Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Swaziland.htm
Swaziland is a
source, destination, and transit country for women and children trafficked
internally and transnationally for the purposes of commercial sexual
exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor in agriculture. Swazi
girls, particularly orphans, are trafficked internally for commercial sexual
exploitation and domestic servitude in the cities of Mbabane and Manzini, as well as to South Africa and Mozambique. Swazi
boys are trafficked for forced labor in commercial agriculture and market
vending. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009
Check out ta later
country report here and possibly a full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Eswatini. Some of these links may lead to websites that
present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No attempt
has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking for
material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of particular
interest to you. Would you like to
write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons
between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Human trafficking
rife in SA Lebogang Seale,
Independent Online (IOL) News, 7 December 2006 www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/human-trafficking-rife-in-sa-1.306483 [accessed 27
December 2010] They are promised a
better life in South Africa, but instead they are kidnapped, branded and sold
into sexual slavery for as little as R380. Women and children, some as
young as 13, are falling prey to syndicates operating in Mozambique and Eswatini,
trafficking and smuggling them to South Africa on an unprecedented scale. ***
ARCHIVES *** Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/eswatini/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 8 July
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Residents have some
access to formal employment and economic opportunity, but the majority of the
population lives in poverty. Forced labor remains a problem, with some chiefs
compelling Swazis, including children, to work in their communities or the
king’s fields. Among other forms of child labor, girls are particularly
vulnerable to domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Eswatini U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/eswatini/
[accessed 27 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR Forced labor
occurred almost exclusively in the informal sector, where labor laws applied
but were rarely enforced. Forced labor,
including forced child labor, takes place in the sectors of domestic work,
agriculture, and market vending. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT Children were
employed in the informal sector, particularly in domestic services and
agricultural work such as livestock herding. This work might involve
activities that put at risk their health and safety, such as working long
hours, carrying heavy loads, being exposed to pesticides, and working alone
in remote areas. Child domestic
servitude was also prevalent, disproportionately affecting girls. Such work
could involve long hours of work and could expose children to physical and
sexual exploitation by their employer. Children’s exploitation in illicit
activities was a problem. Children, particularly in rural areas, grew,
manufactured, and sold cannabis. Human
Trafficking Stretches Across the Region Moyiga Nduru, Inter
Press Service News Agency IPS, Benoni, South Africa, 23 June 2004 www.ipsnews.net/2004/06/rights-southern-africa-human-trafficking-stretches-across-the-region/ [accessed 17
February 2015] Women from rural China,
many of them poorly-educated, are often brought to South Africa, said
Martens. The women are flown to Johannesburg, and then taken to Swaziland, Lesotho or Mozambique.
They then cross the border back into South Africa - all this in a bid to
circumvent airport immigration controls. Swazi trafficking James Morrison, The
Washington Times, 24 January 2006 www.questia.com/library/1G1-143633935/swazi-trafficking [accessed 26 June
2013] The ambassador from
Swaziland said yesterday that the tiny southern African kingdom is victimized
by smugglers who sell women into prostitution and children into forced
labor. Ambassador Ephraim M. Hlophe
added that his government endorsed the anti-trafficking bill President Bush
signed Jan. 10. SOUTHERN AFRICA:
South Africa regional centre for human trafficking U.N. Integrated
Regional Information Networks IRIN, Johannesburg, 23 June 2004 www.irinnews.org/report/50363/southern-africa-south-africa-regional-centre-for-human-trafficking [accessed 12
September 2011] "The women
stay in transit houses along South Africa's border with Mozambique and Swaziland for a night, where they are
sexually assaulted as an initiation. They are then smuggled into Johannesburg
and are kept in safe houses in Soweto and Lenasia until they are sold to
brothels in Gauteng or KwaZulu-Natal for R1,000 (about $160)," Martens
said. The women are also sold as wives to South African men for R650 (about
$104). The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor U.S. Dept of Labor
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2005 www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/swaziland.htm [accessed 27
December 2010] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor CHILD
LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - Forced and bonded labor, including by children, is
also prohibited. Children are protected by law against child
pornography and sexual exploitation. There is no law prohibiting
trafficking in persons. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) [DOC] UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 29 September 2006 www.refworld.org/docid/45c30bc10.html [accessed 18
February 2018] [61] The Committee
notes the brief assessment of child labour that was undertaken in the State
party but is concerned about the limited information on measures the State
party intends to take, or has undertaken, to prevent and eliminate child
labour. The
Protection Project - Swaziland [DOC] The Paul H. Nitze
School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), The Johns Hopkins University www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/swaziland.doc [accessed 2009] FORMS
OF TRAFFICKING
– Young girls have been lured to South Africa from Swaziland for forced
prostitution. Trading of emergency food aid for sexual favors has been a
problem in Swaziland. Women and children have been told that they must have
sex with warehouse managers or truck drivers so they can receive the food
aid. ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61595.htm [accessed 11
February 2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons, and there were reports of
trafficking of small numbers of women and girls. Underage Mozambican and
Swazi girls reportedly worked as prostitutes in the country or were
trafficked to South Africa for domestic work or prostitution. There is no
government agency specifically responsible for combating trafficking. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery -
Swaziland", http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Swaziland.htm, [accessed
<date>] |
