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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Secretary-General welcomes new constitution for Swaziland

26 July 2005

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon today welcomed the signing by the King of Swaziland of the new national constitution.

Speaking from Port of Spain , Trinidad and Tobago , where he was addressing a workshop on Government and Opposition for Caribbean Commonwealth countries, the Secretary-General said:

"This is a historic moment for the people of Swaziland and for the growth of democracy in southern Africa . The Commonwealth has been pleased to provide practical support to the constitution drafting process in Swaziland . I warmly commend His Majesty, King Mswati III, in taking this final step to bring the Constitution into effect.

"I would also like to thank the Constitutional Drafting Commission, chaired by Prince David Dlamini, for its successful work, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which has been an important partner in this process.

"The challenge now is in the implementation of the Constitution and in ensuring that the people of Swaziland benefit fully from it. The Commonwealth will continue to work with the Government and people of Swaziland and other partners to support its implementation, both in letter and in spirit."

Note to Editors:

The new Constitution was signed into law by King Mswati III on 26 July 2005 following its adoption by the Parliament. The Commonwealth has been closely engaged with the development of the Constitution, including in the provision of technical expert advisors to the Swaziland Constitutional Drafting Commission.

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