Eswatini

The national mechanism for implementation, reporting and follow-up in Eswatini is entitled the "NMRF Committee" and is composed of focal persons from all government ministries including the Judiciary and Parliament.

INSTITUTIONAL SETUP

The NMRF Committee was established through a Cabinet Decision in 2020. It is an interministerial structure chaired by the Ministry of Justice.

Composition In addition to line ministries, the national mechanism also has focal points established under article 33 paragraph 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities and from Gender Equality Mechanisms.

Secretariat

The NMRF Committee is serviced by the NMRF Unit/Secretariat constituted by 4 permanently employed staff. Assisting the unit are officials from the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of foreign Affairs. Terms of reference guide the work of the Committee.

MANDATE

The mandate of the national mechanism includes:

• Reporting to UN Human Rights Mechanisms (UN Treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review)
• Responding to individual complaints from UN Treaty bodies Reporting to Regional Human Rights Mechanisms
• Following up on recommendations from human rights mechanisms (Special Procedures, Treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review)
• Providing human rights education and training
• Advocacy

The National mechanism in eSwatini engages with both UN and regional human rights mechanisms.

Process for the preparation of state reports

The nature of the report being prepared informs how the drafting committee should be formed. In most cases the drafting committees are constituted by the members of the NMRF Committees. State report writing is normally executed in seven phased steps:

• Planning and organizing, (NMRF Secretariat – annual workplans)
• Identifying key issues, (capacity building supported by OHCHR, UN Agencies)
• Information gathering, (Request for info through memos)
• Report drafting, (NMRF Secretariat working session)
• Consultation on the draft report, (stakeholder consultation)
• Report finalization, (validation)
• Submission to the treaty body. The meetings are normally held in working sessions, stakeholder consultative processes and bilaterally with duty bearers.

COORDINATION

The "NMRF Committee" members participate on the meetings which are normally convened twice a year (ideally it should be four times a year). Civil society organizations, Academia and the National Human Rights Institution participate on special invitation. On trainings and consultations they are all invited.

Channel of communication with the National Statistics Office The National Statistics Office appointed an official to serve in the national mechanism to serve as liaison officer between the national mechanism and the NSO.

Channel of communication with the Parliament One member of Parliament administration is represented in the Committee.

Channel of communication with the Judiciary 2 members of the Judiciary are represented in the Committee.

In terms of challenges identified, one is that most focal points do not engage fully because of competing responsibilities. Currently, the role of a focal point in the NMIRF is not included in the job description. This function is then secondary as they can continue their own activities while at the same time discharging the additional responsibilities of a focal point. Incentives and more time to be allocated to the focal points for NMIRF-related activities could form part of the solution.

To mitigate these challenges, eSwatini has developed a practice whereby the secretariat of the NMIRF organizes a meeting twice a year with heads of entities to raise awareness on the role of focal points, inform them of the need for their focal points to be regularly engaged, and inform them of the achievements throughout the year as well as challenges. Bilateral follow-ups are done for those who miss these sessions.

CONSULTATION

The Committee occasionally partners with CSOs, NHRI & Faith Based Organization to host sessions/platforms where discussions are had on thematic human rights issues.

The lack of an electronic information management tool is a challenge which eSwatini is working on. In the absence of an information management tool, the NMIRF has developed a spreadsheet that contains all the relevant treaties, the names of relevant ministries, and allows for feedback regarding recommendations pertinent to each line ministry.

In addition, the NMIRF is planning to strengthen its capacity for monitoring reporting and follow-up, which is also ongoing in the civil service through the Ministry of Economics and Development.

There are other spaces where the NMIRF meets with different actors, such as the NHRI and the CSOs. Updates to these stakeholders are sent through the NMIRF meetings or emails.

eSwatini has developed a UPR Recommendations Implementation Plan.

NMRF Unit, Ministry of Justice