Eswatini

Eswatini is the last absolute monarchy in Africa. For decades, the country has experienced corruption, violence against women, political demonstrations and limitations on political participation.¹ The last two years have seen growing domestic pressure for democratic reforms. Pro-democracy movements have become increasingly active, with many cases of violent attacks on officials and security infrastructure, resulting in tension and armed confrontation between security forces and protesting civil servants.²

The country’s guiding gun control legislation includes the Arms and Ammunition Act of 1964.³ Eswatini’s main international relationships are with South Africa; the Southern African Customs Union (SACU); the Southern African Development Community (SADC); the United States; the European Union; and Taiwan.⁴ The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) has supported capacity building and training on small arms and light weapons issues.⁵

¹ Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2022 Country Report: Eswatini (Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2022), https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/SWZ.

² “Tracking Conflict Worldwide: Eswatini,”  International Crisis Group, 2022, https://www.crisisgroup.org/crisiswatch/database?location[]=150.

³ Philip Alpers, Michael Picard and Clara Mourlevat, Swaziland – Gun Facts, Figures and the Law (GunPolicy.org, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, 2022), https://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/swaziland.

⁴ “Supporting a Meaningful National Dialogue in Eswatini,” Chatham House, March 25, 2022, https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/03/supporting-meaningful-national-dialogue-eswatini.

⁵ Swaziland, National Report on the Implementation of the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA) and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI) (New York: Permanent Mission of Swaziland to the UN, 2018), https://unoda-poa.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/SWZ-English-813-SUBMITTED.pdf.