Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported that the government of Eswatini has failed to ensure accountability for the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters by security forces that began two years ago.
Development Diaries reports that the crackdown led to the killing of at least 46 people, as well as other serious human rights abuses, according to HRW.
Since pro-democracy demonstrations began in May 2021, the government of Eswatini has intensified its clampdown on dissenting views by arresting government critics on bogus charges, interfering with peaceful assembly, and resisting calls for democratic reforms.
It is understood that the government has failed to conduct a transparent, independent, and impartial investigation into the killings and other human rights violations resulting from the security forces’ excessive use of force.
‘The government needs to realise that the movement for human rights and justice is not going to go away and that it needs to end its repression’, South Africa Researcher at HRW, Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka, said.
Although the country has committed to international human rights law and basic rights, the 1973 decree banning political parties has remained in force.
This violates the fundamental right to freedom of association and to participate freely in the government of one’s country, either directly or through freely chosen representatives, as protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The prime minister and cabinet are still appointed by the monarch of Eswatini, who also has the absolute right to dissolve the legislature.
Freedom House, in its 2023 Freedom in the World report, ranked Eswatini ‘not free’, with the country scoring 17 out of a possible 100.
Development Diaries calls on the Eswatini government to review the 1973 decree to allow for free political participation.
We also call on the Eswatini Commission on Human Rights to investigate matters of human rights abuse in the country and ensure that all political prisoners are released.
Source: HRW
Photo source: ITNA
