More work needed in Swaziland to eliminate human trafficking, new report states

Swaziland (eSwatini) has a long way to go before it eliminates human trafficking, but it is making progress, according to a new global report.

The United States Department of State stated in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report that as with the past five years, human traffickers continue to exploit domestic and foreign victims in Swaziland, and traffickers exploit victims from Swaziland abroad. Trafficking victims come primarily from poor communities with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. 

Traffickers exploit Swazi girls, particularly orphans, in sex trafficking and domestic servitude, primarily in Swaziland and South Africa. Traffickers force Swazi boys and foreign children to labour in agriculture, including cattle herding, and market vending within the country. 

Mozambican boys migrate to Swaziland for work washing cars, herding livestock, and portering; traffickers exploit some in forced labour. Traffickers use Swaziland as a transit country to transport foreign victims to South Africa for forced labour. Traffickers reportedly force Mozambican women into commercial sex in Swaziland, or transport them through Swaziland to South Africa. 

Some traffickers force Swazis into commercial sex in South Africa after voluntarily migrating in search of work. Reports suggest labour brokers fraudulently recruit and charge excessive fees to Swazi nationals for work in South African mines, means often used to facilitate trafficking crimes. Swazi men in border communities are recruited for forced labour in South Africa’s timber industry.

The report stated there had been some progress. In the past year a trafficker in Swaziland was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for forced labour and the Swazi Government trained front-line responders on how to identify trafficked people. It also launched a five-year national action plan.

‘However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government did not have shelter policies or guidelines to ensure quality of care for trafficking victims, and the primary shelter available was inadequate. While the government did take action against a government protection officer who assaulted and traumatized three foreign victims while they were in a government shelter, overall lack of protection efforts and oversight created the environment in which the assault took place,’ the report stated.

The report added, ‘While there were general reports of government corruption, including immigration officials seeking bribes to issue government documents such as visas, there were few reports of direct official complicity in trafficking. The government investigated a senior official for sex trafficking.’

The report listed a number of recommendations for improvement. These included increasing efforts to identify, investigate, and prosecute more trafficking crimes, including internal trafficking cases; implement the national anti-trafficking action plan; address leadership issues at the anti-trafficking secretariat and enable the taskforce to fulfil its statutory responsibilities; ensure all victims of trafficking are provided appropriate and comprehensive care.

See also

University lecturers ‘forced to weed fields of Swaziland absolute monarch’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/01/university-lecturers-forced-to-weed.html

Swazi Govt misleads on child labour

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/swazi-govt-misleads-on-child-labour.html
 

Kids forced to weed King’s fields

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/kids-forced-to-weed-kings-fields.html

University lecturers ‘forced to weed fields of Swaziland absolute monarch’

University lecturers in Swaziland (eSwatini) say they have been forced to abandon duties to work unpaid in the fields of absolute monarch King Mswati III.

In the past the King has been criticised by modern-day slavery campaigners for forcing people, including children, to work in his fields.

Lecturers said they feared they would lose their jobs if they did not obey the call to work for the King.

This has been going on for years, but has only now been revealed publicly.

The Swaziland News, an online newspaper, reported lecturers at the University of eSwatini (formerly University of Swaziland – UNISWA) ‘were forced to protect their jobs by participating in royal assignments and abandon their professional duties thus comprising the quality of education within the University’.

It said, ‘lecturers who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity said they were not comfortable with working in the King’s fields but attend the royal duties in fear of losing their jobs in the event they defy the King.’

Salebona Simelane, the university registrar, confirmed that some lecturers attended the royal fields but said none of them was under duress or forced to demonstrate allegiance to the King.  

Musa Nkambule, a lecturer at the university who is also Chairman of the political party Sive Siyinqaba ‘Sibahle Sinje’, told the News, ‘the administration normally made an announcement among the staff that the university would be closing early for lecturers to attend to the royal duties.

‘We should be marking the [examination] scripts by then but we can’t do that because we are expected to attend to the royal assignment, this is not right,’ he said.

In 2018 King Mswati was named in a global report on modern slavery for forcing his subjects to weed his fields.

The Global Slavery Index 2018, said there was evidence that the practice known as kuhlehla continued, ‘where the community is forced to render services or work for the King or local chiefs’.

The report estimated there were 12,000 people in Swaziland in modern slavery. This number increased from 1,302 people in 2013 and 6,700 people in 2014. The numbers for 2018 may have been distorted by changes in the way victims were counted.

The report stated modern slavery, ‘refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception and / or abuse of power’.

This was not the first time King Mswati had been named in a report on modern slavery or human trafficking. The annual Trafficking in Persons Report for 2017 from the United States State Department said it had been reporting conditions in Swaziland for the previous five years. It said, ‘Swazis are culturally expected to participate in the seasonal weeding and harvesting of the King’s fields and those who may refuse are subject to coercion through threats and intimidation by their chiefs.’

A report Child Labor and Forced Labor from the US Department of Labor looking at 2016 stated penalties imposed by chiefs included ‘evicting families from their village and confiscating livestock’. 

Separately, the 2014 Trafficking in Persons report revealed, ‘Swazi chiefs may coerce children and adults—through threats and intimidation—to work for the King. Swazi boys and foreign children are forced to labor in commercial agriculture, including cattle herding, and market vending within the country.’

King Mswati was at the centre of an international controversy in January 2015 when Swazi Media Commentary revealed that schools in Swaziland were forced to stay closed after Christmas so children could weed the King’s fields. As many as 30,000 children were thought to have missed schooling as a result. 

The Global Slavery Index for 2016 reported that the Swazi Government ‘attempted to backtrack on its intentions when its use of unpaid child labour was reported by international media’.

Seven in ten people in Swaziland live in abject poverty earning less than the equivalent of $US3 per day. They can be 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.

This is allowed even though the Swaziland Constitution that came into effect in 2006 prohibits forced or compulsory labour. 

See also

Swazi Govt misleads on child labour

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/swazi-govt-misleads-on-child-labour.html
 

Kids forced to weed King’s fields

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/kids-forced-to-weed-kings-fields.html

Swaziland students in Taiwan forced to work ‘like slaves’ in frozen chicken factory

Students from Swaziland / Eswatini studying in Taiwan are being made to work in a frozen chicken factory for 40 hours a week to pay for tuition and accommodation. If they try to leave their university will punish them and their condition has been likened to slavery.

More than 40 Swazi students are said to be involved, according to the Swazi Observer newspaper. It said they only attend studies for two days a week.

The Observer reported on Monday (19 November 2018) the students went to Taiwan in September 2018 to study for a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at the private MingDao University in Pitou.

The Observer reported, ‘According to several sources who are based in Taiwan, and familiar with the situation, these students are forced to work in the chicken factory where they are made to peel chickens under freezing temperatures to pay for their tuition fees and accommodation at the university.

‘They work for 40 hours in a week, which is ten hours per day. The conditions are so unfavourable that two of the students are reportedly back in the country after failing to keep up with the situation.’ It added the students only have one full day and a half day of studies and they work for five days.

It quoted a source saying, ‘The institution is making a profit out of the students because they get only two per cent of their earnings and the rest is forfeited for tuition fees and accommodation but the forfeited sum is way more than the fees of the two. This is a case of slavery and the students all want to come back home due to the unfavourable conditions they are exposed to in Taiwan.’

It reported one student likened the situation to ‘slavery’ because ‘the students cannot just leave, as the university will punish those remaining behind’.

The source said, ‘If you run away, the ones left behind will be made to suffer.’

Swaziland makes a lot of its relationship with Taiwan. The kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as an absolute monarch is the only nation in Africa that officially recognises Taiwan. In 2018 Taiwan gave the King US$1.3 million towards the cost of his 50^th birthday celebration. In April 2018 the King called on the United Nations to admit Taiwan to the organisation. Taiwan, which calls itself the Republic of China on Taiwan, is not recognised by the UN because the People’s Republic of China claims the territory as its own.

Taiwan has a history of exploitation in Swaziland. Taiwanese textile firms operate in Swaziland and have a poor record on workers’ rights.

In July 2014 a survey of the Swazi textile industry undertaken by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) revealed workers were subjected to harsh and sometimes abusive conditions, many of the kingdom’s labour laws were routinely violated by employers, and union activists were targeted by employers for punishment. More than 90 percent of workers surveyed reported being punished by management for making errors, not meeting quotas or missing shifts. More than 70 percent of survey respondents reported witnessing verbal and physical abuse in their workplace by supervisors.

Commenting on the survey, the American labour federation AFL-CIO said, ‘Some workers reported that supervisors slap or hit workers with impunity. In one example, a worker knocked to the ground by a line manager was suspended during an investigation of the incident while the line manager continued in her job.

‘Women reported instances of sexual harassment, as well. Several workers said they or other contract (temporary) workers were offered a permanent job in exchange for sex.’

Mistreatment of workers in the textile industry in Swaziland has been known for many years and workers have staged strikes and other protests to draw attention to the situation.

Taiwan also donates aid to Swaziland. It regularly supplies tens of thousands of pairs of sneakers to women who participate in the annual Reed Dance where ‘maidens’ dance topless in front of the King. It is also spending E260 million (US$21 million) over five years to rebuild the out-patient department of Mbabane Government Hospital.

See also

‘Slave labour’ at textile factory

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/slave-labour-at-textile-factory.html

Taiwan first guest at King’s party

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/taiwan-first-guest-at-kings-birthday.html

Swaziland’s King Mswati Named as Offender in Global Report on Modern Slavery

King Mswati III the absolute monarch of Swaziland / Eswatini has been named in a global report on modern slavery for forcing his subjects to weed his fields.

His supporters say the work is done in the name of culture but others say if they do not work for the King they are punished.

The Global Slavery Index 2018, just published, said there was evidence that the practice of kuhlehla continued, ‘where the community is forced to render services or work for the King or local chiefs’.

The report estimated there were 12,000 people in Swaziland in modern slavery. This number has increased from 1,302 people in 2013 and 6,700 people in 2014. The numbers for 2018 may have been distorted by changes in the way victims are counted.

The report stated modern slavery, ‘refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception and / or abuse of power’.

This is not the first time King Mswati has been named in a report on modern slavery or human trafficking. The annual Trafficking in Persons Report for 2017 from the United States State Department said it had been reporting conditions in Swaziland for the previous five years. It said, ‘Swazis are culturally expected to participate in the seasonal weeding and harvesting of the King’s fields and those who may refuse are subject to coercion through threats and intimidation by their chiefs.’

A report Child Labor and Forced Labor from the US Department of Labor looking at 2016 stated penalties imposed by chiefs included ‘evicting families from their village and confiscating livestock’. 

Separately, the 2014 Trafficking in Persons report revealed, ‘Swazi chiefs may coerce children and adults—through threats and intimidation—to work for the King. Swazi boys and foreign children are forced to labor in commercial agriculture, including cattle herding, and market vending within the country.’

King Mswati was at the centre of an international controversy in January 2015 when Swazi Media Commentary revealed that schools in Swaziland were forced to stay closed after Christmas so children could weed the King’s fields. As many as 30,000 children were thought to have missed schooling as a result. 

The Global Slavery Index for 2016 reported that the Swazi Government ‘attempted to backtrack on its intentions when its use of unpaid child labour was reported by international media’.

Seven in ten people in Swaziland live in abject poverty earning less than the equivalent of $US2 per day. They can be 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.

This is allowed even though the Swaziland Constitution that was enacted in 2006 prohibits forced or compulsory labour. 

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in a 2009 report said the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions called the administration order a form of forced labour which reinforced the traditional powers of chiefs to demand uncompensated labour from citizens and apply punishment in case of refusal.

See also

SEX TRAFFICKING RIFE IN SWAZILAND

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/11/sex-trafficking-rife-in-swaziland.html

 

SWAZI GOVT MISLEADS ON CHILD LABOUR

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/swazi-govt-misleads-on-child-labour.html
 

KIDS FORCED TO WEED KING’S FIELDS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2015/01/kids-forced-to-weed-kings-fields.html

NEARLY 7,000 PEOPLE IN SLAVERY

There are an estimated 6,700 people in Swaziland living in slavery, according to a global survey.

And, the response by the Swazi Government to the problem is ‘inadequate’, according to report publishers, the Walk Free Foundation, a global human rights organisation dedicated to ending modern slavery.

The Global Slavery Index 2014 estimates that in Swaziland, ‘The government response to modern slavery is inadequate, with limited and/or few victim support services, a weak criminal justice framework, weak coordination or collaboration, while little is being done to address vulnerability. There are government practices and policies that facilitate slavery. Services, where available, are largely provided by IOs/NGOs with little government funding or in-kind support.’

The report said, ‘Modern slavery involves one person possessing or controlling another person in such as a way as to significantly deprive that person of their individual liberty, with the intention of exploiting that person through their use, management, profit, transfer or disposal.’

It added, ‘Modern slavery is a hidden crime. It takes many forms, and is known by many names: slavery, forced labour, or human traffcking. All forms involve one person depriving another person of their freedom: their freedom to leave one job for another, their freedom to leave one workplace for another, their freedom to control their own body.’

This is the second annual Global Slavery Index. In 2013 it reported there were an estimated 1,302 people living in slavery in Swaziland. The reports publishers said the increase in numbers from last year were probably due to an improvement in the way information was collected, rather than an increase in slavery.

A separate report, the 2014 Trafficking in Persons, revealed that King Mswati III, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, uses forced child labour to work in his fields. ‘Swazi chiefs may coerce children and adults—through threats and intimidation—to work for the king. Swazi boys and foreign children are forced to labor in commercial agriculture, including cattle herding, and market vending within the country,’ the report from the US State Department said.

See also

SWAZILAND HAS 1,302 PEOPLE IN SLAVERY

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2013/10/swaziland-has-1302-people-in-slavery.html

SEX TRAFFICKING RIFE IN SWAZILAND

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/11/sex-trafficking-rife-in-swaziland.html