Background
A former French and British colony, Seychellois society has been shaped by a history of slave labour and trade, resource exploitation, and racialised socioeconomic inequality. In 1756, the French administration occupied Seychelles. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, France was forced to give Seychelles to Britain as a condition of the Treaty of Paris of 1814, and the country was administered as a dependency of Mauritius. Like the French, the British profited from both economic and social exploitation based on slave labour. On 31 August 1903, Seychelles became a separate Crown colony, independent from Mauritius.[1] It continued to be dependent on grants-in-aid from Britain until the 1960s.
In 1964, the decolonial movement began in the country, with growing political nationalism and the establishment of political parties, particularly the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) led by James Mancham and the Seychelles People’s United Party (SPUP) led by France-Albert René. SPUP campaigned for socialism and independence from Britain, while SDP campaigned for greater integration with Britain, focusing on the interests of businesspeople and landowners. In 1966, SDP won the legislative elections. In November 1970, a new Constitution was enacted, enabling universal suffrage and a government council with an elected majority. In April 1974, elections were held, and both political parties campaigned for the country’s independence from Britain.[2] In 1975, a coalition government of SPUP and SDP was formed. On 29 June 1976, the Seychelles gained independence from Britain and were governed by the coalition, with Mancham as president and René as prime minister.
On 5 June 1977, René successfully conducted a coup, overthrowing Mancham as president.[3] The Constitution was suspended and the National Assembly dissolved. In 1979, a new Constitution was enacted, establishing Seychelles as a one-party state. From 1978, the Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF), formerly SPUP, became the only authorised political organisation, and René was the only presidential candidate in the 1979, 1984 and 1989 elections. In 1981, Mike Hoare, supported by South African, Zimbabwean and ex-Congo mercenaries, conducted a failed coup. In August 1982, the government was threatened by an army mutiny, but the mutiny was stopped by armed security forces and Tanzanian-supported troops.
Nicknamed the ‘kingmaker,’ René is considered one of the most influential leaders in Seychelles history. Politically a socialist, he advocated for Seychellois economic and political independence. René is admired for improving the standard of living for many civilians, particularly the Seychellois Creole population, by implementing policies that promoted racial equality. Despite this, the white minority (Franco-Seychellois) still dominated leadership positions in the government.
Following the failed 1981 coup, René enacted waves of repression against all opposition actors. René is accused of committing human rights violations, including systematic torture, forced disappearances and politically motivated murders.
At the end of 1991, under pressure from international actors, particularly France and Britain, René established a multi-party system. In December 1991, the Constitution was amended to allow for the registration of political parties. In July 1993, Seychelles held its first multi-party presidential and legislative elections, with René winning by a majority. He again won the 1998 presidential election and was president until 2005.
In 2006, James Michel, the former vice president, was selected as the candidate of SPPF and won the presidential elections. He was re-elected in the May 2011 elections and served his second term. In early 2015, Michel announced he was running for a third term. In December 2015, he won his third term but resigned in September 2016 and handed the presidency to the vice president, Danny Faure of the SPPF, in October 2016. On 26 October 2020, for the first time in 40 years, SPPF did not win the election. Opposition leader and Anglican priest Wavel Ramkalawan won by 54.9% and continues to be president.
The Seychelles’ experience of transitional justice is mainly in the form of a truth commission.
Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission
On 6 September 2018, Faure passed the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission Act 9, enabling the establishment of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC) to investigate human rights violations committed during and after the 1977 coup.[4] The commission was mandated to document the truth of alleged abuses, ascertain an accurate and objective public record of the complaints of alleged violations, bridge divisions caused by any violations, provide closure for the victims and perpetrators of the violations, determine appropriate reparations for victims, grant amnesty, and establish provisions for guarantees of non-recurrence.[5]
The commission’s criteria for human rights violations included unlawful killing, unlawful imprisonment or other deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, enforced disappearance, kidnapping, forceful eviction from a legally owned building or land, unjustified acquisition or loss of property or business, wrongful denial of the right to employment, forced exile, abuse of office by a government official including the executive, judiciary or legislature, or other acts of a similar character causing suffering, or injury to body or mental or physical health.
The commission was composed of five commissioners, including Vice Chairperson Michael Green and Commissioners Marie-Therese Purvis, Jacques Gbilimou and Archbishop James Wong. It had a three-year mandate, operating from August 2019 until August 2022. During its operations, its public hearings were broadcast live on television and social media platforms, including Facebook. Up to 499 cases were filed, but only 374 complaints of human rights violations committed during one-party rule between 1977 and 1993 were considered by the commission.[6] Many named perpetrators appeared before the commission, but no formal amnesty proceedings were conducted.[7] The commission’s investigative findings revealed deaths, unlawful killings and other human rights violations committed during the coup and the one-party state.
On 31 March 2023, the TRNUC’s final report was handed to the National Assembly, which was later made available only on its website. Since the commission’s conclusion, the National Assembly has called for implementing the commission’s recommendations to complete its mandate and preserve the objectives of reconciliation and national unity. It has called for establishing a successor body where decisions are made based on the recommendations and implemented by state institutions.[8]
Gender
Seychelles has historically been a matrifocal or matriarchal society, meaning women have been heads of household and men have played less of a role. This is directly a consequence of the country’s history of slavery. Single-parent families headed by women were a prominent characteristic of slavery.[9] This is reflected in today’s Seychellois society, which has a high level of single-parent women-led households, where women are primarily responsible for domestic and unpaid labour.[10]
Under the Code Noir, established by the French Crown in 1724, all African and Creole men, women and children were treated as colonial chattel, meaning the property of slave owners. Significantly, African and Creole men were separated from the household and forced into slave labour. African and Creole women, including their children, were under the ownership of slave owners, replacing the father. Children had the mother’s status, with the father was forcibly absent from the household and removed from the lineage of the child.
Slave labour in Seychelles, like many other accounts of slavery, was gendered. Enslaved women experienced extreme sexual violence, including systematic rape and sexual exploitation for colonial sexual exploits and the intent for women to provide slave offspring for the larger profit of the French and British colonial administrations. Many African and Creole women were exploited and forcibly participated in reproductive labour. Beyond financial and labour exploitation, enslaved women and men were sexually exploited and often experienced sexual regulation at the command of enslavers, further disempowering and subjugating them.
The abolition of slavery introduced the patronage system for women, wherein formerly enslaved women received housing (property) from enslavers, meaning they were economically empowered over formerly enslaved men. Working-class women controlled the family finances and generally led the family household. Since abolition and emancipation, women have held property ownership, economic subsistence, and a significant public profile. In 2022, women represented 40% of management in the private sector and 23% of elected positions in the National Assembly. Despite this, women were only eight among 35 members elected in the 2020 elections. The country has a wage gap of 19%, and men are more likely than women to secure higher-paying jobs.[11]
Significantly, women’s power is primarily limited to the private space, which is the household. The matrifocal system is specific to Creole families and communities. Comparatively, Indian and Chinese minority groups experience a patriarchal system. In these communities, men are public figures and lead the household. The gendered relations in Seychelles are intersectional, as they are specific to race and class. The white, Indian and Chinese populations remain property owners and landowners. Since they own much of the capital, the broader Seychelles society follows patriarchal and exploitative norms that subjugate both the Creole and African communities, specifically women. This is shown by Creole and African women and girls disproportionately being impacted by poverty and labour exploitation.
International Actors
On 15 December 1981, United Nations Security Council Resolution 496 was adopted to establish a commission, with the assistance of the secretary-general, to investigate the coup attempt by foreign mercenaries, including South African mercenary Mike Hoare, and the hijacking of an Ait India plane on 25 November 1981. On 15 March 1982, the Security Council Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate the origin, background, and financing of the 25 November 1981 mercenary aggression against the Republic of Seychelles. It also assessed and evaluated economic damages and submitted its report to the Security Council.[12]
On 17 November 1982, the Commission of Inquiry submitted a report of its findings. The commission focused on the economic consequences of mercenary aggression. It recommended the establishment of a Special Fund to assist with economic reconstruction and an Ad Hoc Committee to coordinate and mobilise resources for the Fund. From its findings, seven captured mercenaries were accused, but only five were tried and found guilty.
More recently, during the TRNUC, the United Nations and the State Department of the United States were among the international actors providing technical support, including legal counsel and funding. The State Department further developed guidelines for amnesty provisions. Significantly, the commission’s inclusion of amnesty in its mandate prohibited international support, with many international actors hesitating to associate and involve themselves in the commission’s processes.[13] This negatively affected the financing of commission operations.
[1] Richard B. Allen, ‘History of the Seychelles,’ Oxford Research Encyclopedias, African History, October 19, 2022, https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00799/91111/96767.pdf
[2] Jean-Baptiste Qeau and British Mauritius, ‘History of Seychelles,’ Scientiaen, February 2021, https://scientiaen.com/History_of_Seychelles
[3] Electoral Commission Seychelles, ‘A history of elections in Seychelles,’ 2024, https://www.ecs.sc/index.php/voting/how-to-vote/2-uncategorised/24-a-history-of-elections-in-seychelles
[4] Diana Benoit, ‘How is Seychelles dealing with its past? Expectations and realities,’ Seychelles Research Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1 (2022).
[5] Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission Act, 2018, September 14, 2018, https://atjhub.csvr.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/TRNUC-Act-2018.pdf
[6] Rita Gay, ‘Seychelles truth commission completes its mandate in hardship,’ JusticeInfo, May 10, 2022, https://www.justiceinfo.net/en/91901-seychelles-truth-commission-completes-its-mandate-in-hardship.html
[7] Benoit, 55.
[8] Betymie Bonnelam, ‘Seychelles national assembly calls for TRNUC successor body to be created,’ Seychelles News Agency, August 18, 2023, http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/19162/Seychelles+National+Assembly+calls+for+TRNUC+successor+body+to+be+created
[9] Penda Choppy, ‘Women in Seychelles,’ May 20, 2020, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Penda-Choppy-3/publication/342330559_Women_in_Seychelles_Women_in_Seychelles/links/5eede3cb458515814a6edb52/Women-in-Seychelles-Women-in-Seychelles.pdf
[10] African Development Bank Group, ‘Seychelles country gender profile: The linkages between gender productivity, and poverty,’ January 2023, https://www.afdb.org/sites/default/files/documents/projects-and-operations/230302-bad_seychelles_eng.pdf
[11] Anne Okello, ‘AD703: In Seychelles, majority support gender equality, think greater efforts are needed,’ Afrobarometer, September 22, 2023, https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad703-in-seychelles-majority-support-gender-equality-think-greater-efforts-are-needed/
[12] United Nations Security Council, ‘Supplementary report of the Security Council Commission of Inquiry established under resolution 496 (1981),’ November 17, 1982, https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/40868/files/S_15492-EN.pdf
[13] Justin Loveland, ‘Amnesty and accountability in Seychelles,’ Just Security, October 22, 2021, https://www.justsecurity.org/78712/amnesty-accountability-in-seychelles/
