Background
On 12, 13 and 14 April 2011, a coalition of workers’ organisations legally registered and operating within Swaziland set out on a peaceful three-day protest march, aimed at voicing their displeasure at the performance of the current government. This was visited with vicious clampdown by the state.
A constitutional mandate
The state, its agencies and every individual are enjoined by the supreme law of the land to uphold and defend the Constitution. The events in the run up to the protest march fell foul of the mandate of the state to protect the rights of citizens, both those participating and those on the sidelines. Reports abound of citizens who were unlawfully deprived of their communication gadgets, ranging from cellular phones to laptops, detained, abandoned in isolated places, threatened with death by heavily armed state agents, as well as assaulted by these agents.
Freedom of movement
Whilst the state through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in all media platforms stating that Swazis are free to express themselves, on the ground the same state was ensuring that such expression does not take place. This it did through the mounting of numerous roadblocks for the purpose of identifying protestors destined for the protest venue, Manzini. These protestors were then bundled into police trucks and dumped in isolated places miles away from the protest venue. This clampdown on freedom of movement violates the fundamental provisions of the 2005 Constitution as well as Swaziland’s international obligations.
Freedom of expression, assembly and association and the right to privacy
The state of Swaziland maintains that it respects the fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly. However, the state’s behaviour in the run up to and during as well as after the protest marches points to the negative. Citizens who exercised this freedom by talking to the media, in particular foreign media were detained without charge for lengthy periods and treated harshly. Some were physically assaulted by members of the state police. Surprisingly, no charges were preferred against those detained. The fundamental freedoms of assembly and association were also not respected, protected or ensured by the state during this period. Citizens were forcefully disrupted from meetings by heavily armed security agents. The right of citizens to privacy was also violated by state agents on many occasions during the recent protest march, as they illegally went through cellular phones, documents and laptops of citizens they had detained.
State sponsored violence
The protest march was characterised by police brutality directed at those engaged in a peaceful protest. Bystanders were not spared as teargas, rubber bullets and water cannons were fired on members of the public. Some citizens were placed under arbitrary house arrest. It is worth noting that in all these instances, due process of the law was not followed, as the state agents acted unilaterally without the sanction of a court of law. This is very concerning given that there has been an upward trend in police brutality in recent months. That notwithstanding, there is no record of prosecution of a police officer involved in human rights violations, either before or during the recent protest march. This has negatively impacted on the public’s perception of the country’s police service.
Swaziland’s international obligations
The state of Swaziland is not only bound by the provisions of the 2005 Constitution, but also by the many international instruments it voluntarily signs up to and ratifies. Further, it is automatically bound by customary international law, under which the right to human dignity can be located.
Swaziland is party to various United Nations human rights instruments, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, and African Union instruments such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; all of which bind the state of Swaziland not only to protect, but also to ensure and fulfil the rights that its citizens were attempting to exercise during the recent protest march. These rights include the right to engage in a peaceful protest march, the right to dignity, the freedoms of assembly, association and expression, as well as freedom of movement and protection from torture, cruel or degrading treatment. All these protections notwithstanding, the recent protest march was fraught with violations occasioned by state agents.
The Centre therefore calls upon the state, as the primary protector of fundamental rights to:
- Desist from unconstitutional limitations of citizens’ rights and freedoms.
- Ensure that its security forces desist from use of force on citizens engaged in a peaceful protest march.
- Ensure that its security forces desist from unlawful detentions, house arrests, and dumping of citizens in isolated areas before and during protest marches.
- Ensure that security agents who violate the law are brought to book in order to maintain legitimacy of this institution.
The Centre further calls upon the national human rights institution, the Commission on Human Rights and Public Affairs to investigate and take action on these unlawful occurrences.
(N.B. This press release was published by the Centre in the local daily, the Times of Swaziland on Monday 18 April 2011)
