Crisis in eSwatini Raises Uncomfortable Questions for SADC

The protests in eSwatini, one of the last absolute monarchies in the world, again draw attention to the gap between the stated principles of southern Africa and the realities of the region. In recent weeks, anti-police brutality and pro-democracy demonstrations have gained momentum, sparking a violent response from the authorities, in which dozens of people are reported to be killed. While an uncomfortable calm has reigned, the demands of protesters and the frustration of citizens struggling with economic hardship and irresponsible, pompous leadership will not simply go away. Change seems inevitable, whether cosmetic or fundamental, but remains questionable.

As the region and the world demand the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a leader to avert worst-case scenarios, the organization, which has long been a passive and cumbersome bureaucracy that seemed better suited to suppress initiatives, as they implement, difficulties to adapt to new challenges. Its member states must absorb both the effects of COVID-19 and the effects of climate change. The uprising in Mozambique and the risk of regional contagion have sparked tormented discussions and tensions with the Maputo authorities, which resulted in the decision to deploy troops to stabilize the situation, although the details of this planned intervention are still unclear. And more recently, efforts to deal with the eSwatini crisis have resulted in the organization learning in real time as a mission to calm the situation has been criticized for not paying enough attention to the demands of the monarchy’s critics, prompting the SADC To promise to return more thoroughly, Hear the concerns of eSwatini citizens.

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SADC’s own protocol on political, defense and security cooperation [PDF] connects the organization with the promotion of democracy and the protection of universal human rights. But in practice, SADC member states include strong democracies, authoritarian states and even the absolute monarchy of eSwatini. It has long been the organization’s practice to ignore violations of civil and political rights in the Member States, even when repression slows regional development. But as the challenges of southern Africa deepen and widen, it is clear that a more capable and dynamic organization is needed. This, in turn, may require an end to the era of polite silence and averted gaze when member states violate the rights of their own people.

More to:

In Swaziland

South Africa

Human rights

Regional organizations

Africa southern of the Sahara