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| Africa Subsaharan | |
| SADC Fails the People of eSwatini | |
| 2021-08-23 | |
So says Qhawekazi Khumalo, 37, spokesperson of the United eSwatini Diaspora, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that advocates for democratic governance and human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... in the country. Khumalo, who is a member of the South African chapter of the Swazi Lives Matter global solidarity movement, says the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) must execute its mandate to protect human rights by taking decisive action against violations taking place in eSwatini. Speaking at an eSwatini solidarity march to the UNHCR's regional office in Pretoria on 13 August, Khumalo said: "No matter how small [eSwatini] is, we are all part of the human family and surely we deserve the same freedom that everybody enjoys." At a Southern African Development Community (SADC) troika summit of the organ on politics, defence and security cooperation that was held in Lilongwe, Malawi, on 16 August, President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana only afforded two paragraphs to the situation unfolding in eSwatini. He simply said the ministerial and technical fact-finding mission sent on 4 July and again from 15 to 22 July had completed its assignment and the report had been shared with King Mswati III for consideration. The fact-finding mission, which purported to speak to all "stakeholders", ignored eSwatini's banned main opposition party, the People's United Democratic Movement (Pudemo). Lamenting the lack of time, resources, effort and depth of the mission's efforts, Khumalo said: "If you are not able to consolidate everybody who speaks on this system and speaks on change, then what's the point?" A BOYS' CLUB Pudemo president Mlungisi Makhanya says the movement has been disappointed by the indifference of the governments in the region as well as SADC. "What SADC has shown is that it has no interest in the citizens of the region. It is only a boys' club where the leaders, not the people, are what matters. When they approached the issue of Swaziland, what was foremost on their minds was how to serve Mswati and his murderous regime. They have no interest in the killed people of Swaziland, the multitude of people who continue to lie in hospitals and those who continue to languish in Mswati's jails. Their interest is regional stability at the expense of the human rights of the people of the region," he said. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), which was present at the march along with shack dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo and the South African Federation of Trade Unions, called on progressive organizations to support eSwatini's citizens to achieve their demands in the face of King Mswati's brutally | |
| Posted by:Fred |