Swaziland is being put under the spotlight by a United
Nations group following fears that child sexual abuse and forced labour is rife
in the kingdom.
The Swazi Government has failed to account for its
actions in protecting children.
Swaziland ratified the United Nations International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2004 and its initial report
on progress was due by 2005, but 13 years later it has failed to report. After
such a long delay, the Human Rights Committee (HRC) has scheduled a review of
the kingdom in the absence of report. This
review will take place in July 2017.
The HRC has tabled a list of questions for the Swazi
Government to answer. It believes Swaziland is ‘a country of origin, transit
and destination for men, women and children trafficked for sex and forced
labour’. It also says ‘forced and child labour are prevalent in the country and
that orphans are particularly affected’.
In the past, King Mswati III, who rules Swaziland as
sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, has been criticised by human rights
groups for exploiting forced child labour.
A report from the US State Department on Trafficking
in Persons in 2013 investigated
Swaziland and found children in Swaziland were being used as
forced labour to tend the fields of King Mswati III.
Chiefs in rural areas who represent the monarch, ‘may
coerce children and adults—through threats and intimidation—to work for the
king’, the report revealed.
The report also said, ‘Swazi girls, particularly
orphans, are subjected to sex trafficking and domestic servitude in the cities
of Mbabane and Manzini, as well as in South Africa, Mozambique, and the United
States.’
The Trafficking
in Persons Report 2013 also revealed, ‘Swazi boys and
foreign children are forced to labor in commercial agriculture and market
vending within the country.’
The report said, ‘The Government of Swaziland does not
fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.’
An earlier report in 2009 from the US State Department
reported that women and children in the kingdom were bought
and sold for sex, domestic servitude and forced
labour.
Mbabane and Manzini were again identified
as the centres of trafficking
of girls, particularly orphans, for sex.
In 2009, the The International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC) reported
that a form of serfdom existed in the kingdom. The report said Swazis
were forced to work without pay on projects determined by local chiefs (who are
appointed by the King). These included agricultural work, soil erosion and
construction and maintenance.
Swazis, seven in ten who live in abject poverty and
earn less than two US dollars a day, are forced to work under the Swazi
Administration Order, No. 6 of 1998, which makes it a duty of Swazis to obey
orders and participate in compulsory works; participation is enforceable with
severe penalties for those who refuse.
In October 2013 it was reported there were an
estimated 1,302 people
living in slavery in Swaziland.
The report called the Global Slavery Index 2013 and published by the Walk Free Foundation stated, ‘Modern slavery includes slavery, slavery-like practices (such as debt bondage, forced marriage, and sale or exploitation of children), human trafficking and forced labour.’
The report called the Global Slavery Index 2013 and published by the Walk Free Foundation stated, ‘Modern slavery includes slavery, slavery-like practices (such as debt bondage, forced marriage, and sale or exploitation of children), human trafficking and forced labour.’
See also
SLAVE
LABOUR RIFE IN SWAZILAND
US
EXPOSES CHILD SEX TRADE
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/06/us-exposes-swazi-child-sex-trade.html
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