Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of whether Swaziland has violated the Commonwealth Charter; and whether the Government plans to make representations to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to review that country's status.

We regularly press the Swazi Government on the need for democratic reform and respect for human rights in line with the Commonwealth Charter. Furthermore, we remain committed to registering our concerns with respect to the right to freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association contained in the Swazi Constitution. We do not have any current plans to make representations to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group.