THE RATIFICATION OF TREATIES, PROTOCOLS

I have mentioned in earlier articles that it is easy for government to sign and endorse international documents and then struggle to implement the provisions of those documents.

When signing them, government is committing to implementing what appears in those documents. It is one of the leading stories these days that government signed a number of international protocols in record time. This was done through those we think are our watchdogs, parliamentarians. I was, however, flabbergasted to then hear parliamentarians saying they were not aware of what they were signing.

My surprise is that we have witnessed these things in the past and we do not learn. We will then hear government complaining that they are forced by the international community to do things that they are not in agreement with because they are against our way of life.

This has happened in the past. When you follow why the international community demands that we act in a certain way, you discover that government signed and endorsed certain documents that called upon the country to act in the way the international community is demanding.  Swaziland signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2004. In terms of the covenant, the country agreed to respect civil and political rights of the people of Swaziland.

Whether we do respect those rights or not is not the discussion of this article but in terms of the covenant, Swaziland was supposed to submit a report to this effect in June 2005. This report will allow the country to be reviewed by the Human Rights Committee on its implementation of civil and political rights in the kingdom. It is now over a decade and government has not submitted a single report. One then wonders why?

Were we ratifying just to tick boxes and please other countries that we are also of the same idea as everyone? The confession by parliamentarians has revealed that they sign not knowing what is in the document.
Looking at the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) the country was to submit its initial report in 2005 and subsequent reports thereafter.

This is usually after a period of four to five years depending on the human rights situation in that country. If the human rights situation needs attention then the Human Rights Committee may advise that a follow up report be made the following year or within a period determined by the committee. It is in this report where the government report on measures it has adopted which give effect to the rights recognised in the ICCPR and on progress made in the enjoyment of the rights.

For the report to be balanced and give a true reflection of what is happening on the ground, all relevant departments and bodies should be involved in its drafting. These include civil society and non-governmental organisations.

The consultation of all stakeholders is necessary because this is a national report and therefore should reflect the views of everyone involved. The Human Rights Commission also plays a major role in reports where human rights are involved.

The submission of the reports by the State may seem a cumbersome job that is unnecessary yet it comes with a lot of benefits. Besides the monitoring of the enjoyments of the rights by the people of the country, the report helps give an opportunity to review administrative procedures as well as legislation.

We are currently faced with legislation that is archaic and such processes help to have those laws amended because when doing the reports you refer to those laws. The law will easily be aligned with the Constitution unlike what is happening currently. It is through the submission of such reports that the country gets expert opinion on issues happening in the country because the committee is made up of experts. The country also receives assistance because if the recommendations are that the country should attend to something, then it is easy for it to get assistance, citing that it wants to implement the recommendations.
However, it is not all gloom and doom as government does submit reports in certain spheres. I know that a report for CEDAW was submitted but I am not sure whether the report on the rights of the child was submitted yet I know that government did prepare one.



 

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