Eswatini, Africa's last remaining absolute monarchy, was rated by Freedom House from 1972 to 1992 as "Partly Free"; since 1993, it has been considered "Not Free". During these years the country's Freedom House rating for "Political Rights" has slipped from 4 to 7, and "Civil Liberties" from 2 to 5. Political parties have been banned in Eswatini since 1973. A 2011 Human Rights Watch report described the country as being "in the midst of a serious crisis of governance", noting that "[y]ears of extravagant expenditure by the royal family, fiscal indiscipline, and government corruption have left the country on the brink of economic disaster". In 2012, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) issued a sharp criticism of Eswatini's human-rights record, calling on the Swazi government to honor its commitments under international law in regards to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. HRW notes that owing to a 40% unemployment rate and low wages that oblige 80% of Swazis to live on less than US$2 a day, the government has been under "increasing pressure from civil society activists and trade unionists to implement economic reforms and open up the space for civil and political activism" and that dozens of arrests have taken place "during protests against the government's poor governance and human rights record".
Human-rights problems in Eswatini include, according to a 2011 report by the U.S. State Department, "extrajudicial killings by security forces; mob killings; police use of torture, beatings, and excessive force on detainees; police impunity; arbitrary arrests and lengthy pretrial detention; arbitrary interference with privacy and home; restrictions on freedoms of speech and press and harassment of journalists; restrictions on freedoms of assembly, association, and movement; prohibitions on political activity and harassment of political activists; discrimination and violence against women; child abuse; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community; discrimination against mixed-race and white citizens; harassment of labor leaders; restrictions on worker rights; and child labour in Eswatini".
In August 2011, the International Monetary Fund urged Eswatini's government to implement fiscal reforms to address its deepening crisis. In that same month South Africa agreed to loan Eswatini $355 million on the condition that it institute political and economic reforms. The conditions were rejected.
Human-rights commission Amnesty International noted in 2011 that the Swazi constitution provides for the establishment of a Human Rights and Public Administration Commission. That commission was appointed in 2009, but operates "in the absence of an enabling statutory law", which keeps it "from effectively discharging its mandate and obligations".
Human-rights organizations The organizations most active in human rights in Eswatini include the Eswatini Action Group Against Abuse, Lawyers for Human Rights of Eswatini, Women and Law in Southern Africa, the Council of Eswatini Churches, and the Roman Catholic Church. These and other groups are generally able to operate without restriction, but the government is rarely responsive to their input. The government usually cooperates with the UN and other international bodies.US State Dept 2021 report on Eswatini
In 2011, according to Human Rights Watch, the harassment and surveillance of civil society organizations by police intensified, with activists being "arrested, detained, and tried under security legislation" and charged with treason and other offenses. "Civil society activists and government critics have reported increased incidents of harassment, searches, and seizures of office materials, as well as monitoring of electronic communications, telephones calls, and meetings by the authorities", noted HRW, which added that activists are often subjected to excessive force, torture, and other ill treatment, and that there is no "independent complaints investigation body...for victims of police abuses".
Basic rights The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, disability, age, ethnicity, religion, political opinion, or social status; however, the government does not consistently enforce these prohibitions. Corruption is widespread and is not vigorously combatted. The police forces are considered to be rife with corruption. Principals and teachers take bribes to admit students to schools. Nepotism is common. Authorities commit arbitrary and unlawful killings. Torture by police is not specifically prohibited by law, and a constitutional provision concerning torture is not enforceable; in practice, indeed, security officers use torture frequently, and the use of excessive force by the police is widespread. Mob violence is also a frequent occurrence, with rape suspects, especially, often being beaten by mobs, the members of which are rarely punished. Local government is principally in hands of tribal chiefs who also supervise volunteer rural “community police,” who have the authority to make arrests for minor offenses.
The constitution includes strongly worded guarantees of fundamental freedom, but it also permits the government to restrict or suspend these rights. Amnesty International maintains that these rights are especially threatened by "draconian security legislation such as the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act and the 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA)", and notes that "the provisions of the former Act are vague and can be interpreted in such a manner as to severely curtail the enjoyment of freedom of expression, among other rights, and allow for punishments of up to twenty years' imprisonment without the option of a fine". Amnesty International points out that "provisions in the STA are sweeping and imprecise while the penalties for breaches are severe", with the term "terrorist act" in particular being defined very broadly. Human Rights Watch, too, has used the word "draconian" to describe the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act.
The freedom to move within the country, travel abroad, move abroad, or move back from abroad is generally respected, although tribal chiefs have the power to evict persons from the areas under their authority. The processing of passports and ID documents for non-ethnic Swazis often takes an unusually long time.
Police officers above a certain rank can search private premises without warrants if they profess to believe that evidence might be lost otherwise, and many homes and businesses are in fact entered without court authorization. Members of political, religious, labor, and other groups are subject to police surveillance. In September 2010, police entered the premises of the Foundation for Socioeconomic Justice and harassed visiting Danish citizens, whom they took to the police station. Since 2008 people who aid or abet certain groups - PUDEMO, the Eswatini Solidarity Network (ESN), SWAYOCO, and the Eswatini People's Liberation Army (UMBANE) - have been subject to punishment up to and including life imprisonment under the 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act.
Amnesty International has registered its objection to the 1953 Game Act, which "gives game-rangers or any person acting on their instructions the right to use firearms 'in self defence or if he has reason to believe that his life, or that of any of his colleagues, is threatened or in danger.' This would appear to permit the use of lethal force in situations where there may be no threat to life." The organization has also expressed its concern about police officers who use "excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, use lethal force without justification against criminal suspects, and use torture and other forms of ill-treatment against arrested and detained persons". It cited the Rev. David Matse, then chairman of the Human Rights and Public Administration Commission, as saying in January 2010 "that police and soldiers appeared to be using a 'shoot-to-kill policy'....In cases where Amnesty International sought corroboration, the information clearly indicated that the victims were not posing a threat to life when they were fatally shot". Many persons taken into police custody, moreover, were subject to "severe beatings and suffocation torture, occurring in both informal settings and at police stations", with the targets "usually criminal suspects and government opponents".
Freedom of speech
An individual's freedom of speech or of the press may be waived by the king at will. Freedom of speech is strictly restricted in any event, especially speech about political issues or the ruling family. Criticizing the king is subject to prosecution as sedition or treason, and news media that engage in such criticism risk being closed. Self-censorship by journalists is standard practice. Although newspapers sometimes criticize government corruption, they are almost always careful to avoid criticizing the king and his family. Journalists are regularly threatened and assaulted, and defamation laws are used against them, to restrict their activities.
The government does not restrict cultural events or online access, and does not monitor the Internet, but it does restrict political meetings, and academics routinely engage in self-censorship to avoid trouble with the authorities. The freedom of assembly is strictly controlled, with police permission required, and often denied, for political meetings or public demonstrations. The constitution provides for freedom of association. There is no legal mechanism for political parties to contest elections or appear on a ballot. HRW maintains that the government of Eswatini "has intensified restrictions on freedom of association and assembly in the past few years", with police routinely dispersing and arresting participants in peaceful demonstrations. HRW cited the case of a September 9, 2011, rally in Manzini, at which the police beat up leaders of the opposition Peoples' United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO).
Religious freedom
Eswatini's constitution and laws protect religious freedom, but "minority religious groups enjoy fewer protections under traditional laws and customs, which include traditional courts and the authority of approximately 360 chiefs", according to a U.S. State Department report on religious freedom. "When a religious group's practices conflict with tradition and culture as defined by chiefs, they may direct community pressure against the group." Religious groups must obtain the approval of chiefs before constructing houses of worship. New congregations must submit applications to the authorities through one of three umbrella bodies: the League of Churches, Eswatini Conference of Churches, or Council of Eswatini Churches. Believers practice openly and without interference, with Muslim clergy being permitted access to prisoners and Baha'i schools allowed to close on that religion's holy days. Despite a general respect for religious freedom there is still a degree of societal discrimination, especially toward non-Christian faiths, although this may have roots in ethnic differences.
Women's rights