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TITLE:  SWAZILAND HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995









                           SWAZILAND


Swaziland is governed as a modified traditional monarchy with
executive, legislative, and (with some limitations) judicial
powers ultimately vested in the King (presently Mswati III).
The King rules according to unwritten Swazi law and custom, in
conjunction with a newly elected Parliament and an accompanying
structure of published laws, implementing agencies, and an
independent judiciary.  Despite the 1993 parliamentary
elections and the election of regional and local councils in
September and October, political power continues to rest
largely with the King and his circle of traditional advisers.
The 1968 Constitution, originally suspended by the present
King's father in 1973, remained in suspension.  The King
routinely issued decrees, based upon this 1973 suspension,
which carry the force of law.

Both the Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force and the Royal
Swaziland Police operate under civilian control and are
responsible for external and internal security.  The police
harassed and arrested political activists from prohibited
political organizations.  There were credible accusations of
excessive force and abuse by the police in the interrogation of
criminal suspects in 1994.

Swaziland has a free market economy, with relatively little
government intervention.  The majority of Swazis are engaged in
subsistence agriculture, although a relatively diversified
industrial sector now accounts for the largest component of the
formal economy.  The economy relies heavily on the export
sector, especially the sugar industry, composed primarily of
large firms with predominantly foreign ownership.  A
governmental organization maintains large investments in all
major sectors of the industrial, agricultural, and services
economy.

There was little change in the human rights situation in 1994.
The Government restricted freedom of assembly, continued
prohibitions on political activity and parties, moved to
curtail the one independent newspaper, and detained or arrested
members of political groupings, including seven members of the
newly formed Swaziland Communist Party.  Police continued to
use excessive force, especially during the interrogation of
criminal suspects, and the authorities rarely punished
offenders.  The Government's frequent use of a nonbailable
offense provision, strengthened by act of Parliament in 1994,
led to some overcrowding in detention facilities.  Legal and
cultural discrimination and violence against women remained a
serious problem.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of such killings.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearance.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

There were no reports of the use of torture, but police
brutality continued to be a major problem.  Criminal suspects
routinely complained that police beat them in the course of
interrogations.  The Government failed to prosecute or
otherwise discipline police officers for such abuses.  Courts
do, however, routinely throw out confessions induced through
such physical abuse.  On one occasion, the Government charged a
police officer with the rape of a criminal suspect; at year's
end, the case was ongoing.  The Government continued to refuse
to release the report of an official inquiry into the 1990
"Black Wednesday" incident when police and army units beat
University of Swaziland student protestors.  Student
commemoration of this event in November led to accusations of
property damage and harassment of nonparticipants, and the
early closure of the University.

Prison conditions are poor but not life threatening.  Food is
generally adequate, although sometimes family members must
bring food to supplement the sparse prison diet.  Medical care
is inadequate.  The use of the new nonbail provision led to
some overcrowding in government remand centers, where suspects
are held during pretrial detention (see Section 1.d.).  Women
and juveniles are held in separate prison facilities.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The law requires warrants for arrests in most circumstances,
except when police observe a crime being committed or have
reason to believe that a suspect will flee.  Detainees may
consult with a lawyer of their choice and must be charged with
violation of a statute within a reasonable time, usually 48
hours, or, in remote areas, as soon as the judicial officer
appears.  The authorities generally respect these rights in
practice.

The Government continued to limit provisions for bail by
expanding the crimes appearing in the Nonbailable Offenses
Order, effective August 24, 1993.  The Order originally listed
nine offenses ranging from murder to inciting to riot for which
a defendant cannot be granted bail.  In 1994 the Minister of
Justice, who may amend the list by his own executive act, added
a tenth offense, car theft, to the nonbailable list, after a
rash of armed highjackings in urban areas.  In June Parliament
broadened the standard for the nonbailable act to apply from
"involvement" in the offense to a mere "charge" of the
underlying offense.

In September police harassed and temporarily detained three
members of a banned political organization, the People's United
Democracy Movement (PUDEMO), when the members were discovered
distributing pamphlets advocating a boycott of local elections.

The Government does not use exile for political purposes.
There are no formal barriers to prevent the return of
dissidents.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

Judicial powers are vested in a dual system, one independent
and based on Western law, the other based on a system of
national courts which follows unwritten traditional law and
custom.  In treason and sedition cases, the King can circumvent
the regular judiciary by appointing a special tribunal, which
may adopt rules and procedures different from those applied in
the High Court.  However, this power was last used in 1987.

The modern judiciary consists of the Court of Appeals,
(composed entirely of expatriate, usually South African,
judges), the High Court, and magistrates' courts, which are
independent of executive and military control and free from
intimidation from outside forces.  The expatriate judges, often
distinguished members of their respective bars, serve on the
basis of 2-year, renewable contracts.  Local judges serve
indefinitely on good behavior.  In magistrates' courts, the
defendant is entitled to counsel at his or her own expense.
Court-appointed counsel is provided in capital cases or when
difficult points of law are at issue.  There are well-defined
appeal procedures up to the Court of Appeals, the highest
judicial body.

Most Swazis who encounter the legal system do so through the
traditional courts.  The authorities may bring ethnic Swazis to
these courts for relatively minor offenses and violations of
traditional law and custom.  In traditional courts, defendants
are not permitted formal legal counsel but may speak on their
own behalf and be assisted by informal advisers.  Sentences are
subject to review by traditional authorities and to appeal to
the High Court and the Court of Appeals.  By law, the public
prosecutor has the authority to determine which court should
hear a case, but in practice the police usually make the
determination.  Accused persons have the right to transfer
their cases from the traditional courts.

On October 16, the Government arrested seven members of the
newly formed Swaziland Communist Party who were picketing a
workshop of a local democracy organization.  The authorities
charged them under the 1938 Sedition Act, a broadly written
law, with committing subversive acts and being in possession of
seditious materials.  The trial marked the first use of this
Act in approximately 2 years.  The court acquitted the seven of
the sedition charges after a 2-week trial in November.  It also
acquitted six of the seven of the minor charge of staging a
public demonstration without a permit and gave the seventh, the
party leader and founder, a suspended sentence on that charge.
The Government arrested the party leader and one other for
demonstrations without a permit the following week, releasing
them on bail 3 days later.  These two faced the possible
imposition of a 2-month suspended sentence for a 1993
conviction on the same charge.  The case against the two
continued at year's end.

In 1993 credible reports of the existence of a "secret
committee" led magistrates, concerned about possible inroads on
their judicial independence, to a brief strike.  This "secret
committee," which was allegedly formed to usurp the functions
of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and to discipline
wayward magistrates, reportedly disbanded in the wake of the
strike and criticism from members of the legal profession.
Tighter JSC supervision of magistrates and the institution of a
training and inspection magistrate group to supervise courtroom
performance led to significant reductions in judicial delay in
1994.

The Government held no known political prisoners in 1994.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The law requires a warrant from a magistrate before police may
search homes or other premises, and police generally respect
this requirement in practice.  However, police officers with
the rank of subinspector or higher have the right to search
without a warrant if they believe evidence might be lost
through delay in obtaining a warrant.  While searches without
warrants occur occasionally, the issue of legality of evidence
rarely arises in court.  Opponents of the Government complained
of unlawful police searches and seizures but did not seek
judicial relief in 1994.

There is no evidence that the Government systematically
monitors private correspondence or conversations.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

Freedom of speech, especially on political matters, remains
limited, including in the new Parliament.  The media, both
government-controlled and private, practice self-censorship in
regard to the immediate royal family and national security
policy.  Despite these restrictions, there was an overall trend
toward greater openness, and the two daily newspapers--one
official, one private--treated a range of sensitive topics.
However, the Government moved against its most outspoken
critic, the expatriate owner and publisher of the sole
independent newspaper, through nonrenewal of his business
permit.  While at year's end the publisher's case rested under
appeal with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the paper continued
its critical coverage.  The government-owned television and
radio stations--the most influential media in reaching the
public--generally followed official policy positions.  Private
companies and church groups own several newsletters, magazines,
and one radio station that broadcasts throughout the region.

The practice of self-censorship and the prohibition of
political gatherings limits academic freedom.  After a
student-led commemoration of "Black Wednesday" at the
university in November led to accusations that student
activists had damaged property, harassed nonparticipants, and
engaged in angry confrontations with university administrators,
the university senate voted to close the university
indefinitely.  The university established an informal inquiry
panel to interview students and pass judgment on their fitness
to attend class.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

King Sobhuza's 1973 decree prohibits political parties and
meetings of a political nature and processions or
demonstrations in any public place without the consent of the
Commissioner of Police.  The authorities did not generally
grant permission to hold meetings but did not rigidly enforce
the 1973 decree.  Political organizations often met without the
required permission, without repercussions, including PUDEMO
and the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO).  However, the
threat of police intervention is pervasive, and on at least
four occasions police harassed groups taking part in political
activities, such as peaceful demonstrations and distribution of
political flyers (see Section 1.e.).  These incidents include
the December arrest of 48 PUDEMO members for taking part in a
protest march.

Several traditional forums exist for the expression of opinion,
including community meetings, national councils, and direct
dialog with village chiefs, but they depend on the sufferance
of leaders and are ineffective channels for expressing real
political dissent.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

Followers of all religious faiths are free to worship without
government interference or restriction.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

Swazis may travel and work freely within Swaziland.  However,
for travel abroad, under traditional law, a married woman
requires her husband's permission to apply for a passport, and
unmarried single women require the permission of a close male
relative.  A new Citizenship Law passed in November 1992
removed many ambiguities relating to Swazi citizenship and
nominally enabled nonethnic Swazis to obtain passports and
citizenship documents.  Bureaucratic delays, however, plagued
individuals seeking these documents during the year, in part
due to the common perception that nonethnic Swazis are not real
Swazis.

The Government treats about 7,000 ethnic Swazis from the former
homeland of KwaZulu in South Africa as virtually
indistinguishable from local Swazis and routinely grants them
travel and citizenship documents.

Swaziland's treatment of refugees is considered good by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as well
as the various nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) involved
in the care of these groups.  Largely under UNHCR auspices,
more than 35,000 Mozambican refugees had returned home by
year's end, and the UNHCR officially registered only several
hundred refugees in Swaziland.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

Citizens are not able to exercise this right.  The King retains
ultimate executive and legislative authority, and political
parties are prohibited.  Passage of legislation by Parliament
requires the King's assent to become law, which he is not
obliged to give.  When Parliament is not in session, the King
may legislate by decree under his residual emergency powers.
The King chooses the Prime Minister and, in consultation with
the Prime Minister, the Cabinet.

The King has been under increasing public pressure, including
from within his own Government, to modernize the political
system, especially the archaic system of indirect
representation.

Women have full legal rights to participate in the political
process.  In the new Parliament, there are two women elected to
the House, and four women elected--and two appointed--to the
Senate.  There are no women in the Cabinet.  Three women serve
as principal secretaries, the senior civil service rank in the
ministries.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

The Government permits domestic human rights groups to operate
and in April invited the most prominent group, the Human Rights
Association of Swaziland (HUMARAS), to attend a government
policy seminar.  In 1994 HUMARAS continued to speak out on
human rights issues and served as a mediator in land and labor
disputes.  HUMARAS criticized the Government on several
occasions, including the Government's decision to close the
university following the "Black Wednesday" student protests and
the arrest and trial of the seven Communist Party members in
November (see Section 1.e.).

There were no visits by international human rights
organizations.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The Constitution remains suspended.  However, the Employment
Act of 1980 forbids employers to discriminate on the basis of
race, religion, sex, or political affiliation.

     Women

Women have traditionally occupied a subordinate role in Swazi
society, and the dualistic nature of the legal system
complicates the issue of women's rights.  As traditional
marriage is governed by uncodified law and custom, women's
rights are often unclear and change according to where and by
whom they are interpreted.  In both traditional and civil
marriages, wives are legally treated as minors, although those
who marry under civil law may be accorded the legal status of
adults, if stipulated in a signed prenuptial agreement.

Changing socioeconomic conditions, urbanization, and the
increasing prominence of women leaders in government and civic
organizations are slowly breaking down barriers to equality.
Wives now routinely and successfully execute contracts and
enter into a variety of transactions in their own names.
Nevertheless, despite the 1980 Employment Act requiring equal
pay for equal work, men's average wage rates by skill category
usually exceed those of women.  Moreover, a woman generally
requires her husband's permission to borrow money, open a bank
account, leave the country, gain access to land, or, in some
cases, take a job.

Traditional marriages consider children to belong to the father
and to his family if the couple divorces.  They view children
born out of wedlock as belonging to the mother.  In traditional
marriages, a man may take more than one wife.  A man who
marries a woman under civil law legally may not have more than
one wife, although in practice this restriction is sometimes
ignored.  A Swazi woman may not pass citizenship to her
children.

Couples often marry in both civil and traditional ceremonies,
creating problems in determining which set of rules applies to
the marriage and to subsequent questions of child custody and
inheritance in the event of divorce or death.

Violence against women, particularly wife beating, is common,
despite traditional strictures against this practice.  Women
have the right to charge their husbands with assault under both
the traditional and modern legal systems and frequently do so,
usually in extreme cases when intervention by extended family
members fails to end such violence.  The traditional courts,
however, can be unsympathetic to "unruly" or "disobedient"
women and are less likely than the modern courts to convict men
for wife beating.  Rape is also a common crime and is regarded
by many men as a minor offense.  Even in the modern courts,
sentences frequently amount to no more than several months in
jail or a fine, or both.  The Swazi Legal Code addresses legal
protection from sexual harassment, but its provisions are vague
and largely ineffective.

Several NGO's provide support to groups affected by
discrimination or abuse, including the Swaziland Action Group
Against Abuse which has relations with other civic
organizations as well as the Government to provide forums to
discuss spousal and child abuse and to educate the public on
the rights of abuse victims.

     Children

The Government is concerned with the rights and welfare of
children, and a number of laws directly address children's
issues.  Child abuse is a serious problem in Swaziland.  A
government task force continued to educate the public on
children's issues.

     People with Disabilities

The Government through the Ministry of Home Affairs has called
for equal treatment of the disabled but has not initiated
legislation to prohibit discrimination against the disabled.
For example, there are no laws mandating accessibility for the
handicapped to buildings, transportation, or government
services.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

The Industrial Relations Act (IRA) of 1980 affirms the right of
trade unions to organize and associate freely.  It permits
workers in all sectors of the economy, including the public
sector, to join unions.  Unions operate independently of
government or political control, provided they act as economic,
rather than political, organizations.  The main trade union
federation is the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU).
The Swaziland Federation of Labor, a breakaway union formed
from the SFTU in 1993, gained formal recognition from the
Government in 1994.

Unions are free to draw up their own constitutions within the
framework of the IRA.  The act specifies a number of provisions
which must be addressed in a constitution, including the
election of officers by secret ballot.  The Labor Commissioner
must approve the union constitution, and he can strike out or
amend provisions which violate the law.  The Government may
dissolve unions which fail to maintain proper registration with
the Labor Commissioner without recourse to judicial review, but
it has never exercised this authority.  The law prohibits
strikes in "essential" services, which cover electricity,
water, fire, health, sanitary, telephone, telegraph and
broadcast, and teaching services, and many civil service
positions.

The IRA details the steps to be followed when disputes arise,
including what determines a legal or illegal strike.  The act
empowers the Industrial Court to settle employment disputes and
grievances and to enjoin a union from striking.  When disputes
arise, the Government often intervenes to try to reduce the
chances of a strike, which may not be legally called until all
avenues of negotiation have been exhausted.  The Labor
Commissioner may then issue a 14-day postponement, which may be
extended upon presentation of further documentation.

There were a number of strikes in 1994, usually over wages and
benefits.  In February the SFTU called a general strike in
regard to 27 demands presented to the Government.  These
demands addressed a wide range of issues, including recognition
of affirmative action, a national uniform minimum wage, ending
discrimination against women, housing for workers, and
inclusion of workers in constitutional discussions.  The strike
ended after 1 day when the Government agreed to establish a
task force to investigate the 27 demands.  Since the February
strike, occasional discussions between senior union and
government officials ensued, and the task force completed its
report.  Another general strike threat for November 1 resulted
in intensive negotiations between government, labor, and
employers.  Labor suspended the strike call when negotiators
reached basic agreement on 16 of the 27 demands.  As of year's
end, none of the agreed-upon demands had yet been formally
approved by Parliament or published by the Government, and the
SFTU established a new deadline for the first week of February
1995.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts
(COE) has noted discrepancies between the IRA and ILO
Convention 87 on freedom of association and ILO Convention 98
on the right to organize and bargain collectively, both of
which Swaziland ratified in 1978.  The COE concerns include the
powers accorded government officials to control union activity
and the strictures on the ability of workers to form unions and
associate with other unions at home and abroad.  The Government
tolerates the unions' international affiliations but does not
recognize them.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The IRA provides for the right to organize and bargain
collectively and outlaws antiunion discrimination.  Collective
bargaining is widespread; approximately 80 percent of the
formal private sector is unionized.  The Industrial Court may
refuse to register agreements in the event of nonobservance of
government directives on wage levels.  The COE has criticized
this as a violation of ILO Convention 98.

The law obliges employers to recognize a union when it achieves
a 40-percent membership among employees.  Disputes are referred
to the Labor Commissioner and the Industrial Court, if
necessary.  Employers must allow members of legally recognized
unions to attend union activities on company time.  Although
many employers resist recognition and force the issue to the
Industrial Court, the Court has generally ruled in favor of the
unions on recognition.

The law limits the Industrial Court with respect to granting
redress in the case of unfair dismissal.  The Court may not
order reinstatement and may award compensation only to the
extent of 6 months of salary.  Union leadership have on a
number of occasions made credible charges that management in
various industries have summarily dismissed workers for union
activity.  The Government sometimes instigates such dismissals.

There are no export processing zones.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits forced labor, and it is not known to exist.
An ILO representative withdrew an earlier ILO accusation that
forced labor took place in Swaziland.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The Employment Act of 1980 prohibits the hiring of a child
below the age of 15 in an industrial undertaking, except in
cases where only family members are employed in the firm, or in
technical schools where children are working under the
supervision of a teacher or other authorized person.
Legislation limits the number of night hours which can be
worked on schooldays and limits children's work hours overall
to 6 per day or 33 per week.  Employment of children in the
formal sector is not customary.

However, children below the minimum age are frequently employed
in the agricultural sector, particularly in the country's
eastern cotton-growing region.  Children are also employed as
domestic workers, and as herd boys in rural areas.  The
Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcement, but its
effectiveness is limited by personnel shortages.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

Swaziland has a legally mandated sliding scale of minimum wages
depending on the type of work.  These minimum wages generally
provide a worker and family with an adequate standard of living
within the context of Swazi society.  The minimum monthly wage
for a domestic worker is approximately $50 (180 Emalangeni),
for an unskilled worker $70 (250 Emalangeni), and for a skilled
worker $120 (430 Emalangeni).

There is a labor/management/government-negotiated maximum
48-hour workweek in the modern sector, except for security
guards, who work up to six 12-hour shifts per week.  The
Employment Act and the Wages Act entitle all workers to 1 day
of rest per week.  Most workers receive a minimum of 14 days'
annual leave.  The Labor Commissioner enforces standards in the
formal sector.

Extensive legislation protects worker health and safety in
Swaziland.  The Government sets safety standards for industrial
operations and encourages private companies to develop accident
prevention programs.  Recent growth in industrial production
has necessitated more government action on safety issues.
However, the Labor Commissioner's office has conducted few
safety inspections in recent years because of staffing
deficiencies.  Workers have no formal statutory rights to
remove themselves from dangerous work places without
jeopardizing their jobs; nor do any collective bargaining
agreements address the matter.