LABOUR REPORT ATTACKS SWAZILAND

The Swazi Government came under fierce criticism from International Labour over the lack of human rights in the kingdom.

The International Labour Organisation called (yet again) for the 1973 Royal Decree that, among other things, banned political parties in Swaziland and restricted civil liberties. It criticised the lack of rights in Swaziland to organize prison staff and domestic workers, the right of workers’ organizations to elect their officers freely and the right to organize their activities and programmes of action.

The ILO criticised the Swazi Government for ‘acts of violence carried out by the security forces and the detention of workers for exercising their right to strike’.

The ILO told the Swazi Government that it was obliged in international law to respect ‘basic civil liberties such as freedom of expression, of assembly and of the press’.

It also said that there should be respect for trade unions and they should be allowed to ‘develop in a climate free from violence, threat or fear’.

It called for all people jailed in Swaziland for exercising their civil liberties to be released.

The ILO criticised the Swazi Government for not making efforts to improve human rights in the kingdom and for ignoring ILO interventions in the past.

It called on the Swazi Government to repeal the 1973 Decree, to amend the 1963 Public Order Act, as well as the Industrial Relations Act, and hoped that the Swazi Constitution could be reviewed to progress human rights and civil liberties in the kingdom.

To see the full report click here.