COMMITTEES

Parliament of Eswatini, 1966 ESWATINI

GROUP: Hybrid

usg.hybrid@munuc.org

EXECUTIVES

  • Luke Diggins
  • Eduardo Gonzalez
Email Committee Chair

The Swazi people settled what is modern-day Eswatini in the 18th century and established their capital in Zombodze. From there, their rulers, the Nkhosi, promptly incorporated the nearby clans through force or diplomacy, consolidating power over the small rural region. In the 20th century, Eswatini became a British protectorate known as Swaziland. British rule came at a high cost as the lands of Eswatini were partitioned such that two-thirds of the territory were for the use of the European colonizers.

The Nkhosi still maintained a high level of autonomy over the remaining one third and it was through that strength that Eswatini managed to remain unified when British power weakened and the Union of South Africa sought to incorporate Eswatini. In 1964, the British and Nkhosi Sobhuza II allowed the election of a small legislative body which, at the time of our committee, had formed a constitutional committee to determine the path following independence from the United Kingdom.

This committee will have delegates put on the shoes of those same representatives who will work together to draft up a constitution determining the structure of the government and the role of the monarch within that government. This will take place over the course of two General Assembly-style sessions. The constitution will be ratified at the beginning of the third session where the committee will then move into a continuous crisis until the end of the conference. There will be political tensions between parties as well as many of the problems that arise from becoming an independent nation. How will Nkhosi Sobhuza II adjust to the role the committee determines for him? How will Eswatini find its place in the modern world?

Documents