The Swaziland government’s contempt for court rulings and judicial independence has allowed impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations, Amnesty International said on Thursday.
In a report released on Thursday, titled Swaziland: Human Rights at Risk in a Climate of Political and Legal Uncertainty, Amnesty International urged King Mswati III to resolve the constitutional and human-rights crisis that has left his country without a court of appeal since 2002.
”Swaziland must back up its recent commitments to international human rights standards by re-establishing the rule of law and confronting the systematic violation of civil, political, economic and social rights,” the body said in a press statement.
The report documents Swaziland’s failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for torture and deaths in police custody, and the denial of freedom of association and peaceful assembly to those perceived as government critics.
Amnesty International said the government is also guilty of undermining the role of courts in protecting the rights of women and girls against forced marriages, including forced marriage to members of the royal family.
”The Swaziland government must put an end to all human-rights violations and ensure that the country’s existing and new obligations under international human-rights law are guaranteed by upholding the rule of law and entrenched in the new Constitution,” Amnesty said. — Sapa