Women’s organisations in Swaziland are fighting to reform laws that treat women as second class citizens in the kingdom ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.
According to a reportfrom Amnesty International, just released, the Swazi Government has failed to change these laws, despite repeatedly promising to do so.
This means that women in Swaziland are not protected by law and face discrimination that is permitted by law.
The report called Too Little, Too Latestates that women and girls have no legal protection from rape by their husbands and there are no laws criminalising domestic violence, forced marriages or early marriages.
Most married women are denied equal status as legal adults and cannot administer property, sign contracts or conduct legal proceedings without their husband’s consent. Denied the right to own land, many widows are forced from their homes.
Amnesty says that in a breakthrough in the fight for equality, Swaziland agreed in 2004 to be bound by the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) – the key international treaty on women’s human rights.
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland was enacted in the following year. For the first time, national law guaranteed to women the right to equal treatment with men and some protection from being ‘compelled to undergo or uphold any custom to which [they are] in conscience opposed’.
However, the laws that govern the daily lives of Swazi men and women have not been brought into line with CEDAW or the Constitution and leave Swaziland ‘in flagrant violation of its international commitments to women’s rights’.
More than half a decade after ratifying CEDAW and adopting a new Constitution, official steps to reform the laws affecting women’s rights have achieved very little.
The Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence bill was only introduced in Parliament for full debate on 28 October 2010. This is despite the active lobbying by women’s rights activists and other interested parties, including Amnesty International, since 2005.
Civil society organizations have attended meetings to discuss other draft bills but the law reform process appears to have stalled.
In March 2009, the then Minister of Justice, in a meeting with Amnesty International, referred to an ambitious legislative programme to protect and promote women’s rights and stated that several other bills would be tabled in parliament by the end of that year. As of November 2010 this had still not happened.
The delay in the law reform process cannot be blamed on lack of resources. The European Commission, the Commonwealth Secretariat and UN agencies have all supported the reform process by providing legislative drafters, research assistance and funding. The rapid passing of antitrafficking legislation in 2009, under external pressure from the United States, highlights what can be achieved with sufficient political will.
Amnesty is calling on people to protest to the Swaziland Government. For details of where to send protests click here and go to page 8.
Barnabas Dlamini,who earlier this month advocated torturing people who disagree with his government, is to get an international award given to ‘distinguished individuals or groups worldwide with exemplary contributions to peace and human rights’.
The World Citizen Awards, which organisers call ‘the world’s most prestigious award’, are to be handed out in the Bahamas next Saturday (2 October 2010).
The World Citizens Award (WCA) describes itself as a ‘private- charitable foundation whose main objective is to give proper recognition through the conferment of awards of excellence and distinction to individuals or groups worldwide who have distinguished themselves as brilliant exemplars of society or who contributed toward the attainment of peace and respect for human life and dignity.’
Dlamini, who was illegally-appointed Prime Minister of Swaziland by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch is one of dozens of people from the world of politics and (strange bedfellows) sport from across the globe to receive the award.
It is not clear how the decision to make the award was made, but earlier this year the WCA issued a statement asking for people to make nominations.
Whatever the procedure, the WCA has clearly made a massive error of judgement. Dlamini has a long history as an enemy (not a supporter) of human rights and peace. Only this month he said he wanted to use ‘Sipakatane’ otherwise known as ‘bastinado’,a form of torture that involves flogging the bare soles of a person’s feet with a spiked wooden or metal implement to temporarily or permanently cripple them, on dissidents and foreigners who supported democracy in Swaziland.
In July 2010, Amnesty International issued a special plea for supporters to protest about the Dlamini government ‘because political activists, human rights defenders and trade unionists in Swaziland were at risk of harassment, ill-treatment and arrest, as the authorities use draconian counter-terror legislation to investigate a spate of government-targeted petrol bombings’.
News of Dlamini’s award will certainly provoke protests across the globe. If you want to tell the WCA it has made a dreadful mistake, its email address is
No one has yet been brought to account for the human rights abuses that took place in Swaziland during the Global Week of Actionprotest for democracy in the kingdom.
Amnesty International reportsthat during 6-8 September 2010 Swaziland’s security forces harassed and intimidated human rights defenders and peaceful demonstrators.
Amnesty says that during the action ‘human rights defenders, trade unionists and political activists in Swaziland were arbitrarily detained, assaulted and intimidated, as security forces attempted to disrupt two days of planned protest marches.
‘The security forces conducted mass arrests with no legal basis and held human rights defenders, political opposition leaders and foreign trade union officials in unlawful detention.
‘Instead of holding the security forces accountable, the Prime Minister of Swaziland appeared to condone their actions, suggesting during a press conference on 8 September that torture should be considered as a form of punishment against interfering foreigners and dissidents.’
Amnesty issued an ‘Urgent Action’ appeal for supporters of human rights to send written protests to Barnabas Dlamini, the kingdom’s illegally-appointed Prime Minister.
This week Amnesty reportedthat since early September ‘the level of harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders and activists appears to have declined and no further incidents have been reported.
‘However, no one has been brought to justice for the human rights violations that took place between 6 and 8 September.
‘Although the Prime Minister and his office have made subsequent statements to “clarify” his comments about the use of torture, none of these reported statements amount to a clear rejection of the use of torture.’
Amnesty said that in addition ‘to appeals sent in line with this Urgent Action, organizations in Swaziland and other international institutions have put pressure on the Prime Minister to retract his statement condoning torture’.
Amnesty has now called off the Urgent Action and asked supports not to send further letters of protest to Dlamini.
The media and others in Swaziland were sworn to secrecy over the affair, but as soon as news leaked out, first in the South African press, and then globally, Mamba was released.
News is that a group of senior princes realised that adultery is not a crime (not even in Swaziland) and King Mswati had no right to imprison Mamba.
I assume the princes contacted King Mswati, who is on a trip to Taiwan, where yesterday he was given an honorary doctorate by Taipei Medical University for his ‘outstanding leadership’, and convinced him that now the international media were on his case he had no way of covering up his dictatorial action.
King Mswati is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, so might have assumed that his word was (quite literally) law.
The question is what happens now? Even though Mamba has not broken a law of adultery, King Mswati will not let him get away with sleeping with one of his wives.
It is reported that charges of ‘trespassing on another man’s home’ may be brought against Mamba, even though the couple were found at a hotel, not at one of the king’s many palaces. In Swazi cultural law women are considered to be the property of their men (husbands, fathers) so maybe in this case Dube is considered the ‘home’.
That might be going a bit far, even for King Mswati, but I understand Amnesty International has been informed of the situation in case Mamba or Dube’s human rights are violated in the aftermath of the scandal.
We won’t have long to wait for the next dramatic move - King Mswati is due home to Swaziland tomorrow (Wednesday 4 August 2010).
Amnesty International (AI) has issued a special appeal to support political activists in Swaziland. AI appeals for protests to be made to both the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of Police in Swaziland. The full statement and details of the protest are below.
Political activists, human rights defenders and trade unionists in Swaziland are at risk of harassment, ill-treatment and arrest, as the authorities use draconian counter-terror legislation to investigate a spate of government-targeted petrol bombings.
Amnesty International has been in contact with more than a dozen activists in Swaziland who have been harassed, threatened, ill-treated or detained by the Swaziland police since June 2010, under the 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA). Activists have had homes and offices searched, been searched themselves at roadblocks; they have had documents and other materials seized and have been under intense surveillance. Amnesty International is not naming the activists for fear of increasing their risk.
Some of the house searches of individuals, including those accused of being members of, or sympathetic to, banned political organizations, have been conducted without search warrants and in the early morning hours by armed police. Some were denied the right to make calls during the prolonged search operations. Some were later taken to police stations for interrogation about their political activities. Testimony and other information received by Amnesty International indicate that several political activists have been subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment during interrogation. In one case, the victim was allegedly beaten with batons and subjected to suffocation torture. He was released without charge, but remains at risk of further ill-treatment.
Two political activists have also told Amnesty International that armed police recently came to their homes searching for them. Neither were present when the police arrived and do not know when the police may return. Both men have been unlawfully detained and allegedly tortured by the police in the past. Amnesty International is concerned that these men, and several others, may be at risk of ill-treatment again if they are arrested and interrogated by the police in the coming weeks.
High profile human rights defenders and trade unionists have also had their homes searched by armed police, usually under warrants authorizing them to search for evidence of terrorist activities.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English or your own language:
Appeal to the government to ensure that official investigations into the recent spate of bombings in Swaziland are conducted in full compliance with the country’s obligations under international human rights law and in particular regarding the absolute prohibition against torture;
Express your concern that police, during investigations into the bombing incidents, have undertaken prolonged searches at the homes of a large number of alleged members of political organizations and some civil society activists, sometimes without warrants and followed by interrogations involving alleged threats, ill-treatment and torture in several cases at police stations;
Note that while all governments have a clear duty to protect their population from deliberate violent attack, all governments, including Swaziland’s, must adhere to their obligations under international human rights law in responding to incidents or threats of violent attacks.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 31 JULY 2010:
Prime Minister
Dr. Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini
P O Box 395,
Mbabane,
Swaziland,
Fax: +268 404 3943
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
Commissioner of Police
Mr Isaac Magagula
The Royal Swaziland Police Service,
P.O. Box 49,
Mbabane H100
Swaziland
Fax: +268 404 4545
Salutation: Dear Commissioner
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
ACTIVISTS AT RISK IN SWAZI POLICE CRACKDOWN
Additional Information
In August 2008, the Suppression of Terrorism Act was signed into law in Swaziland. The implementation of the law has led to arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment of detainees and the charging of political activists under provisions of law that are vague, sweeping and fail to meet international standards. The law has had an intimidating and silencing effect on political activists calling for democratic reforms and human rights defenders campaigning to address the country’s dire humanitarian situation. In November 2008, the government declared four political organizations, including the longstanding political organizations People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) and the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) to be terrorist “entities” under the provisions of the law.
Many of the circumstances regarding the recent spate of petrol bombings remain unclear. However, it appears that they have been largely targeted against government institutions. There are no reports of loss of life or injury but some damage to property has been caused. In June, two men were arrested and charged under the Suppression of Terrorism Act in connection with the incidents.
Among those directly affected by the current wave of repression are officials and members of trade unions, human rights defenders working with non-governmental organizations, leaders of new political coalitions including the Swaziland United Democratic Front and Swaziland Democracy Campaign, and members or suspected members of PUDEMO and SWAYOCO.
Amnesty International has confirmed information on incidents involving more than a dozen individuals but many other incidents have been reported on which it is seeking confirmation. Some of the political activists have gone into hiding out of fear of detention and ill-treatment.
In late 2005 –early 2006, following a similar spate of petrol bombing in Swaziland, 16 individuals were arrested and charged with treason and other offences. They were released on bail in March 2006 and have yet to be bought to trial. Allegations of suffocation torture, beatings and other ill-treatment emerged at magistrates court hearings. The High Court, when granting bail, ordered the government to investigate these allegations. While the Prime Minister established a commission of inquiry in October 2006, the results have never been made public.
The searches and interrogations of high profile human rights defenders and trade unionists appear deliberately intended to intimidate and undermine their lawful organizing and advocacy work and are evidence of the indiscriminate use and effect of the STA.
