Eswatini

Common law in Eswatini criminalizes consensual same-sex intimacy. In April 2022, the High Court in Eswatini rejected a bid by the country's leading LGBTIQ group, Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM), for official recognition as an association. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court in June 2023 declared the Registrar’s decision void based on the approach being outside his powers. The Ministry for Commerce, Industry and Trade still refuses to register the organization because the NGO’s name and objectives allegedly “offend against the customary principles as preserved,” claiming that “in our Swazi law and custom…a man and a woman shall start and maintain a love relationship.” As the organization has again had to approach the court, four UN Special Procedures mandate holders sent letters of communication to the government of Eswatini in November 2023, demanding an explanation on how the refusal to register ESGM complies with international human rights law.

*Outright research indicates that the bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected in this country.