ‘militarization’
of the kingdom.
OSISA told the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) meeting in The Gambia, ‘There are also reliable reports of a general militarization of the country through the deployment of the Swazi army, police and correctional services to clamp down on any peaceful protest action by labour or civil society organisations ahead of the country’s undemocratic elections.’
OSISA told the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) meeting in The Gambia, ‘There are also reliable reports of a general militarization of the country through the deployment of the Swazi army, police and correctional services to clamp down on any peaceful protest action by labour or civil society organisations ahead of the country’s undemocratic elections.’
In April 2013, the Swaziland
United Democratic Front (SUDF) and the Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC), two
organiastions campaigning for democracy in the kingdom, in a joint statement
said police in Swaziland were now a ‘private militia’ with the sole purpose of
serving the Royal regime. This was after about 80 armed officers broke
up a public meeting to discuss the lack of democracy in the kingdom.
See also
KINGDOM
FACES HUMAN RIGHTS PROBE
US PRESSURE FOR SWAZI REFORMS
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