There is no date set to review restoration of Swaziland’s status under
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), despite claims from Prime
Minister Barnabas Dlamini that his government has met requirements to introduce
democratic reforms to the kingdom.
Rodney Ford, a spokesman for African affairs at the U.S. State
Department, was quoted
by Bloomsberg News saying, ‘Swaziland is among many countries under review,’ and no
decision had been made on whether the kingdom had taken steps since US
President Barack Obama’s decision to withdraw AGOA trade benefits from
Swaziland.
The US announced in June 2014 that preferential trading status under AGOA
would be removed on 1 January 2015, from Swaziland which is ruled by King
Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
The US withdrew
Swaziland’s AGOA privileges after the kingdom ignored an
ultimatum 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.
In June 2014 the US Trade Representative
Michael Froman said, ‘The withdrawal of AGOA benefits is not a decision
that is taken lightly.
‘We have made our concerns very clear to Swaziland over the
last several years and we engaged extensively on concrete steps that Swaziland
could take to address the concerns.’
Now, Swaziland Prime Minister Dlamini, who was not elected to office by
the people but appointed to head the government by King Mswati personally, is
claiming that the kingdom has met the requirements and should have its benefits
restored. He is being supported in this by the Swazi Observer, a group of newspaper in effect owned by the King.
The Observer reported Dlamini saying his
government had done its part in making sure that the kingdom met the five
benchmarks set by the Americans.
Dlamini and the media in Swaziland have been blaming trade unionists in
the kingdom for the withdrawal of the AGOA benefits, even though they have no
power to implement the changes the Americans are seeking.
Already 1,450 jobs in the textile industry have been lost in Swaziland
and many more are expected to go in the New Year as a result of the loss of
AGOA benefits.
Since announcing the removal of AGOA benefits in June 2014, the US has
continued to criticise Swaziland for its poor human rights record.
In August it
criticised Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini after he called for two workers’
leaders to be ‘strangled’ after they criticised his government’s human rights
record. It called the comment ‘threatening’.
In a statement the United States
Department of State said, ‘Such
remarks have a chilling effect on labor and civil rights in the Kingdom of
Swaziland.’
It
added, ‘The United States continues to support and defend fundamental
freedoms, including freedom of association, and the human rights defenders who
fight for these values each day. We call upon the Government to renounce the
Prime Minister’s remarks and to ensure respect for the constitutionally
enshrined rights of all citizens.’
In July 2014 the US State Department criticised
the jailing for two years of magazine editor Bheki Makhubu and human rights
lawyer and writer Thulani Maseko after they wrote articles critical of the Swazi
judiciary.
In a
statement the State Department said,
‘Their convictions for contempt of court for publishing
an article critical of the High Court of Swaziland and their ongoing
prolonged detention appear to undermine respect for Swaziland’s human rights
obligations, particularly the right to freedom of expression, which is
enshrined in Swaziland’s own constitution and the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights. The United States strongly supports the universal
fundamental freedom of expression and is deeply concerned by the actions of the
Swazi Government.’
See also
KING MISLEADS ON
AGOA WITHDRAWAL
POLICE STOP
WORKERS FROM PRAYING
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