Eswatini Monologue Amidst The Country’s Pro-democracy Revolution
Is the African Union (AU) legally bound to intervene during the Eswatini riots?
Introduction
I will invite you on a journey of discovery. This voyage transpired due to ongoing political, economic, and social underlying causations that all together brewed Eswatini’s ongoing “violent” anti-monarchy protests.
For more information, see Unpacking's ongoing Eswatini protests with Dr VVO Mkhize to begin an understanding of this problem.
Looking at the African Union together here, I hope we can determine whether the organization should intervene in any of the aforementioned country’s ongoing deadly riots.
An important disclaimer, I am writing as a Swazi national and an expatriate, and I have asked many questions about the event under discussion through related articles on Medium.
African Union Explained
In all honesty, I have never pondered about the African Union, however, this is such an appropriate time to begin studying the entity in relation to my country’s political strife as explained above.
According to the organization’s website: the Organization of African Unity (OAU) / African Union (AU) is a continental institution composed of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent. It was formally established in 2002 as the successor of the(OAU, 1963–1999).
A brief on the OAU
African heads of state gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, agreed to the charter, and reportedly acted with common convictions that:
- It is the inalienable right of all people to control their own destiny,
- Conscious of the fact that freedom, equality, justice, and dignity are essential objectives for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples,
- Inspired by a mutual determination to promote understanding among our peoples and cooperation among our states in response to the aspirations of our people for brotherhood and solidarity,
- In order to transform this determination into a dynamic force in the cause of human progress, conditions for peace and security must be established and maintained,
- Desirous that all African States should henceforth unite so that the welfare and wellbeing of their peoples can be assured,
- Resolved to reinforce the links between our states by establishing and strengthening common institutions agreed to the present Charter.
I have never been someone that believed a lot in the public establishment’s effectiveness in resolving daily human and nonhuman global strife, and this applies to the OAU & AU.
Although the details of the chapter cited above seem very serious, our focus will not be on it.
Consequently, therefore, we may focus our attention on AU and question its effectiveness in scenarios such as Eswatini.
AU Is Concerned With The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) & Ending apartheid, period!
There aren’t many differences between the two entities. Nevertheless, the African Union 1) was formally established in Durban, South Africa in July 2002, after its predecessor, the OAU, decided in September 1999 to create a new continental organization to build on its work. 2)
The decision to re-launch Africa’s pan-African organization was the outcome of a consensus by African leaders that in order to realize Africa’s potential, there was a need (re)focus its attention from the fight for decolonization and ridding the continent of apartheid.
These two mentioned dedications strike me as telling of the AU’s focus, “development and anti-coloniality” at its conception.
Hence, I am very sceptical of the African establishment’s ability to descend upon post-decolonization African states with the intention to restore human dignity and peace.
Before advancing, I add a concerning news report How South Africa got the AU chair | Citypress detailed that Eswatini’s King Mswati was to become the 2020 AU Chair.
Luckily, the organization’s officials, however, made a desperate plea to South Africa 48 hours before the Southern African Development Community (SADC) met to finalize the absolute monarchy’s candidacy.
They cited “capacity constraints” as the reason eSwatini could not fulfil this duty. Importantly, the last time South Africa served as the chairman of the African Union was in 2002-former President Thabo Mbeki held this position.
I find a lot of irony in the organization’s subsequent decision to award South Africa the job when Eswatini had already invested R4.8 billion into building massive conference facilities for this meeting that have gone to waste.
King Mswati’s Lavish Lifestyle Of African King & 15 Wives Subject Of Democracy Protests was nobody’s secret and the thought of the king chairing the AU, in the first place, was worrying to me as a result.
In a way, I feel as if this organization has never been in solidarity with the kingdom’s citizens whose finances continue to be misused by the current regime in “hosting” AU meetings among other “insignificant” expenditures meanwhile Swaziland: A Story of Survivalliving conditions of the monarchy are deplorable.
I would like to end this segment by agreeing with Rwandan President Paul Kagame who pushed for a stronger AU.
Second, I would like to express my disappointment with other countries preferring a weaker AU that does not interfere in their domestic politics and problems, particularly now that Eswatini is revolting with anti-monarchy.
If the AU was willing to stand in solidarity with Eswatini by questioning historical human rights violations stemming from the current regime this entity would have.
My analysis comes from the realization that within the AU, there are Organs that handle judicial and legal matters as well as human rights issues include- African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), AU Commission on International Law (AUCIL), AU Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC) and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Conclusion
Although writing is an art I value, I believe its highest price is that I may never know who might come across my articles. As a cause, I am happy to challenge anyone from the AU to act better for the continent as many people are suffering at the hands of corrupt, self-serving authorities that this organization dines with and in the Eswatini case, considered for chairing it in 2020.
There you have it, good people, this entity is a club of elites who are not in touch with post-decolonization realities, and it is saddening.
In an overview, it could never be far from the truth that “talk is cheap’’ with regard to the available apparatus with which the AU could dismantle ongoing Africa-wide suffering in the hands of corrupt state authorities.
Instead, this article records this organization agreeing to be hosted by Eswatini for its annual 2020 “meet and greet” as if the hosting nation could spare a dime!
Yea, I think we can safely leave this talk at that the revolting Eswatini citizenry is on its own, as it always has been. Kindly leave your valued comments on the matter, as doing so will continue talks on global affairs.
Until I upload subsequent writing, please take loving care of yourself and those that matter to you.
