The
full realization of fundamental rights and freedoms continue to be a myth in
Swaziland as the Swaziland government is in the process of adopting a code of
practice for protesters. According to the Sunday Times, this code is allegedly
being drafted in conjunction with the International Labour Organization (ILO)
and trade unions. With the code, the government seeks to regulate protected
protest and industrial actions. Once promulgated, it will be adopted as an
amendment to the Public Order Act of 1963 which ILO and the international
community have called for review.
The
Public Order Act regulates the holding of public meetings in Swaziland and
requires police permission for the holding of certain categories of meetings
and authorizes the police to control or prevent public meetings. The order
authorizes among others the gathering or assembly of members of lawfully
registered trade unions solely for purposes of that trade union’s lawful
activities. Also the Act permits a gathering convened and held exclusively for
social, cultural, charitable, recreational, religious, professional and
commercial or industrial purposes. It is important to note that the Act does
not include meetings or public activities for political purposes and as a
result of this deficiency many political activists and members of political
parties have been arrested in the past for engaging in such meetings. This Act
has also been used by the government to restrict labour movements from holding
public gatherings and protest marches for collective bargaining.
The
government has intensified restrictions on freedom of association and assembly
in the past few years despite the constitution which guarantee same. According
to section 24 of the Constitution, a person has a right to freedom of
expression and opinion and such shall not be hindered without the free consent
of such person. Furthermore, the Constitution guarantees the rights to freedom
of assembly and association in section 25. Under the proposed code workers
would be required to obtain permission of the route they will use for their
protest from the municipality and further notify the police of the starting
time and the estimated number of participants. Notably is the discretion that
is vested on the police to determine if a protest action will be a danger to
public peace and deny permission for holding such event. According to the code,
the police have a general duty to uphold the law and may intervene if there is
reasonable apprehension of breach of peace and particularly if there is
anticipated violence.
In
Swaziland, the police have been very brutal on protesters resulting to deaths
and severe injuries. Workers have been beaten and arrested by the police for
wearing and carrying promotional material for the Trade Union Congress of
Swaziland (TUCOSWA) which was deregistered by the Swaziland government early
this year. The Swazi government has used the police and other security agents
to intimidate and punish protesters who challenge the current regime. During
Swaziland’s human rights status review in March this year, the international
community recommended that the Public Order Act and other repressive laws be
reviewed to allow the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms. This proposed code is
therefore nothing but a reaffirmation of the Public Order Act since it does not
include activites by political parties and bestow a wide discretion on the
police. If the code is eventually adopted by stakeholders we anticipate the
conntunued refusal by the police and local authorities to grant permition for
protest marches and the strategic deployment of mass security agents who at
times even outnumber protesters.
