Swazi Media Commentary: United Nations Human Rights Periodic Review

Showing posts with label United Nations Human Rights Periodic Review. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 March 2021

Stigma against women with HIV in Swaziland rife, human rights review told

The stigma faced by people with HIV in Swaziland (eSwatini) continues to be widespread with a particularly damning effect upon women and girls, according to a submission to a United Nations group’s investigation into human rights in the kingdom.

‘It can affect the number of women and girls seeking treatment,’ the Birmingham City University, School of Law (UK), said in a written submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review of Swaziland.

It added, Swaziland had ‘particularly deep-rooted gender roles and cultural norms, which often lead to negative consequences for women and girls, including in the context of HIV’.

It reported Swaziland had the highest rate of HIV across the world. It was estimated that around 200,000 adults and children were living with HIV – about 17.4 percent of the kingdom’s total population.

While the number of people currently living with HIV was still steadily increasing, the number of new infections was decreasing. There were several reasons for this, including a rise in the general population, and an expansion of access to antiretrovirals (HIV medication) in Swaziland, meaning that more people infected with HIV were living longer lives.

Around 95 percent of those infected with HIV could access antiretrovirals. ‘However, there is still much work to be done in eSwatini, particularly in terms of women and girls, as over 60 percent of those aged over 15 and living with HIV are women. This is a particularly sensitive issue, as women in Eswatini are often considered to be “subordinate to men,” with gender inequality being pervasive across the country.’

It reported, ‘ A study carried out in 2016-17 in the region of Shiselweni found that, in some cases, “asymptomatic people living with HIV were motivated to start ART (antiretrovirals) in order to prevent them from developing symptoms that would visibly show them to be HIV-positive.”’

It added, ‘The study also found that in other cases, “engaging with treatment and care services was also seen as having the potential to expose someone as HIV-positive and thereby open to stigmatisation.” In these cases, “[w]hen the risk of exposure through clinic attendance was deemed too great, people were found to disengage from care and take treatment intermittently.”’

The Birmingham University report stated statistics also showed that this stigmatisation particularly affected women and girls aged 15 to 24.

It added a practical way of tackling this stigmatisation was through education. ‘It is widely agreed that the education provision in eSwatini regarding HIV and AIDS is poor,’ it added.

Statistics from 2014 showed that only 49 percent of young women (ages 15-24) and 51 percent of young men demonstrated adequate knowledge on this subject.

The Birmingham University report said public programming explicitly designed to reduce the existing stigma had helped create a supportive environment which was more tolerant and understanding. To some extent, the Swazi Ministry of Health was already seeking to implement this, through radio and television shows about HIV.

The university recommended Swaziland should extend its current Health Promotion Programme using different types of accessible media, including creative and dramatic presentations, and information campaigns for tolerance and inclusion and interactive educational workshops.

It commended civil society and non-governmental organisations in Swaziland for efforts made towards engaging projects and strategies to tackle stigma and foster inclusivity.

Monday, 29 March 2021

‘Drastic deterioration’ in Swaziland human rights, United Nations’ investigation told

There has been a ‘drastic deterioration’ in human rights in Swaziland (eSwatini), a United Nations group investigating the kingdom, ruled by absolute monarch King Mswati III, was told.

Human Rights Watch said since the 1973 Royal Decree, ‘political parties are banned, the judiciary is severely compromised, and repressive laws have been used to target independent organizations and harass civil society activists’.

In a submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review of Swaziland, Human Rights Watch said, ‘There has been no progress on essential rights reforms, including the removal of all legislative and practical restrictions to free exercise of civil and political rights, in particular those related to freedom of association and expression to allow the registration and operation of political parties; introducing greater political freedoms through free, fair, transparent democratic elections; ensuring the right to health without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; abolition of the death penalty; and decriminalization of same-sex relations and prevention of discrimination based on marital status and sexual orientation.

‘The government has yet to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, despite previously agreeing to do so.’

Human Rights Watch added, ‘The government has yet to repeal, or amend as appropriate, a number of repressive laws that restrict basic rights to freedom of association and assembly, despite these rights also being guaranteed in eSwatini’s 2005 constitution.

‘Police have sweeping powers under the Public Order Act. The king’s 1973 decree banning political parties remains in force despite repeated calls from local political activists to have it revoked. The constitution does not address the formation or role of political parties. Section 79 of the constitution provides that eSwatini practices an electoral system based on individual merit and excludes the participation of political parties in elections. Traditional leaders and chiefs have powers to restrict access to their areas, and have often used these powers to bar civil society groups and political groups like the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) and the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO).’

It added, ‘Restrictions on freedom of association and assembly continue. On October 20, 2020, the High Court heard a challenge by the eSwatini Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM), a human rights community-based advocacy organization which aims to advance the protection of human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and intersex persons. In September 2019, the eSwatini Registrar of Companies had refused to register ESGM as a company saying that “ESGM’s objectives were unlawful because same-sex sexual acts are illegal in the country.”’

Human Rights Watch is calling on the Swazi Government to guarantee freedoms of association, assembly, and expression, including freedom of association on the basis of sexual orientation and to revoke the king’s 1973 decree on political parties, allow the registration and operation of political parties, and introduce multi-party democratic elections.

Earlier this month (March 2021) Freedom House in its annual report declared Swaziland was ‘not free’.

It reported, ‘The king exercises ultimate authority over all branches of the national government and effectively controls local governance through his influence over traditional chiefs. Political dissent and civic and labor activism are subject to harsh punishment under sedition and other laws. Additional human rights problems include impunity for security forces and discrimination against women and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people.’

The Universal Periodic Review is a process through which all UN Member States are provided the opportunity to review the human rights records of all other Member States. At the same time, each State under review has the opportunity to report on human rights conditions within their own borders, including actions that have been taken to address concerns detailed by other States.

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

MASS CANING ‘VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS’

Save the Children Swaziland condemned teachers for beating all the children at a school after one pupil made a noise in assembly.

It said the school violated their human rights.

The mass caning happened at Lusoti Primary School. Parents have now asked the Ministry of Education and Training to investigate.

The Times of Swaziland newspaper reports that all pupils from the first to senior grades were beaten while at assembly, even though the child who made the noise was identified.

The school’s principal, Khanyisile Shongwe, confirmed to the newspaper the incident happened.

The pupils were also reportedly made to stand under the scorching sun for an hour and ordered to sing and some pupils collapsed as a result of this.

Dumisani Mnisi, director of Save the Children Swaziland, said the way the corporal punishment was administered was unacceptable. He said it violated the human rights of the children.

There is a long history in Swaziland of the use by teachers of unusual forms of punishment in Swazi schools.

In October 2011, Save the Children told the United Nations Human Rights Periodic Review held in Geneva that corporal punishment in Swazi schools was out of control. It highlighted Mhlatane High School in northern Swaziland where it said pupils were ‘tortured’ in the name of punishment. It said, ‘Teachers can administer as many strokes [of the cane] as they desire, much against the limit stipulated in the regulations from the Ministry of Education.’

In a separate case, girls at Mpofu High School are flogged by teachers on their bare flesh and if they resist they are chained down so the beating can continue. They say they get up to 40 strokes at a time.

In another case, a 10-year-old girl at kaLanga Nazarene Primary school was blinded for life in her left eye after a splinter from a teacher’s stick flew and struck it during punishment. And she was not the child being punished. She was injured when her teacher was hitting another pupil, with a stick which broke.

Another pupil in Swaziland was thrashed so hard that he later collapsed unconscious and had to be rushed to a clinic. Six pupils at Mafucula High school were thrashed with 20 strokes of a ‘small log’ because they were singing in class. It was reported that the boy who became unconscious was not one of those misbehaving, but he was flogged nonetheless.

The principal at Elangeni High, even publicly flogs adults who date pupils at his school. The men are forced to attend in front of the entire school, lie down on a bench and receive a whipping. The girls are also flogged.

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