Mbabane– Migrant workers, asylum seekers and immigration detainees could be left without access to the country’s human rights complaints mechanism under the proposed Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration Bill, according to the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC).
Melusi Simelane of SALC, working with Lilungelo Lakho partners, raised the concern in a detailed section-by-section analysis of the Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration Bill, 2025.
Simelane said Section 19 of the Bill, read together with its definition of a “visitor”, could prevent some people living or being detained in Eswatini from bringing complaints before the Commission.
The analysis states that the Bill allows complaints involving a citizen, resident or qualifying visitor, but argues that a migrant worker, asylum seeker or immigration detainee may fall outside those categories.
This, according to SALC, could mean that a person alleging a serious violation while in State custody may be unable to approach the Commission because of their immigration status.
SALC is calling for the provision to be changed so that the Commission’s jurisdiction is determined by the alleged conduct and whether it occurred within Eswatini’s jurisdiction or effective control, rather than the complainant’s nationality or immigration status.
The organisation also wants every detained person to have access to the complaints process, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
Simelane further argues that the proposed three-year limit for complaints should allow extensions where there is good cause, where violations are continuing or where a complainant is particularly vulnerable.
The analysis also proposes that complaints should be accessible through oral submissions, language assistance and disability-friendly procedures.
SALC says the Bill already contains important protections, including provisions allowing complaints to be made by someone on behalf of another person and preventing complaints from being rejected solely because they are not submitted in the prescribed form.
The organisation therefore argues that Parliament should preserve these accessibility provisions while removing restrictions that could prevent certain categories of people from accessing the Commission.
The proposed legislation seeks to provide detailed statutory powers and procedures for the Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration, which was established under Section 163 of the Constitution.
SALC and Lilungelo Lakho are also calling for the Commission to have stronger detention-monitoring powers, including access to all places where people may be deprived of liberty, private interviews with detainees and protection against reprisals.
The analysis says these changes would strengthen the Commission’s ability to investigate alleged rights violations and make its complaints mechanism accessible to people within Eswatini’s jurisdiction.
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