Communist Party of Swaziland

CPS statement on the International Day of Peace

Monday, 21 September 2026: Today, the United Nations observes the International Day of Peace and, per this year’s theme, calls upon all to invest in peace – for everyone, everywhere, every day.

For the Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS), building the architecture of peace and justice cannot be possible without at one and the same time fighting against imperialism. Imperialist policies, including wars and all forms of aggression, have caused untold misery to the people of the world.

The people of Palestine have not known peace for decades. Following the occupation of their land by colonial Britain, the situation has worsened for Palestinians since the occupation of their land by the Zionist Israeli regime in 1948. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, imprisoned, tortured, and displaced by the Israeli regime which rules through an apartheid policy. Almost 75,000 people in Gaza have been killed since 7 October 2023 by the genocidal Israeli regime. As the CPS, we reiterate our message of solidarity and call for justice for the people of Palestine as they pursue their liberation struggle.

We also call for solidarity with the people of Iran in the defence of their right to self-determination. The US-Israeli illegal war on Iran has devastated the people of Iran. Already, the United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission has found that the US may have committed war crimes when it carried out two strikes on Iran in February 2026 – one on a primary school in Minab, the other on a sports complex in Lamerd. We call for the United Nations to bring to account those responsible for these crimes.

Wars still beleaguer the people of Sudan and South Sudan, again with imperialist forces playing a big role in perpetrating those wars – and consequently benefitting thereof. In the devastating war in Sudan, more than 150,000 lives have been lost, with millions displaced. The healthcare system has been destroyed. We stand in solidarity with the people of Sudan and South Sudan as they seek to rebuild their lives. We condemn the imperialist forces that continue to perpetrate strife in that region.

The CPS also stands with the people of Cuba in defence of their country from US aggression. We also stand with the people of Venezuela and demand the release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from US imprisonment. We also stand with the people of Western Sahara in their struggle for freedom from Moroccan colonialism. To the people of Kurdistan, we also express our message of solidarity and demand the unconditional release of Comrade Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in İmralı prison, Türkiye, under conditions that are in violation of basic human rights since 1999 for his just fight for justice for the Kurds. On the other hand, the war in Yemen has led to over 377,000 deaths. We condemn the role of imperialism in causing these deaths in Yemen.

In observance of the International Day of Peace, we support people’s struggles in Africa and across the world that are geared towards justice and peace. In all these wars and conflicts, women are particularly heavily impacted. Wars are always accompanied by sexual violations and murder. We call for progressive people across the world to unite in the fight against patriarchy, for the emancipation of women from all forms of subjugation.

In Swaziland, the people continue to languish under the rule of the absolute monarchy. Poverty and misery are a direct result of the tinkhundla system which also enjoys protection from imperialist forces. The CPS calls for the unconditional unbanning of political parties, release of political prisoners and safe return of political exiles.

#InvestInPeace.

ISSUED BY THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SWAZILAND