Govt, EU hold 21st political dialogue
MBABANE – In an effort to find solutions to the political and socio-economic challenges faced by the country, the Government of Eswatini and the European Union (EU) held a 21st political dialogue last Friday.
The dialogue was held in Mbabane and it covered areas including international affairs, political and legislative matters; freedom of expression and access to information; human rights matters; rule of law and judicial matters; trade and economic issues; investment, business environment and development cooperation matters as well as climate change commitments.
EU Ambassador to Eswatini Dessislava Choumelova chaired the meeting, while Eswatini’s acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Pholile Shakantu was the co-chair.
The EU side comprised of EU member States ambassadors accredited to the country from Pretoria and Maputo and senior diplomats. The government side, on the other hand, included Cabinet ministers and senior government officials.
According to the joint communiqué, the parties reiterated their commitments to the shared values of their partnership based on democracy, rule of law and the respect for human rights as stipulated in Article 9 of the Cotonou Agreement.
The EU pledged its continued support to development initiatives in Eswatini.
“On political and legislative matters, the Kingdom of Eswatini provided updated information on the political situation in the country. “The importance of an all-inclusive and timely national dialogue in Eswatini was also discussed,” reads the communiqué. Furthermore, the EU provided the government with information on the consequences of the unprovoked Russian aggression war on Ukraine. The parties also discussed the situation of the ongoing insurgency in Cabo Delgado in Mozambique and Eswatini’s possible support to the region.
Furthermore, Eswatini gave an update on family Bills meant to be aligned with not only the country’s Constitution, but also with international instruments such as CEDAW (UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women) thus strengthening the protection of women’s rights.
Freedom
The meeting also discussed issues of freedom of expression and access to information. To that end, the government provided an update on the status of the Eswatini Broadcasting Corporation Bill of 2019, which aimed to improve the country’s broadcasting sector. Issues of access to information were also discussed.
Moreover, Eswatini also presented an overview of the country’s submissions before the last Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, which took place in Geneva in November 2021. The EU took note of the progress made on some of the recommendations from the previous UPR, including the amendment in 2017 of the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008, the passing of the Public Order Act of 2017 and the implementation of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act of 2018.
Also discussed was progress made by the government on the Human Rights Bill, which marked an evolution in the operationalisation of the Human Rights Commission, as well as the merger of the Human Rights Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission. The EU noted the progress made in that regard.
The non-discrimination of people on the basis of sexual orientation was also discussed, while noting that the registration of LGBTIQ+ association’s case was still pending before courts.
As Eswatini had been voting for several years in favour of the United Nations
General Assembly Resolution on the Moratorium of Executions, the EU once again encouraged the government to consider formally abolishing the death penalty. The dialogue also focused on the rule of law, with the government providing an update on the law reform process to align all laws with the country’s Constitution as well as efforts being made to strengthen the administration of justice in Eswatini.
Commending
While commending the government on the implementation of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act, the EU also encouraged Eswatini to step up efforts in the area of education and training of law enforcement agencies to curb the scourge of violence against women and children. The parties exchanged on Eswatini’s fiscal and economic outlook post COVID-19, the medium-term economic recovery strategies as well as the country’s counteractive measures on the impact of the rising commodity prices and food security threats.
The discussions also covered Eswatini’s progress on the implementation of the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) including the e-commerce Platform.
The government also presented an update on the National Development Strategy (DNS) as well as the National Development Plan (NDP) which are both critical for Eswatini’s socio-economic development with the focus on improving the quality of life in the country including access to health, education, poverty reduction, employment creation, gender equity, social cohesion and protection as well as environmental protection. The meeting agreed that the test for the NDP’s strength would be its successful implementation for the benefit of the country’s citizens.
On other hand, the EU provided an update on its next budgetary cycle (2021 – 2027), the Multi-annual Indicative Program (MIP) for Eswatini which is under the new ‘Global Europe: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument’. Once implemented, the new MIP will concentrate on one priority area - Human Capital Development and Social Inclusion, embracing the standard of living and education dimensions of human development through a focus on two interlinked sectors: Market-driven vocational education and training (TVET) and empowerment of disadvantaged youth and women in vulnerable situations.
Under these sectors, gender equality, girls and women empowerment will be a horizontal priority in line with the objectives of the EU’s Gender Action Plan (GAP) III.
Given the 2023 national elections in Eswatini, the parties agreed that the next Political Dialogue would take place in the first half of 2023, possibly under the new framework of partnership.