SADC-CNGO calls for intervention in Eswatini crisis
The Southern African Development Community Council of NGOs (SADC-CNGO) has urged SADC to intervene in the eSwatini political crisis. It also implored SADC to call for total restraint and protection of lives and property of Eswatini citizens.
In a statement, acting executive director of the SADC Council of NGOs, Monametsi Sokwe said the regional body has moral obligation to support any member state that is in difficult situation as it is the case in Eswatini. He added that as non-government organisations, they were disturbed by the new developments in the kingdom. Sokwe added they were also deeply concerned about the riots and security brutality on civilians including loss of lives and destruction of property. “We note that the people of Eswatini demand for democratic dispensation in the Kingdom whose poverty rates are as high as 70% and high level of unemployment (World Bank 2020),” stated Sokwe.
“It is our conviction that denying the nation the democratic freedoms while at the same time creating policies that exacerbate inequality, poverty and unemployment including the use of the security agencies in suppressing and suffocating any peaceful protests is tantamount to crime against humanity by the government of Eswatini and is condemned in the strongest terms.” Sokwe noted that the SADC-CNGO reminded the people and government of Eswatini that a democratic right was universally recognised for every nation. He further stated that it was therefore, important for the Eswatini nation to make efforts to respect it including other human rights provisions as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
He emphasised that people of Eswatini have not fully enjoyed civil liberties and freedoms, including that of expression and association. He said it had been a matter of time before people demanded their rights.
Sokwe also pointed out that it had always been their conviction that when that necessary devolution in peoples’ development comes, the government and its security apparatus would be ready to engage peacefully and meaningfully. Moreover, he noted that the current crisis shows clear indication that officer bearers in the trouble-torn African kingdom were never ready to embrace democratic principles of governance. In order to pave a way forward, he said the SADC-CNGO urged all stakeholders in Eswatini to engage in meaningful dialogue that will facilitate the national political and economic reforms agenda for the nation.
“The multi-stakeholders dialogue should involve all political actors such as political parties, civil society formations, labour, private sector, youth, women, amongst others. We call upon the government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to cease hostilities by removing the military from the streets. We call upon the accountability of the government of all who have been killed and injured including burial of the killed in dignity,” he appealed.
“Access of information is a basic human right. We call upon the government to restore the internet in the country to allow for free flow of information for the citizens in the Kingdom. SADC-CNGO is committed to peaceful and democratic processes that protect human rights of the citizens and remain open for assisting in dialogues.”
According to reports, the government of Eswatini launched a ruthless crackdown on human rights in response to pro-democracy protests, with dozens killed and many others tortured, detained or abducted. Various reports from different sources indicate that at least 20 people were killed by State security forces, while six others who participated in the protests were unaccounted for.
They indicate that at least 150 protesters were hospitalised for injuries, including gunshot wounds sustained from live ammunition fired by the police. Since protests erupted last month, human rights defenders and activists had been subjected to an orchestrated campaign of intimidation, including being placed under unlawful surveillance with State helicopters hovering over their homes.
The protesters, led by young activists, are demanding reforms in a country where political activism has been suppressed for years. Eswatini is the last absolute monarchy on the African continent, and authorities use repressive laws, including the 1938 Sedition and Subversive Activities Act (SSA Act) and the 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA), to silence critics. Journalists, human rights defenders and political activists had been jailed for speaking out against that repression of dissent for many years.