UN Authority Figures

UN Economic and Social Council: Eswatini (Swaziland)

Political dissent and civic and labor activism are subject to harsh punishment under sedition and other laws. Additional human rights problems include impunity for security forces and discrimination against women and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people.
Source: Freedom House, 2021. (Photo: Swaziland military, courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Mission of the Economic and Social Council: "The Economic and Social Council is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals." (ECOSOC website, "About Us")

Term of office: 2022-2024

Eswatini's Record on "social development" and "fostering debate":
"Significant human rights issues included: cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; political prisoners or detainees; serious restrictions on free expression and the press; restrictions on political participation; and serious acts of corruption... The law empowers the government to ban publications it deems 'prejudicial or potentially prejudicial to the interests of defense, public safety, public order, public morality, or public health.'... criticism of the king was strongly discouraged by government and traditional leaders."
(U.S. State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2020, Eswatini)

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