# Lesotho - United States Department of State

- Lesotho HomeReportsBureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices&#8230;Lesotho				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lesotho																																					Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																																																																																							Download Report																																																							Translations																																																																 In this section										/																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																																													EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																															Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																																									a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																																											b. Disappearance																																																																											c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses																																																																			Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																																																		d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																																			Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																																																		e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																																			Trial Procedures																																																								Political Prisoners and Detainees																																																																																																																		f. Transnational Repression																																																																											g. Property Seizure and Restitution																																																																											h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																																																	Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																																									a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																																			Internet Freedom																																																																																																																		b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																																			Freedom of Peaceful Assembly																																																																																																																		c. Freedom of Religion																																																																											d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																																											e. Protection of Refugees																																																																											f. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)																																																																																	Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																																									Elections and Political Participation																																																																																	Section 4. Corruption in Government																															Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																															Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																																									Women																																																																											Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																																											Children																																																																											Antisemitism																																																																											Trafficking in Persons																																																																											Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																																											Persons with Disabilities																																																																											Other Societal Violence or Discrimination																																																																																	Section 7. Worker Rights																																																									a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																																											b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																																											c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																																											d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																																																											e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																																																																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY				There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Lesotho during the year.Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; arbitrary arrest or detention; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious government corruption; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual violence, child, early, and forced marriage, and other forms of such violence; and the existence of unenforced laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults.While impunity was a problem, the government took credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses. Nevertheless, the process of investigation, prosecution, and trial was slow.																														Section 1.													 Respect for the Integrity of the Person												    																																																a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings										The constitution prohibited arbitrary deprivation of life. Security forces allegedly committed several abuses similar to the following example. On June 7, three police officers from the Hlotse Criminal Investigation Division arrested Lehlohonolo Lehlehla at gunpoint at Maputsoe in Leribe District. One of the officers allegedly choked him with a belt until he collapsed, and then the three officers hit him with their rifle butts, locked him in the trunk of their vehicle, and took him to Hlotse Police Station. When family members went to the station, the receptionist denied knowledge of Lehlehla’s detention. On June 8, police informed Lehlehla’s family that he had “died while resisting arrest” and released his body without a coroner’s examination. The family rejected the explanation and had an independent autopsy conducted that revealed Lehlehla died from brain swelling caused by a blunt object. Authorities investigated the deaths, and the matter was pending a decision whether to prosecute and try two of the officers at year’s end.																																				b. Disappearance										There were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.																																				c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses										The constitution stated no person should be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment, and the penal code cited torture as a crime against humanity. Nevertheless, there were credible reports police and other security agency members tortured suspects and subjected them to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.There were numerous reported abuses similar to the following example. On September 25, seven Mohale’s Hoek Correctional Service officers allegedly kicked and beat an inmate with sticks following allegations he smuggled marijuana into Mohale’s Hoek prison. The inmate later died in a hospital. Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) authorities suspended the seven officers from duty, and police investigated the incident. The Office of Public Prosecutions did not authorize the officers’ prosecution by year’s end.																Prison and Detention Center Conditions						Prison conditions were harsh but not life threatening due to overcrowding in some facilities; deteriorating infrastructure; physical abuse and inmate-on-inmate violence, including rape; and poor food quality, clothing, inadequate sanitary conditions, medical care, ventilation, lighting, and heat.Abusive Physical Conditions: The LCS reported facilities in Mafeteng and Quthing were overcrowded. On February 26, the Sunday Express newspaper reported food quality remained poor, and the LCS struggled to provide adequate clothing to inmates due to a limited budget. The LCS Commissioner Mating Nkakala stated infrastructure deterioration rendered men’s prison facilities in Qacha’s Nek, Quthing, and Berea Districts, and women’s and juvenile facilities unfit for habitation.In January authorities took disciplinary action against five officers who physically assaulted an inmate at Maseru Female Correctional Facility. Authorities fined four of the five officers.Administration: The LCS investigated credible allegations of physical mistreatment by correctional officers and inmate-on-inmate violence.Independent Monitoring: The ombudsperson and diplomatic corps, as well as church, business community, media, and court representatives, visited prisoners.																										d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention										The constitution and law prohibited arbitrary arrest and detention and provided for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of arrest or detention in court. The government generally observed these requirements.																Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees						The law required police, based on sufficient evidence, to obtain an arrest warrant from a magistrate prior to making an arrest on criminal grounds. By law police were required to inform suspects of charges against them upon arrest and present suspects in court within 48 hours. According to media, police did not always inform suspects of charges upon arrest and detained them for more than the prescribed 48 hours. Authorities were not to hold suspects in pretrial detention more than 60 days except for those deemed to be a flight risk or who might intimidate witnesses if released. The law provided for bail, which authorities granted regularly.Defendants had the right to legal counsel. Authorities generally allowed detainees prompt access to a lawyer. The Legal Aid Division under the Ministry of Justice, Law, and Parliamentary Affairs and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) offered some free legal assistance, but they did not have the capacity to provide counsel to all indigent detainees.Arbitrary Arrest: Arbitrary arrest and detention were continuing problems. In March, Makahlolo Mochobi filed a lawsuit alleging “unlawful arrest and detention” and demanding 500,000 maloti ($27,150) in compensation for pain and suffering. Mochobi claimed she went to police headquarters to report a fake Facebook account opened in her name and police detained and beat her.Pretrial Detention: Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. Pretrial detainees constituted 42 percent of the prison population. The length of pretrial detention sometimes equaled or exceeded the maximum sentence for the alleged crime. Pretrial detention sometimes lasted for years due to judicial staffing shortages, unavailability of legal counsel, inadequate forensic capacity, or negligence.																										e. Denial of Fair Public Trial										The constitution and law provided for an independent judiciary and the government generally respected judicial independence and impartiality. Some authorities, however, failed to respect court orders. For example, on March 27, Judge Tseliso Mokoko ordered Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli to explain why he failed to follow his order to reinstate Deputy Commissioner Beleme Lebajoa to his previous position. Molibeli responded he had misunderstood Mokoko’s order.																Trial Procedures						The constitution and law provided for the right to a fair and public trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right.Officials did not always inform defendants promptly and in detail of the charges against them. Defendants enjoyed free interpretation as necessary during proceedings at the High Court and magistrate levels but not at other points in the criminal justice process. Interpreters were not readily available for defendants who did not speak English or Sesotho. The law did not provide the free assistance of an interpreter for Court of Appeal cases. Trial delays resulted from a large backlog of cases due to an inadequate number of judges, the failure of defense attorneys to appear in court, defendants changing legal counsel, and motions for judge recusals.						Political Prisoners and Detainees						There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.																										f. Transnational Repression										Not applicable.																																				g. Property Seizure and Restitution										According to the Transformation Resource Center, Mokhotlong villagers alleged the government Lesotho Highlands Water Project seized grazing land, fields, and business sites without adequate compensation during the construction of Polihali Dam.																																				h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence										The constitution and law prohibited arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence. In contrast with 2022, police and National Security Service members confiscated the mobile phone of Democratic Congress party Deputy Spokesperson Moeketsi Shale. National Security Service Director General Pheello Ralenkoane claimed he was investigating Shale regarding the killing of Tsenolo Radio Station journalist Ralikonelo Joki. On June 20, the Constitutional Court declared the warrant authorizing seizure of the cell phone unconstitutional in violation of Shale’s right to privacy and freedom from arbitrary seizure of property.																																					Section 2.													 Respect for Civil Liberties												    																																																a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media										The constitution and law provided for freedom of expression, but the constitution did not explicitly mention freedom of the press and other media. An independent media, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for media members.Censorship or Content Restrictions for Members of the Press and Other Media, Including Online Media: Independent media practiced self-censorship due to dependence on government advertising revenue and its control of access to broadcast towers, but media otherwise expressed a wide variety of views without restriction. The law provided for the right to obtain and impart information freely, but only if it did not interfere with “defence, public safety, public order, public morality, or public health.”																Internet Freedom						The government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content.																										b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association										In contrast with 2022, the government limited the freedom of peaceful assembly.																Freedom of Peaceful Assembly						On March 13, opposition Socialist Revolutionaries Party Youth League members applied for a permit to protest on March 24. Police declined to issue a permit on the grounds they would be unable to monitor the march, due to other commitments; however, police reportedly declined the permit for political reasons.																										c. Freedom of Religion										See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at  https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/.																																				d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country										The constitution and law provided for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights.																																				e. Protection of Refugees										The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, or asylum seekers, as well as other persons of concern.Access to Asylum: The law provided for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government had an established system for providing protection to refugees.																																				f. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)										Criminal gang attacks on communities caused displacement of residents. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, local authorities denied IDPs burial sites and access to grazing land for their livestock. There were reports of IDP children being abused at schools. For further information concerning IDPs in the country, please see the materials of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center:  https://www.internal-displacement.org/ .																																					Section 3.													 Freedom to Participate in the Political Process												    																						The constitution and law provided citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage.																										Elections and Political Participation										Abuses or Irregularities in Recent Elections: National elections were widely reported to be fair and free of abuses and irregularities. On September 29, the government held credible local government elections viewed as an important milestone in solidifying the country’s democracy.																																					Section 4.													 Corruption in Government												    																						The law provided criminal penalties for conviction of corruption by officials. The government did not implement the law effectively. There were numerous reports of government corruption, and some officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.Corruption: On January 5, Minister of Finance and Development Planning Retselisitsoe Matlanyane stated the government’s failure to follow procurement procedures involved serious government corruption. In December 2022 the Lesotho Times newspaper reported Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition Thabo Mofosi in November 2022 authorized a 43.1 million maloti ($2.3 million) purchase of fertilizer from a South African company without following official procurement procedures. The company won the contract despite being the highest bidder. Mofosi reportedly had a relationship with the company based on prior dealings with it.																											Section 5.													 Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights												    																						Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction to monitor or investigate human rights conditions or cases and publish their findings. Government officials were somewhat cooperative and responsive to the views of these groups.Government Human Rights Bodies: The Office of the Ombudsman was mandated to receive and investigate complaints of government maladministration, injustice, corruption, and human rights abuses, and recommended remedial action where complaints were justified. It was independent and effective.																											Section 6.													 Discrimination and Societal Abuses												    																																																Women										Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalized the rape of women or men, including spousal and domestic or intimate partner rape and other forms of domestic and sexual violence; however, it did not address so-called corrective rape of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) persons. Rape convictions carried a minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment. Sexual assault and rape were commonplace, and according to local and international NGOs, most incidents went unreported. When informed, police generally enforced the law promptly and effectively; however, the prosecution of those indicted and tried proceeded slowly.Domestic violence against women was widespread. On April 17, then Police Constable Moshoeshoe Qoachela appeared before Quthing Magistrate Court charged with murdering his girlfriend and a policewoman. On August 15, Qoachela was fired following a disciplinary hearing. Qoachela was not tried by year’s end.Advocacy and awareness programs by the Lesotho Mounted Police Service Child and Gender Protection Unit (CGPU), ministries, and NGOs continued public outreach to counter societal acceptance of violence against women and children. The government operated one shelter in Maseru for abused women. The shelter offered psychosocial services to women referred to it by the Ministry of Gender.Other Forms of Gender-based Violence or Harassment: Media reported cases of forced elopement, a customary practice whereby men abducted and raped girls or women with the intention of forcing them into marriage. If a perpetrator’s family was wealthy, the survivor’s parents often reached a financial settlement rather than report the incident to police or allow the case to proceed to trial. On July 26, Semonkong Village police reportedly failed to charge perpetrators in a case involving the marriage of Lekhafola Tsele, age 21, and a girl age 13. The girl’s relatives facilitated the marriage without informing the girl’s mother. Police reunited the girl with her mother, but she left her mother and returned to Tsele’s home.The law criminalized sexual harassment; however, survivors rarely reported it. Legal penalties for those convicted of sexual harassment were not codified and therefore applied at court discretion. Police believed sexual harassment to be widespread in and outside the workplace.On September 4, the Worker Rights Consortium stated there were nine reported cases of gender-based violence at Nien Hsing International jeans factories and fabric mill. As a result, some perpetrators were demoted while others received written warnings.Labia elongation, the act of lengthening the labia minora (the inner lips of female genitals) through manual manipulation (pulling) or physical equipment (such as weights) was practiced. Labia elongation was legal; however, according to the NGO Federation of Women Lawyers, it was not a common practice.Discrimination: The law provided the same legal status and rights for women as men under family, religious, and nationality laws as well as laws regarding access to credit and owning or managing businesses or property. Women did not, however, enjoy equal rights regarding employment and inheritance.Women had the right to sue for divorce. Customary law marriage did not have legal standing in a civil court unless incorporated in the civil system. Although there were no reported cases of discrimination against women who were members of specific racial, ethnic, or religious groups, LGBTQI+ women and women with disabilities faced societal discrimination. The government did not enforce the law effectively.Although civil law provided for women to have inheritance, succession, and property rights, customary law did not permit girls to inherit property and in the absence of a will, took precedence over civil law in property disputes. According to the Lesotho Federation of Women Lawyers, the government enforced the law in urban areas but generally deferred to customary law in rural areas.The law prohibited discrimination in employment and occupation based on sex. The law stated men and women should receive equal remuneration for work of equal value. There were no reports women were treated differently from men regarding working hours in most occupations and job tasks; however, there were legal limitations on the employment of women in some industries, such as mining. The Ministry of Public Service, Labour, and Employment was responsible for enforcing the law, but it lacked adequate resources and did not report receiving any complaints during the year. In the past both men and women reported hiring practices often aligned with gender, with men preferentially selected for certain positions (such as mechanics) and women preferentially selected for other positions (such as sewing machine operators). According to trade union leaders, women working in the textile and security sectors were only provided with six weeks of paid maternity leave instead of the 12 weeks stipulated by law.Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.Social and cultural barriers, but no legal prohibitions, limited access to contraception and related services. There was access to modern contraception for a minimal fee; male and female condoms were readily available free of charge. Emergency contraception methods after sexual intercourse were available, however services were often limited as the government promoted more sustainable methods.The government provided access to sexual and reproductive health services informed by guidelines for medicolegal care to survivors of sexual violence, including emergency contraception and postexposure prophylaxis as part of the Ministry of Health’s management of rape.NGOs reported unequal treatment in access to prenatal and postnatal health care. Inequities were due to poorer patients’ inability to cover the secondary costs of health care such as transportation; cultural practices, such as family members demanding home birth medical services; inadequate care in health-care facilities; and poor public reproductive health education. Approximately 89 percent of births took place in health-care facilities. There was access to emergency health care for the management of complications arising from abortion. Limited sexual health education contributed to early motherhood among adolescent girls.According to the World Health Organization, the maternal mortality rate was 566 per 100,000 live births. The high maternal mortality rate was primarily attributed to health-system limitations. The survey identified correlations among education, wealth, and contraceptive use; women with living children were more likely than those without living children to use contraceptives. In remote areas some women relied on traditional medicine rather than skilled providers during their pregnancy.																																				Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination										The constitution and law prohibited discrimination based on race or ethnicity. The government did not enforce the law effectively. For example, on July 13, the Lesotho Times newspaper reported racist treatment of Basotho construction workers by managers at the Polihali Dam project in Mokhotlong District.																																				Children										Child Abuse: While the law prohibited child abuse, abuse was a continuing problem, especially for orphans and other vulnerable children. The penalties for conviction of mistreatment, neglect, abandonment, or exposure of a child to abuse were sentences of up to two months’ imprisonment and a nominal monetary fine. Neglect, common assault, sexual assault, and forced elopement occurred. The government did not always enforce the law effectively.The CGPU led the government’s efforts to combat child abuse. The CGPU sought to address sexual and physical abuse, neglect, and child abandonment, and to protect the property rights of orphans. It also advocated changing cultural norms that encouraged forced elopement.In April a special children’s court opened at the Leribe Magistrate Court, the country’s second, the first being the Maseru Magistrate’s Court established to protect children’s rights.Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: Civil law defined a child as a person younger than age 18 but provided for a girl to marry at age 16. Customary law did not set a minimum age for marriage.Early or forced marriages were prevalent in rural areas. The Ministry of Social Development and World Vision International conducted public awareness campaigns against child marriage in several districts.Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibited the sale, grooming, or use of children for commercial sexual exploitation, including child sex trafficking. It set the minimum age for consensual sex at 18 and criminalized all forms of child sex trafficking. Anyone convicted of an offense related to child sex trafficking was liable to a sentence of up to life imprisonment. Conviction of child pornography carried a similar sentence. The death penalty applied if an HIV-positive perpetrator was convicted of knowingly infecting a child. There were no cases reported during the year.																																				Antisemitism										Few Jewish persons resided in the country. There were no reports of antisemitic incidents.																																				Trafficking in Persons										See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at  https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/																																				Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics										Criminalization: By law “any person charged with sodomy or assault with intent to commit sodomy may be found guilty of indecent assault or common assault if such be the facts proved.” Authorities did not enforce the law. There were no laws against cross-dressing, or other sexual or gender characteristic-related behaviors. On June 30, Newsday reported Matrix (an LGBTQI+ advocacy organization), the Seinoli Legal Centre, the Lesotho National Federation of the Organizations of the Disabled (LNFOD), and the International Commission of Jurists filed an appeal to the UN Human Rights Committee urging Lesotho to repeal sections of the law that criminalized sodomy.Violence and Harassment: Police or other government agents did not incite, condone, or tolerate violence or harassment against LGBTQI+ individuals. Matrix, the country’s sole NGO dedicated to the protection of LGBTQI+ persons’ rights, reported cases of assault and rape against its members. Police responded to the reports, and the commissioner expressed a need to train officers on how to handle LGBTQI+ matters. On September 19, Matrix condemned negative social media comments regarding the wedding of a Lesotho citizen and her South African wife.Discrimination: The law prohibited discrimination by state and nonstate actors based on sexual orientation but did not explicitly forbid discrimination based on gender identity or expression or sex characteristics. The government did not enforce the law. The law did not recognize LGBTQI+ couples or their families. LGBTQI+ persons faced societal discrimination and disrespect. Matrix reported parents and guardians of LGBTQI+ children often disowned them because of their sexuality.The law prohibited gender-based employment discrimination but did not address discrimination against LGBTQI+ persons. There were reports of employment discrimination. For example, a transgender woman resigned from her job because her coworkers referred to her as male and management barred her from women’s bathrooms.Availability of Legal Gender Recognition: Legal gender recognition could be obtained but required a doctor’s certificate or “other” unspecified supporting documents. According to Matrix, government adherence to recognition provisions was irregular and appeared to be personality driven.Involuntary or Coercive Medical or Psychological Practices: There were no reports of involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices specifically targeting LGBTQI+ individuals. There were no reports of medically unnecessary and irreversible “normalization” surgeries performed on children or on nonconsenting adult intersex persons.Restrictions of Freedom of Expression, Association, or Peaceful Assembly: There were no restrictions of freedom of expression, association, or peaceful assembly targeting LGBTQI+ individuals.																																				Persons with Disabilities										The constitution and law prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities; however, persons with disabilities did not have equal access to education, employment, health services, public buildings, transportation, and government information and communication on an equal basis with others. Children with physical disabilities attended school, but facilities to accommodate them in primary, secondary, and higher education were limited. Implementation of Ministry of Education and Training policy to provide for greater access to education for children with disabilities continued slowly. The policy provided for increasing the capacity of mainstream schools to accommodate children with disabilities instead of having them attend segregated schools. By law conviction of denying a child admission to a school because of the child’s disability was punishable by a nominal fine and up to five years’ imprisonment.Law and regulations provided for persons with disabilities to have access to public buildings. Public buildings completed after 1995 generally complied with the law, but many older buildings remained inaccessible. According to LNFOD Executive Director Nkhasi Sefuthi, air travel services were adequate for persons with disabilities. He noted, however, an insufficient number of sign language interpreters in the judicial system resulted in case postponements for persons with hearing disabilities. Documents in braille and JAWS (Job Access with Speech, computer software used by persons with vision disabilities) were not widely available.On May 24, the Lesotho National Association of the Physically Disabled conducted an awareness-raising campaign targeting the local transport industry. It protested some transport operators not accepting persons in wheelchairs or the practice of charging them double fare. On May 26, the High Court published the Disability and Equity (Procedure) Rules. The rules stated, “A person with disability shall be provided appropriate support and accommodations to enable effective participation in judicial proceedings.”The law stated public events, news broadcasts, educational programs and other platforms that included public information of national significance should provide sign language and other means of access by persons with disabilities. Not all government ministries complied with the requirement.The law provided for a monthly disability stipend for persons with severe disabilities. LNFOD Executive Director Sefuthi stated the criteria used to determine “severity of disability” limited inclusivity. On July 14, the minister of gender established a persons with disabilities advisory council to provide for equal opportunities and recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities, including access to education, health services, public buildings, and public transport on an equal basis with others.Discrimination based on disability was not explicitly prohibited. Limited access to reasonable accommodations increased the difficulty of competing for quality positions in the workforce for persons with disabilities.There were no reports of persons with disabilities being abused in prison, school, or mental health facilities. In contrast with 2022, LNFOD did not report cases of societal abuse of persons with hearing and intellectual disabilities.																																				Other Societal Violence or Discrimination										Media reported killings of the elderly and ritual killings across the country. There were reports of elder abuse in Quthing District. The government continued to hold gatherings to raise public awareness of the problem of elder abuse.There were sporadic incidents of vigilante mob violence targeting criminal suspects. On July 2, Malealea villagers in Mafeteng District burned Mamatebele Hlapisi and Tsehla Mokhele to death on suspicion of killing a girl age 11. Fourteen villagers were arrested for the killings and charged with murder. They had yet to be tried by year’s end.Reports of gang violence continued. In May Judge Mafelile Lebese of the High Court stated escalating gang violence could plunge the country into civil war. On April 25, gang member Motlatsi Rantaoana was convicted of the murder of military member Katleho Seliane and attempted murder of military member Halekhethe Nkonyana. On May 3, Rantaoana was sentenced to 31 years’ imprisonment. He claimed he mistook the two military members for rival gang members.																																					Section 7.													 Worker Rights												    																																																a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining										The constitution protected freedom of association. By law workers in the private sector had the right to join and form trade unions of their choosing without prior authorization or excessive bureaucratic requirements. The law prohibited civil servants and police from joining or forming unions but provided for them to form staff associations for collective bargaining and promoting ethical conduct of their members. The law allowed teachers to form and join unions. All trade unions were required to register with the Office of the Registrar of Trade Unions. Registration required that more than 35 percent of workers in an enterprise of 10 persons or more be unionized. Only the members of a registered trade union were entitled to elect workplace union representatives. The registrar reserved the right to refuse to register a trade union if the provisions of its constitution violated the labor code. The law provided for unions to operate without interference, although only unions with a 35 percent membership were permitted access to work sites to perform union duties, including communicating with management, and recruitment of members.The government and employers generally respected freedom of association and collective bargaining. Government approval was not required for collective agreements to be valid. The law protected collective bargaining but did not provide for minority union collective bargaining rights, and it placed restrictions on factory workers. Although factory workers had bargaining power, the law required any union entering negotiations with management to represent at least 50 percent of workers in a factory. Only a few factories met that condition, and the law did not provide for unions at factories where union membership was below 50 percent to represent workers collectively in negotiations with employers. Some factory owners in the apparel industry were willing to bargain collectively on wages and working conditions but only with trade unions that represented at least 50 percent of workers. In 2021 the International Labor Organization observed recognition thresholds used for private-sector unions and public-sector employees’ associations did not clearly protect the rights of minority unions to bargain collectively. United Textile employees reported some employers were not willing to bargain with the trade union although they met the 50 percent threshold stated in the law.The government did not effectively enforce laws protecting freedom of association, collective bargaining, and the right to strike for workers. Unions cited lack of capacity and limited resources by the government to address these rights. Unions also claimed employers bribed police not to investigate reported violations. They also claimed labor officers received payments from employers not to report violations.Penalties for violating freedom of association, collective bargaining, and the right to strike were less than those of similar crimes, and penalties were rarely applied against violators.The law significantly limited the right to strike. In the private sector, the law required workers and employers to follow a series of procedures designed to resolve disputes before the Directorate of Dispute Prevention and Resolution (DDPR), an independent government body, authorized a strike. If mandatory negotiations between employer and employees reached a deadlock, the law provided for a union to file for permission to strike with the DDPR. The employer and employees were required to agree on the strike rules and its duration. Employers could also invoke a lockout clause and had to inform the DDPR of their intention to invoke the clause based on employer-employee agreement. The law did not permit civil servants, military, and essential workers to strike. Only a registered union with a 51 percent majority of staff as determined by the union could call a strike on a “dispute of interest” (a demand that went beyond terms and conditions established by law or an existing contract). Unions reported strict law requirements for allowing workers to strike normally led to workers engaging in unlawful strikes that sometimes resulted in their members being injured or killed by police.The Labour Court was the key judiciary entity to address labor disputes. It reviewed the decisions of the DDPR while the Labour Appeals Court reviewed the decisions of the Labour Court. Both courts’ independence remained questionable because they were under the authority of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (Ministry of Labour), despite a 2011 law transferring it to the judiciary. In 2018 the ministry established a taskforce to work on making the transfer to the judiciary, but no progress had been made by year’s end. The court had three judges. During the year, 227 cases were added, but only 79 cases were adjudicated because the court had a backlog of 608 cases dating from 2017. The court cited limited resources, including insufficient office space, computers, and personnel to explain the backlog.The law did not provide public-sector employees a right to strike but provided teachers with the privilege. By law the Public Service Joint Advisory Council provided for due process and protected civil servants’ rights. The council was a statutory body under the Ministry of Public Service. Its decisions were reviewed by the Labour Court. The council consisted of equal numbers of members appointed by the minister of public service and members of associations representing at least 50 percent of civil servants. The council concluded and enforced collective bargaining agreements, prevented and resolved disputes, and provided procedures for dealing with general grievances. The council was not operational as civil servants’ associations did not represent at least 51 percent of civil servants in order to collectively bargain with the council. The Public Service Tribunal was an appeal body within the Ministry of Public Service. It handled appeals brought by civil servants or their associations. A public officer could appeal to the tribunal within 21 days of the disciplinary hearing outcome. The tribunal could confirm, set aside, or change the decision of the disciplinary hearing. The Labour Court reviewed the decision of the tribunal. During the year the tribunal received four additional cases for a total of 22 active cases, of which 16 were completed and four withdrawn.The law prohibited antiunion discrimination and other employer interference in union functions. The law provided for reinstatement of workers dismissed for union activity. The law did not cover the informal sector and excluded the self-employed from relevant legal protections.The government did not protect freedom of association, collective bargaining, and the right to strike for public-service employees and suspended or dismissed union leaders. On July 28, the Ministry of Health suspended from work three doctors who were members of the doctors’ union executive committee. The doctors were reinstated on August 8, after members threatened to strike if their leaders were not reinstated.The Lesotho Police Staff Association (LEPOSA) reported intimidation, harassment, dismissal, and arrest of union members. In April a court ruled the dismissal of LEPOSA’s president was unlawful, but other cases remained pending. Former Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro established a ministerial ad hoc committee to investigate causes of conflict between LEPOSA and the police commissioner that caused instability within police. In April 2022 the committee tabled its findings on the problems. LEPOSA distanced itself from the committee’s findings.The government did not effectively enforce applicable jurisprudence regarding disputed cases. The law stipulated disputes of interest were to be conciliated within 30 days. The law also stipulated compensation was to be issued within 30 days from the date of completion of arbitration proceedings; however, on average, cases were generally resolved within three to six months by the DDPR. A total of 697 cases were resolved during the year. The DDPR reported a backlog of cases due to a reduction in the number of arbitrators. Penalties were less than those for similar violations.The textile workers’ union reported factories like Hippo Knitting targeted union leaders with more years of work experience, while newly employed workers were retained during retrenchments. They reported violations were common at factories that did not have close relationships with foreign buyers. Unions also reported that at Precious Garments and other factories shop stewards were dismissed if found in possession of union forms. They further reported demotions of unions members.The government investigated some of these acts, but perpetrators did not face penalties. In the retail sector, employers generally respected freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively, although retail unions complained employers commonly appealed Labour Court rulings to delay implementation.Throughout the year textile union workers requested a 20 percent salary increase. Private-sector employers, through their representatives on the Wage Advisory Board, offered a 5 percent increase for all sectors. On April 4, then Minister of Labour Ramoeletsi announced a 6.5 percent salary increase for all private-sector workers. Although the increase was well below the amount requested, unions reported workers did not reject the increase because several factories were terminating workers at the time due to financial difficulties.According to the Lesotho Public Servants Staff Association (LEPSSA), 3.9 percent of civil servants belonged to the association. LEPSSA reported most civil servants did not register for membership in the association because they were reluctant to join an association that did not have bargaining rights and therefore could not engage in a lawful strike. LEPSSA also reported the Public Service Act of 2005 permitted only workers from grade A to H (junior officers) to join the association while grade I to K (managers) were not allowed to do so. The low rate of participation made it difficult for LEPSSA to engage with the government on workers’ rights problems, resulting in declining membership trends from 3,998 members in 2022-23 to 3,900 in 2023-24. In July 2022, LEPSSA filed a Constitutional Court complaint against the minister of labor for denial of its right to register as a civil servants’ trade union as enshrined in the constitution.																																				b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor										See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at Persons Report at:  https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/																																				c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment										See the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings/ .																																				d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																														e. Acceptable Conditions of Work										Wage and Hour Laws: The law established a general minimum wage for the formal sector and domestic workers except agriculture-sector workers. Sector-specific minimum wages exist for certain industries. The Wage Advisory Board established by the minister of labor and employment was authorized to submit minimum wage proposals following a 30-day minimum consultation period. The minister then decided on the minimum wage, informed the board, and published the minimum wage in a government gazette with a specified date of entry into force. The general minimum monthly wage was above the official poverty line. Sector-specific minimum wages were generally substantially higher than the general minimum wage.The law stipulated standards for hours of work, including a maximum 45-hour workweek, a weekly rest period of at least 24 hours, a daily minimum rest period of one hour, at least 12 days of paid leave per year, paid sick leave, and public holidays. Required overtime was legal if overtime wages for work in excess of the standard 45-hour workweek were paid. The maximum overtime allowed was 11 hours per week; however, there were exemptions under special circumstances. The law required the premium pay for overtime be at a rate not less than 25 percent more than the employee’s normal hourly wage rate. Employers who engaged in excessive compulsory overtime were liable to a fine, imprisonment, or both.Labor laws, including wage and hour rules, did not apply to workers in the agriculture or the informal sectors, which employed a majority of workers.Occupational Safety and Health: The law provided for the Ministry of Labour to issue regulations on occupational health and safety (OSH) standards, and the commissioner of labor was responsible for investigating allegations of labor law violations.The law required employers to provide adequate light, ventilation, and sanitary facilities for employees and to install and maintain machinery in a manner that minimized injury. It also required each that employer employ a registered health and safety officer. Employers were required to provide first-aid kits, safety equipment, and protective clothing. The law also provided for a compensation system for industrial injuries and diseases related to employment. The law held employers responsible for employee training on safety standards and for providing adequate protective clothing. Workers could be held responsible for accidents if they failed to use provided protective clothing or failed to comply with safety standards.Trade union representatives from the textile sector described working conditions as poor or harsh but not dangerous. Unions noted government-constructed factories were poorly designed and had improperly installed ventilation. Employers who leased factories from the government were not allowed to change the design of government factory buildings to install ventilation systems. Independent auditors hired by foreign textile buyers conducted spot checks on many exporting factories, customarily sought labor union input, and briefed the unions on their findings. Unions believed independent auditors kept factory owners compliant with health and safety regulations.Many workplace health and safety policies covered employees with HIV and AIDS. Some of the larger factories provided health-care services at the workplace. Where factories did not provide health care, workers had the right to access services at public health centers. Employers provided space for employee examinations and time off for employees to see doctors, receive counseling, and participate in educational and antistigma programs.The law did not explicitly provide for workers to remove themselves from situations that endangered their health or safety without jeopardy to their employment. Workers had the right to report incidents that put their lives in danger to their safety officers of safety committees. Workers reported being pressured not to report violations. Nevertheless, code provisions on safety in the workplace and dismissal implied such a dismissal would be illegal. Authorities protected employees when violations of the law were reported. Working conditions for foreign or migrant workers were the same as those of residents, and migrants had equal protection under the law in the formal sector.The Ministry of Labour prepared an annual report on workplace fatalities and accidents. According to the report, from January through August there were 72 accidents in which seven persons died and 65 (55 men and 10 women) sustained serious injuries. The affected sectors included the textile, manufacturing, mining, security, retail, and construction sectors.Wage, Hour, and OSH Enforcement: The government enforced wage and hour laws inconsistently. Inspectors had authority to make unannounced inspections; however, only the court could impose sanctions. The Ministry of Labour’s inspectorate reported employers, particularly in the security, transport, and construction sectors, did not always observe the minimum wage and hours-of-work laws. Many locally owned businesses did not keep adequate employee records to facilitate labor inspections as required by law.The Ministry of Labour observed the security, retail, and construction sectors did not always conform to the minimum wages and hours-of-work regulations. During the year, the ministry received 600 grievances for office mediation, of which 100 came from the security sector, 66 from retail, 37 from construction and the remainder from other sectors for nonpayment of wages and nonobservation of hours of work. In general overtime laws were enforced through inspection visits and office mediation. The Ministry of Labour stated most companies in the security sectors paid workers wages below the minimum wage stipulated by the law. The ministry also stated most factories delayed paying their employees. Trade unions reported violations of overtime laws and alleged most factories did not pay workers overtime work. In the construction sector some companies did not pay workers for months. Some companies retrenched workers, delayed paying severance, and ultimately declared bankruptcy to avoid these obligations. Penalties for violating these rights were sometimes applied but were less than those applied of similar infractions.The government did not enforce OSH regulations consistently. Labor inspectors worked in all districts and generally conducted unannounced inspections, but the government did not employ enough labor inspectors to enforce compliance. The Ministry of Labour reported it employed six OSH inspectors who conducted inspections country wide during the year. Inspectors did not have authority to initiate sanctions. Smaller employers failed to establish safety committees, did not have complete first-aid kits, and did not provide protective clothing. Employers’ compliance with health and safety regulations was generally low. According to the ministry, there was extensive noncompliance with health and safety regulations, especially in the manufacturing, retail, security, mining, and construction sectors. Employers exploited the ministry’s insufficient number of labor inspectors and its inability to prosecute violations.Penalties for violations of OSH laws were less than those for similar crimes. Penalties were sometimes applied against violators.The Ministry of Labour had minimal jurisdiction over the informal economy, where an estimated one-half of the country’s 521,445 workers were employed. Labor laws did not cover wage, hour, and OSH for workers in the informal sector, but part-time workers were covered by labor laws with exceptions in the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1977.																																				    							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Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																							a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																						b. Disappearance																																																						c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses																																																				Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																				d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																				Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																				e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																				Trial Procedures																																												Political Prisoners and Detainees																																																																																				f. Transnational Repression																																																						g. Property Seizure and Restitution																																																						h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																			Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																							a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																				Internet Freedom																																																																																				b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																				Freedom of Peaceful Assembly																																																																																				c. Freedom of Religion																																																						d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																						e. Protection of Refugees																																																						f. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)																																																			Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																							Elections and Political Participation																																																			Section 4. Corruption in Government																Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																							Women																																																						Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																						Children																																																						Antisemitism																																																						Trafficking in Persons																																																						Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																						Persons with Disabilities																																																						Other Societal Violence or Discrimination																																																			Section 7. Worker Rights																																							a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																						b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																						c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																						d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																																						e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																									Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																								Lesotho
- Lesotho National Day HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases&#8230;Lesotho National Day				hide		if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}																										Lesotho National Day																																		Press Statement																														October 3, 2023																																							On behalf of the United States Government, please accept my warm congratulations as the people of the Kingdom of Lesotho commemorate Independence Day on October 4.The United States appreciates Lesotho’s partnership, which promotes sound democratic principles, peace, and stability. We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with Lesotho on empowering sustainable economic growth, protecting public health, and responding to climate change.The people of the United States wish all people of Lesotho a very happy 57th Independence Day.						Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Lesotho																								Office of the Spokesperson																								The Secretary of State
- Special Representative for International Labor Affairs Fay Rodríguez Travels to Lesotho and South Africa Office of the SpokespersonSpecial Representative for International Labor Affairs Kelly Fay Rodríguez will travel to Lesotho and South Africa July 27-31.In Lesotho and South Africa, Special Representative Fay Rodríguez will meet with government officials, trade unions, labor rights defenders, employer representatives, U.S. companies, and civil society organizations.  These meetings will cover a range of labor issues including just energy transition and critical minerals, elevating international labor standards in development finance, threats to freedom of association, internationally recognized worker rights, worker-centered trade, equal opportunity and anti-discrimination, and prevention of forced labor and the worst forms of child labor in supply chains.Special Representative Fay Rodríguez will participate in panel discussions at a high-level labor summit in Lesotho on July 27, developing best practices and identifying actions for governments, labor unions, and employers to eradicate gender-based violence and harassment at work.  She will collaborate on this with partners from Argentina, Canada, Germany, Lesotho, and South Africa during a session convened by the Multilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment, and Rights (M-POWER) , a global initiative that unites governments, unions, labor academics, and civil society organizations committed to working in partnership to uphold and promote worker empowerment and rights.For media inquiries, please contact DRL-Press@state.gov.
- Lesotho HomeReportsBureau of Economic and Business Affairs2023 Investment Climate Statements&#8230;Lesotho				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Investment Climate Statements: Lesotho																																																																																												 In this section										/																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																																													EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																															1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment																																																									Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment																																																																											Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment																																																																											Other Investment Policy Reviews																																																																											Business Facilitation																																																																											Outward Investment																																																																																	2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties																															3. Legal Regime																																																									Transparency of the Regulatory System																																																																											International Regulatory Considerations																																																																											Legal System and Judicial Independence																																																																											Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment																																																																											Competition and Antitrust Laws																																																																											Expropriation and Compensation																																																																											Dispute Settlement																																																																			ICSID Convention and New York Convention																																																								Investor-State Dispute Settlement																																																								International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts																																																																																																																		Bankruptcy Regulations																																																																																	4. Industrial Policies																																																									Investment Incentives																																																																											Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation																																																																											Performance and Data Localization Requirements																																																																																	5. Protection of Property Rights																																																									Real Property																																																																											Intellectual Property Rights																																																																																	6. Financial Sector																																																									Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment																																																																											Money and Banking System																																																																											Foreign Exchange and Remittances																																																																			Foreign Exchange																																																								Remittance Policies																																																																																																																		Sovereign Wealth Funds																																																																																	7. State-Owned Enterprises																																																									Privatization Program																																																																																	8. Responsible Business Conduct																																																									Additional Resources																																																																											Climate Issues																																																																																	9. Corruption																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																															10. Political and Security Environment																															11. Labor Policies and Practices																															12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs																															13. Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment Statistics																															14. Contact for More Information																																																					EXECUTIVE SUMMARY				The Kingdom of Lesotho is open to and eagerly seeking foreign direct investment (FDI). The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho (GOKL) has made major strides to improve the business environment in terms of licensing, business registration, water, and electricity connections in recent years. With the entry of a new government in October 2022, the GOKL announced its intention to strengthen the private sector and to welcome foreign direct investment focused on job creation, market diversification, and local capacity development.While the GOKL clearly recognizes the importance of FDI and has continued to enact policies to make foreign investment easier, 2020 also saw the rollout of rules intended to protect local entrepreneurs from foreign competition in designated sectors. In recent years, many migrants have started businesses in these designated sectors and the government announced aggressive measures in 2020 to reverse this trend. These sectors—such as small retail food sales and basic auto repair—are dominated by local small and micro enterprises but some do have participation by medium-sized foreign-owned firms.Although these regulations may have a negative effect on some foreign investors, they will have low impact on overall FDI because most businesses in the designated sectors are relatively small. However, the government has also enacted other regulations, such as requiring foreign investors to renew their business licenses yearly instead of every three years, a condition that many foreign investors describe as onerous to the point of impossibility given the bureaucratic challenges.Moreover, recent policy debates within the government around proposals to mandate a minimum percentage of local ownership enterprises earmarked for local citizens have caused real concern. In 2022, the government implemented the regulations in the used car motor dealership sector removing barriers to entry for foreign investors. Uncertainty concerning the execution of the regulations in other sectors remains.COVID-19 negatively affected Lesotho’s economy and FDI in 2021 and 2022, with several foreign-owned textile factories closing or cutting back on operations due to the global downtrend in demand. The government introduced measures to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the private sector. Other challenges include corruption, with Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranking Lesotho as 99 out of 180 countries. Foreign investors are requested to adhere to international labor standards, however, there were reported instances of Gender Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) in some textiles factories. The government, in collaboration with the stakeholders, is working to address GBVH. Lesotho was already grappling with food insecurity prior to Russia&#8217;s February 24 full-scale invasion of Ukraine but the invasion has only exacerbated the situation. As a net food importer, changes in global and regional dynamics have significant negative impacts on the availability of food products and the population’s purchasing power in Lesotho. Despite these challenges, the GOKL is refining the services it offers foreign investors, and Lesotho retains advantages such as ready access to the South African and regional markets as well as lower labor, electricity, and communications costs than neighboring countries. Lesotho also has a government that remains focused on providing jobs to its citizens, and which has publicly proclaimed its eagerness to work with foreign investors—especially those ready to partner with locals.Table 1: Key Metrics and RankingsMeasureYearIndex/RankWebsite AddressTI Corruption Perceptions Index202214 of 180http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/overviewGlobal Innovation Index202264 of 132https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/analysis-indicatorU.S. FDI in partner country ($M USD, historical stock positions)2021$388 millionhttps://apps.bea.gov/international/factsheetWorld Bank GNI per capita2021$16,080http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD																																					1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment						    																																																Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment										The GOKL is open to FDI and successive governments have tried to attract FDI as a key component of national development. However, recent years have seen increasing critiques in Lesotho’s press and from select politicians of foreign investors who repatriate their profits rather than reinvesting in Lesotho. This has resulted in a series of populist polices and policy proposals intended to protect opportunities for local investors and entrepreneurs, but which may inadvertently dampen Lesotho’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment. Lesotho follows World Trade Organization (WTO) laws and regulations, but local law makes some distinctions between local and foreign investors in some industries (see “Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment”).Lesotho’s investment promotion agency, the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), is responsible for the initiation, facilitation, and promotion of Lesotho as an attractive investment destination.  LNDC also undertakes investment project appraisals, provides pre-investment and after-care services, risk management, trade and investment research, and strategic planning.  It also ensures investors’ compliance with the country’s legal frameworks.  Through LNDC, the government actively encourages investment in manufacturing, mining, and agriculture sectors. LNDC also implements the country’s industrial development policies.LNDC provides the support services described above to foreign investors and regularly publishes information on investment opportunities and the services it offers to foreign investors. LNDC also identifies investors’ infrastructure needs and facilitates allocation of these. LNDC again addresses problems that investors face with service providers to ensure smooth start up and operation. Furthermore, LNDC offers incentives such as long-term loans, tax incentives, factory space at discounted rental rates, assistance with work permits and licenses, and logistical support for relocation.  LNDC maintains an ongoing dialogue with foreign and domestic investors by attending annual trade and investment forums both locally and internationally. For more information on LNDC, please visit:  http://www.lndc.org.ls .																																				Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment										Lesotho is open to foreign investment and there are no economy-wide restrictions applied to foreign ownership and control. However, GOKL has passed laws and regulations intended to limit foreign ownership to large scale businesses in complex sectors while reserving small scale businesses in designated sectors exclusively for the indigenous citizens of Lesotho (“Basotho”). The Trading Enterprises Regulations of 2011 (TER 2011) and the Business Licensing and Registration Regulations of 2020 (BLRR 2020) reserve certain businesses for Basotho and limit foreign investors to operating these businesses as minority shareholders with a maximum of 49 percent shareholding. The reserved 47 businesses include acting as an agent of a foreign firm, barber, butcher, snack-bar operator, domestic fuel dealer, dairy shop proprietor, general café or dealer, greengrocer, broker, mini supermarket (floor area &lt; 250m2), and hair and beauty salon.  Most businesses affected by these regulations are micro or small enterprises, but some mid-sized foreign-owned firms will be affected. In 2021, the government amended the BLRR 2020 to allow foreign investors to continue to operate in the used motor dealership sector following a low number of Lesotho citizens willing to venture into the sector which requires high capital.The Business Licensing and Registration Act 2019 (BLRA 2019) requires foreign investors to provide a capital of $123,152 or provide proof of investment of $123,152 during registration or renewal of their traders&#8217; licenses or to have deposited $123,152 with a local institution. However, the Central Bank of Lesotho Act of 2000 stipulates a foreign investment minimum threshold of $250,000.  While pleased that the new law indicates a reduction in the minimum sum that they must invest, many foreign investors are concerned that this discrepancy was not clarified in the BLRA 2019 legislation.BLRA 2019 requires foreign investors to renew their business identification card annually while locals are only required to renew their business identification cards after three years. Some foreign entrepreneurs operating in Lesotho have complained that the process of renewing their business identification cards annually is extremely onerous. BLRA 2019 also requires foreign investors to transfer technology and business expertise to local investors. Many foreign entrepreneurs operating in Lesotho complain that this requirement is poorly articulated and arbitrarily enforced.The Mines and Minerals Act No.4 of 2005 restricts mineral permits for small-scale mining operations on less than 100m2 to local ownership. However, the Mines and Mineral (Amendment) Act 2022 legalizes artisanal and small-scale mining for locals. Diamond mining, regardless of the size of the operation, is subject to the large-scale mines licensing regime, which has no restrictions on foreign ownership; however, GOKL reserves the right to acquire at least 20-35 percent ownership in any large-scale mine.  By law, the Ministry of Trade and Industry is instructed to screen foreign investments in a routine, nondiscriminatory manner to ensure consistency with national interests.																																				Other Investment Policy Reviews										Cabinet approved Lesotho’s investment policy and it became law in early 2016.  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development assisted with the development of the policy. (UNCTAD) (http://unctad.org/en/pages/PublicationArchive.aspx?publicationid=503 ) .  The government has undertaken investment policy reviews in 2020 with the assistance of UNCTAD.The government also developed a comprehensive trade policy and the National Export Strategy in 2020 to enable Lesotho to participate meaningfully in the global trading system.In 2022, the GOKL launched the Lesotho National Single Window (LNSW) which is an online portal used for issuance of cross-border permits, certificates, and licenses. The portal expedites movement and clearance of goods at the borders. The portal provides real-time data to assist the government to monitor trade trends to better inform policy interventions.																																				Business Facilitation										In 2016, the government launched a &#8220;One Stop Business Facilitation Centre&#8221; (OBFC), to make it easier to do business and facilitate FDI. OBFC places all services required for the issuance of licenses, permits, and imports and exports clearances under one roof.  The portal provides transparency and predictability to trade transactions and reduces the time and cost of trading across borders. The OBFC web site is  http://www.obfc.org.ls/business/default.php .The process of company registration includes: a work permit application with the Ministry of Labor and Employment, a visa application and resident permit with the Ministry of Home Affairs, a trader’s license with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, tax clearance with Lesotho Revenue Authority, a police clearance with the Ministry of Police and Public Safety, the Certificate of Occupancy with Maseru City Council and a medical clearance with the Ministry of Health.In November 2020, the OBFC held a twin launch of e-Regulations and e-Licensing. The e-Regulations provides a clear step by step process to register a business. This also stipulates requirements, costs, time and contact details for registering a business. The e-Licensing allows foreign investors to apply online to obtain a business license. This initiative has reduced instances of fraud and manipulation. It takes a maximum of three days to issue both industrial and traders licenses. For more information on e-licenses, please visit:  www.Lesotho.elicenses.org .  For more information on e-regulations please visit:  http://www.lesotho.eregulations.org  .																																				Outward Investment										Lesotho provides incentives to investors who export outside the country. Export manufacturers obtain a full rebate of customs duty paid on their inputs imported to produce for markets outside the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The government does not restrict domestic investors from investing abroad.The government facilitates quality standard processes and export permits for outward investment.  For African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) exports, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, LNDC, and Revenue Services Lesotho provide support including on export requirements.  Other agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development Southern Africa Trade and Investment Buy-In Activity provide capacity to the government for the implementation of AGOA.  The government has assigned Lesotho Standards Authority to assist investors who export to the Republic of South Africa (RSA).																																												2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties						    																						Lesotho does not have a bilateral investment treaty or a free trade agreement with an investment chapter with the United States.  Lesotho does, however, have bilateral investment protection agreements with the United Kingdom (1981), Germany (1985), and Switzerland (2010).  The three agreements are posted in full on the UNCTAD website.  In 2008, SACU member states and the United States signed a Trade, Investment, and Development Cooperative Agreement (TIDCA).  In addition, Lesotho signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union in June 2016.Lesotho does not have a bilateral taxation treaty with the United States.  There are no taxation issues of concern to U.S. investors.  However, Lesotho has a bilateral taxation treaty, the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA), with the RSA and the United Kingdom (UK).  The DTA between Lesotho and RSA came into effect in 1997. The DTA between Lesotho and the UK was signed in 2016 and came into effect in 2018. Lesotho and Botswana signed a DTA in January 2021 and the Lesotho-Eswatini DTA came into force on March 26, 2021. On March 2, Lesotho signed a tax treaty with Mauritius. The income and capital tax between the two countries came into force on June 7, 2021. The treaty replaced the 1997 tax treaty between the two countries. During the reporting period, Lesotho and the United Arab Emirates concluded negotiations on DTA. The two countries are expected to sign DTA in the 2023/24 financial year.																																		3. Legal Regime						    																																																Transparency of the Regulatory System										According to some business community representatives, regulatory enforcement is generally weak and has moderate impact by hindering competition and distorting business and investment practices.  The legal, regulatory, and accounting systems are transparent and consistent with international norms.  The accounting systems for companies are regulated by the Companies Act of 2011 and Financial Institutions Act of 2012.  International Financial Reporting System (IFRS) is the current financial system used by companies.  Rule-making and regulatory mechanisms exist at the local, national, and supra-national levels although the most relevant for foreign investors is the national level.  There are no informal regulatory processes managed by the private sector or non-governmental organizations.There are no private sector or government efforts to restrict foreign participation in consortia or organizations that set industry standards.  Lesotho has a centralized online location where key regulatory actions are published.  However, the website is poorly maintained and rarely updated &#8212;  https://lesotholii.org/ .  The government printing office also publishes government gazettes which can be purchased by the public.Businesses in Lesotho are regulated by the Companies Act of 2011. The issuance of traders’ licenses is governed by the Trading Enterprises Order of 1993, as amended in 1996, and the Trading Enterprises Regulations of 1999, as amended in 2011, as well as the Business Licensing and Registration Act of 2019.  Trading licenses are required for a wide range of services; some enterprises can require up to four licenses for one location.  Manufacturing licenses are covered by the Industrial Licensing Act of 1969 and the Pioneer Industries Encouragement Act of 1969.  For most manufacturing license applications, environmental certificates issued by the National Environmental Secretariat (NES) are sufficient.  Where manufacturing activities are assumed to have actual or potential environmental impacts, however, an Environmental Impact Assessment is required, which must be approved by the NES.  The introduction of the OBFC improved the industrial and trading license system.  The OBFC has also streamlined other bureaucratic procedures, including those for licenses and permits.The GOKL modernized the regulatory framework for utilities through the establishment of the independent Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA), which regulates the telecommunications sector, and the Lesotho Electricity and Water Authority (LEWA), which regulates the energy and water sectors.  The two authorities set the conditions for entry of new competitive operators.  The LEWA allows both the Lesotho Electricity Company and the Water and Sewerage Company to maintain monopolies in their respective sectors.The Mines and Mineral (Amendment) Act 2022, Mines and Minerals Act of 2005, the Precious Stones Order (1970), and the Mine Safety Act (1981) provide a regulatory framework for the mining industry.  The Commissioner of Mines in the Ministry of Mines, supported by the Mining Board, is authorized to issue mineral rights to both foreigners and local investors.  On approval, it takes about a month for both prospecting and mining licenses to be issued.Under the Financial Institutions Act of 2012 the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) regulates financial services.Tourism enterprises are required to secure licenses under the Accommodation, Catering and Tourism Enterprise Act of 1997.  The Act provides for a Tourism Licensing Board that issues and renews licenses for camp sites, hotels, lodges, restaurants, self-catering establishments, bed and breakfasts, youth hostels, resorts, motels, catering, and guest houses.  Applicants for any of the above licenses must apply to the Board three months before its next meeting.  Several government departments, specifically the Ministries of Health and Tourism, the police and, when the property is in Maseru, the Maseru City Council, must inspect properties and submit inspection reports to the Board on prescribed forms.  Licenses are granted for one year and can be renewed.Parliamentary committees may, but are not required to, publish proposed laws and regulations in draft form for public comment.  Parliament may also hold public gatherings to explain the contents of the proposed laws, and these provide opportunities for comment on proposed laws and regulations.  The committees generally hold such consultations for laws that are perceived to be sensitive, such as: The Land Act, the Penal Code, and the Children’s Welfare and Protection Act.Regulations are developed to enforce the law, to implement objectives of legal frameworks, and to ensure compliance.  The following steps are followed when regulations are developed: the initiating ministry or agency writes a cabinet memo reflecting objectives and benefits of the regulations.  The cabinet memo is then widely circulated to relevant stakeholders to reflect how the regulations will impact them and to seek concurrence.  The initiating agency then makes a cabinet presentation to seek cabinet approval to draft the regulations.  The initiating agency drafts regulations and holds meetings with relevant stakeholders to obtain their input.  The initiating ministry or agency holds workshops with relevant stakeholders to validate regulations.  Draft regulations are submitted to the Attorney General for certification.  A Parliamentary presentation is held and updates to the draft are made.  A presentation to the Senate is held and updates of the regulations are made.  Parliament tables the regulations, and a provision of royal ascent is made by His Majesty King Letsie III.  The regulations are published, and the public is given a period of 14 days to review the regulations after which their comments are incorporated, and the regulations are finalized and gazetted.  The last step is to sensitize the public on the new regulations.Information on debt obligations is publicly available, including online.  The government produces an Annual Public Debt Bulletin, which covers debt management operations, debt portfolio, debt service, and loan guarantees.  The government also publishes a Medium-Term Debt Strategy paper.  More information is available at: www.finance.gov.ls/ .																																				International Regulatory Considerations										Lesotho is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the SACU.  SACU strives to promote integration of Member States into the global economy through enhanced trade and investment. SADC aspires to deepen regional integration and sustainable development. Lesotho’s products enjoy duty free access to SADC countries, which has a total population of 277 million.  For more information about SADC, visit:  www.sadc.int  .In January 2021, the GOKL ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. The main objective of the AfCTA is to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of businesspersons and investments. The agreement has been signed by 54 out 55 countries. To date, 46 countries have ratified the agreement. The agreement would provide a market access of over 1 billion people to Lesotho’s products with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimated at $3.4 trillion. For more information about AfCFTA, visit:  https://au-afcfta.org/about/ .Lesotho is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Lesotho’s regulatory systems are independent and not intertwined with regional regulations.  In cases where there are gaps with national regulations, the country uses regional regulations to close them.  The government does not reference or incorporate U.S. or another country’s regulatory systems.  The government notifies all agreements of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).  More information is located at:  https://www.tfadatabase.org/members/lesotho  .																																				Legal System and Judicial Independence										The legal system in Lesotho is based on Roman–Dutch law and English common law, combined with precolonial customary law.  The judicial system is made up of the High Court, the Court of Appeal, subordinate courts, and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).There is no trial by jury, instead, judges make rulings alone. There are magistrates’ courts in each of the 10 districts, and more than 70 central and local courts. With U.S. support, a Commercial Court was established in 2010 to improve the country’s capacity in resolving commercial cases though backlogs continue to delay processing times.  Foreign investors have equal treatment before the courts in disputes with national parties or the government.  The SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment enables investors to refer a dispute with the State to international arbitration if domestic remedies have been exhausted.  Lesotho is a signatory of the International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention) and also accepts ad hoc arbitration.  Lesotho is a member of the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and the Arbitration International Investment Disputes Act of 1974 commits Lesotho to accept binding international arbitration of investment disputes.																																				Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment										Lesotho does not have any investment laws. The overarching FDI policy is the 2015 National Investment Policy of Lesotho, produced with the assistance of UNCTAD.  The Companies Act of 2011 and the Financial Institutions Act of 2012 are the principal laws that regulate incoming foreign investment through acquisitions, mergers, takeovers, purchases of securities and other financial contracts and greenfield investments.  The investment treaties also govern conduct toward the entry of foreign investment.  In 2022 there were no major cases relating to foreign investment and the 2022 judgments are available at:  https://lesotholii.org/courtnames/high-court/2022 . The OBFC hosts the Lesotho Trade Information Portal, a single online authoritative source of all laws, regulations, and procedures for importing and exporting.   The OBFC web site is: http://www.obfc.org.ls/business/default.php .  The OBFC portal provides information on company registration and export and import regulations as well as information and links to key laws and 15 ministries.																																				Competition and Antitrust Laws										The government has produced but not yet passed a draft competition bill to improve the regulation of investments.  Its goal is to “provide the legal basis for undistorted competition and thus contribute to transparency and predictability in domestic markets.”  The are no agencies established to review transactions for competition-related concerns.  However, various government sectors deal with competition-related issues through use of available institutional guidelines and procedures. These include the Commercial Court, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Business Development and Tourism.  The government produced the Financial Consumer Protection Act, 2022 and recently approved Financial Consumer Protection (Disclosure of Credit Information) Regulations of 2023.																																				Expropriation and Compensation										The constitution provides that the acquisition of private property by the state can only occur for specified public purposes. The processes that are followed during expropriation follow the Land Act of 2010. These include consultations between government/authority and claimant, consultation with the chief, demarcation and survey of the area, publishing a gazette for public notification and information and provision of compensation equal to fair market value of the property.  In cases of expropriation where claimants allege a lack of due process, the affected persons may appeal to the High Court as to whether the action is legal, and compensation is adequate.  The constitution is silent on whether compensation may be paid abroad in the case of a non-resident; such an additional provision would usually be contained in a foreign investment law.  The government has no history of discriminating against U.S. or other foreign investments, companies, or representatives in expropriation.  The only local ownership law is the Trading Enterprises Act.																																				Dispute Settlement																										ICSID Convention and New York Convention						Lesotho is a member of the ICSID Convention and the New York Convention of 1958 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.  There is no specific domestic legislation providing for enforcement of awards under the ICSID Convention.						Investor-State Dispute Settlement						The government is a signatory to a treaty in which binding international arbitration of investment disputes is recognized.  Lesotho has no Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with the United States.  The government has little history of investment disputes involving U.S. or other foreign investors or contractors in Lesotho.Foreign investors have full and equal recourse to the Lesotho courts for commercial and labor disputes.  Courts are regarded as fair and impartial in cases involving foreign investors. There is no history of extrajudicial action against foreign investors.						International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts						Lesotho readily accepts binding international arbitration of investment disputes.  Lesotho has entered into a number of bilateral investment agreements that provide for international arbitration.  However, Lesotho does not have a bilateral investment treaty with the United States.  The government stands ready to accept and enforce foreign arbitral awards and judgements if they meet the requirements of domestic law (there have been no such awards to date).																										Bankruptcy Regulations										The Companies Act is the principal commercial and bankruptcy law in Lesotho. According to the law, creditors, equity shareholders, and holders of other financial contracts of a bankrupt company have a right to nominate a person to be a liquidator, however, if there are any disagreements, the person nominated by the creditors shall be the liquidator.  All claims against a bankrupt company shall be proved at a meeting of creditors and equity shareholders.  If the claim is rejected by the liquidator, the claimant may apply to the court by motion to set aside the rejection.  Creditors who will act as witnesses are entitled to witness fees. In a bankruptcy, workers are paid first, then creditors, equity shareholders and holders of other financial contracts are paid. Monetary judgments are usually made in the local currency.																																												4. Industrial Policies						    																																																Investment Incentives										There are tax, factory space, and financial incentives available to manufacturing companies establishing themselves in Lesotho, such as no withholding tax on dividends distributed by manufacturing firms to local or foreign shareholders. LNDC does not offer tax credits, but has a competitive corporate income tax rate of 10 % on manufacturing profits. LNDC provides credit guarantee support on loans provided by local commercial banks to eligible business legally registered in Lesotho including both foreign and domestic businesses. LNDC also provides de-risking equity fund where foreign investors perceive certain sectors as too risky to invest alone. LNDC offers unimpeded access to foreign exchange, export finance facility, and long-term loans.  These incentives are applied uniformly to both domestic and foreign investors. The LNDC also provides ready-built factory shells for manufacturing on fully serviced land with electricity and water. For more information, see: http://www.lndc.org.ls .  The incentives are specified in government administrative policies and regulations.																																				Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation										Lesotho does not have any free or foreign trade zones. Lesotho drafted a Free Trade Policy which was presented to Parliament. Labor-intensive textile manufacturing companies that export beyond the SACU market including those who export under AGOA enjoy the benefits of free trade zones since they can import raw materials then export finished products duty and tax free.																																				Performance and Data Localization Requirements										The government imposes mandates for local employment with an exception on shareholders and investors.Requirements for visas and residence permits are not intentionally discriminatory; however, procedures are lengthy and not integrated. Work permits to foreign nationals are generally issued and renewed after significant delay. For technical positions, firms have to provide justification based on local skill shortage.  The procedures for obtaining technical permits are transparent but foreign investors complain about excessive fees charged and long delays in processing.Work permits for the manufacturing sector are issued at the OBFC, while all other sectors need to lodge their applications with the Office of the Labor Commissioner.  The maximum period provided for a work permit is one year. The Ministry of Labor and Employment, with the financial support of the U.S. government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is conducting research to improve the effectiveness of the work permit system. For more information on the requirements for visas, residence permits and work permits, please visit:  http://www.obfc.org.ls/business/default.php . The GOKL does not follow a policy of “forced localization” designed to force foreign investors to increase investment and/or employment in the local economy.  The government does not force foreign investors to establish and maintain data storage within Lesotho; however, foreign investors are required to keep records of local sales and employees’ remuneration locally for tax purposes.  The country drafted a localization program to guide businesses in adhering to domestic conduct. The country introduced the training incentive program which applies for both local and foreign investors. Training costs are allowable at 125 percent for tax purposes.																																												5. Protection of Property Rights						    																																																Real Property										The right to private property is protected under the law.  Property rights and interests are enforced, and owners of property enjoy protection under the Lesotho Constitution of 1993. All foreign and domestic private entities may freely establish, acquire, and dispose of interests in business enterprises.  Under the Land Act of 2010, foreign nationals are permitted to buy and hold land provided they have a local partner with at least 20 percent ownership. Foreign investors are eligible to hold rights under sublease agreements, which should not exceed duration of parent land leases being 90 years for residential leases, 60 years for commercial leases and 30 years for petroleum products respectively (section 32 of the Land Act).Secured interests in property, both movable and real, are recognized and enforced under the Land Act of 2010.  The concept of a mortgage exists and mortgages are protected under the Deeds Registry Act of 1967.  Secured interests, including mortgages, are recorded and filed by the Deeds Registry.Land titles (leases) as well as secondary land transactions can be enforced in the Land Courts, Magistrate Courts, and the High Court. The Laws of Lerotholi (Amendment) Bill, 2022 repeals marital powers and gives women right to hold land titles. The Deed Registry Act of 1967 provides registration of mortgages, sublease agreements and transfer of immovable property. For more information, please visit  www.laa.org.ls .Through the support of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation, the government of Lesotho significantly improved the process of registering land titles. In 2022, the Land Administration Authority (LAA) implemented a digital platform whereby customers would be able to apply for land leases and register deeds online. This new system helped issue leases within two to three weeks as opposed to a period of over 12 months. The initiative is expected to improve Lesotho’s investment environment.																																				Intellectual Property Rights										Legal structures to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) in Lesotho are relatively strong.  Investors complain that enforcement is somewhat weak, but infringements and theft are not common.  Lesotho respects international IPR laws and is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as well as the African Intellectual Property Organization.Protection of IPR is regulated by the Industrial Property Order of 1989 and the Copyright Act of 1989, which conform to the standards set out in the Paris and Berne Conventions respectively.  The laws protect patents, industrial designs, trademarks, and grants of copyright, but they do not protect trade secrets or semiconductor chip lay-out design.  The Registrar General’s Office in the Ministry of Justice and Law is responsible for enforcement of the Industrial Property Order, while the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture is responsible for enforcement of copyright (reflecting the law’s focus on protection of artistic works). A Collective Management Organization was recently established to protect and promote the interests of rights holders. The organization also distributes royalties.Two bills with IP related regulations are yet to be passed in Lesotho Parliament. The Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology in liaison with the Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA) have finalized the drafting of the Computer Crime and Cyber Security bill and the Electronic Transactions and Commerce bill.  If enacted, the bills will improve the protection of IPR by addressing cyber-crime and protecting electronic transactions. Lesotho is not included in the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Report or the Notorious Markets List.For additional information about treaty obligations and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles at  http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/ .																																												6. Financial Sector						    																																																Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment										Through the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL), the GOKL promotes the development of financial markets in Lesotho. Lesotho’s capital market is relatively underdeveloped, with no secondary market for capital market transactions.  The Maseru Securities Market launched in 2016 under the wing of the CBL listed the first company on its stock exchange. The trading of government bonds; corporate bonds and company shares is strictly electronic— there is no physical building.  For now, bond trading is operated by the Central Bank of Lesotho. For the 2021/22 fiscal year, the government financed a fiscal deficit of approximately $27.8 million through internal borrowing.The government accepted the obligations of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article VIII in 1997 and has removed restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions.  However, the government has put a limit of $81,632 for international transactions. Foreign participation in government securities is allowed as long as foreign investors can open accounts with local banks through which funds can be collected.  Lesotho is part of the Common Monetary Area (CMA). The current account has been fully liberalized for all inward and outward cross-border transactions.  Transactions, however, over $272,108 for individuals and $34.0 million for businesses still need approval from the Central Bank.  A Central Bank Report reflected that private sector credit from the banking sector increased by 4.8 percent in October 2022 on a year-to-year basis.Credit is allocated on market terms, and foreign investors are able to get credit on the local market.  Interest rates are quite high by global standards. LNDC does not provide credit to foreign investors but can acquire equity in foreign companies investing in strategic economic sectors.  The private sector has access to a limited number of credit instruments, such as credit cards, loans, overdrafts, checks, and letters of credit. In January 2016, Lesotho’s first credit bureau was launched and has been functional. In July 2020, the parliament passed the Secured Interest in Movable Property Act to allow movable property to be considered as collateral in requesting for credit from commercial banks.																																				Money and Banking System										Lesotho has a central bank and four commercial banks, including three subsidiaries of South African banks (subject to measures and regulations under the Institutions Act of 2012) and the government-owned Lesotho Post Bank. Commercial banks in Lesotho are well-capitalized, liquid, and compliant with international banking standards; however, interest rates are high by global standards.  Three South African banks account for almost 92.5 percent of the country’s banking assets, which totaled over M21.6 billion ($1.5 billion) by December 2021.  The share of bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans was approximately 4.3 percent in December 2022.  Foreigners are allowed to establish a bank account and may hold foreign currency accounts in local banks; however, they are required to meet the requirements of the Financial Institutions Act 2012, Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act of 2008 (amended in 2017). Foreign investors are also required to provide a residence permit as a precondition for opening a bank account to comply with the “know your customer” requirements. The country did not lose correspondent banking relationships in the past three years.  Currently there are no banking relationships in jeopardy.The Liquid Assets to Total Deposits ratio averaged 40% in 2022 thus making the sector well capitalized and liquid to withstand shocks. The Tier 1 Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ration was estimated to average at 26% for the 2022 financial year, which was 18% above the minimum capital ratio of 8%.																																				Foreign Exchange and Remittances																										Foreign Exchange						The Lesotho loti is pegged to the South African rand. The currency fluctuates according to market forces. There are restrictions on converting or transferring funds associated with an investment into a freely usable currency and at a legal market-clearing rate.  Funds can only be converted into the world’s widely recognized currencies such as the U.S. Dollar, British Pound, and the Euro. Incoming funds can be converted into the local currency if the investor does not have the Customer Foreign Currency (CFC) account. If the investor has a CFC account, such funds can remain foreign in that account without any obligation to convert to Maloti. Loans to non-residents and incoming loans are subject to the discretionary allowance of M1 million ($55,556).						Remittance Policies						According to the CBL, there are no plans to change remittance policies.  The current average delay period for remitting investment returns such as dividends, return of capital, interest and principal on private foreign debt, lease payments, royalties, and management fees through normal legal channels is 30 days, provided the investor has submitted all the necessary documentation related to the remittance. There has never been a case of blockage of such transfers, and shortages of forex that could lead to blockage are unlikely given that the CBL maintains net international reserves at a target of 4.3 months of import cover.Payments of royalties should seek approval from the Central Bank. Export proceeds should be repatriated into the country within the period of six months (180 days).																										Sovereign Wealth Funds										There is no sovereign wealth fund or asset management bureau in Lesotho.																																												7. State-Owned Enterprises						    																						Lesotho privatized most state-owned enterprises (SOEs) following the adoption of the Privatization Act of 1995, including telecommunications, banks, and the government vehicle fleet.  The government did not privatize the electricity and water utility companies, which enjoy monopolies in their respective sectors.  In 2004, the government established the Lesotho Post Bank, which is mandated to provide Lesotho citizens with greater access to financial services. The government has stakes in private companies in utilities and the telecommunications, mining, and manufacturing sectors.  There is a significant level of competition within these sectors—SOEs do not play a leading role.  There are no laws that seek to ensure a primary or leading role for SOEs in certain sectors/industries.  SOEs operate under the same tax law, value-added tax (VAT) rebate policies, regulatory, and policy environment as other private business, including foreign businesses.  Private enterprises compete with public enterprises under the same terms and conditions with respect to access to markets, credit, and other business operations, such as licenses and supplies.  Private enterprises have the same access to financing as SOEs and on the same terms as SOEs, including access to finance from commercial banks and government credit guarantee schemes.The board of directors in SOEs is nominated by the government and more often does not have expertise and relevant qualifications. Most SOEs fail to adhere to the Public Financial Management and Accountability Act (PFMMA) reporting requirements. Lack of SOE policies prevent the enterprises from operating efficiently and effectively and some SOEs do not concisely declare dividends to the government. The government, with the assistance of the World Bank, is developing SOE policy. The SOEs contribute between two to five percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). There are currently six wholly owned SOEs, twelve partial government shareholdings in the private corporations and eleven companies in which the LNDC holds shares. SOEs are active in the water, energy, banking, communications, mining, travel and tourism, agriculture, and construction sectors.The wholly owned SOEs include the Lesotho Post Bank, Water and Sewage Company (WASCO), Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO), Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC), Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), and the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation (LNDC). The companies that are partially owned are the Lesotho Standard Bank, Lesotho Flour Mills, Econet Lesotho, Loti Brick, Avani Lesotho, Maluti Mountain Brewery, AON, National Life Insurance, National General Insurance, Liqhobong Mine, Kao Mine and Lets’eng Diamonds. The companies which the government holds shares or LNDC’s subsidiaries include Maluti Mountain Brewery, Basotho Fruit and Vegetable Canners, Loti Brick, Cashbuild Lesotho, Lesotho Food Industries, Ok Bazaas, Sun International (Avani) Lesotho Housing and Land Development Corporation, Lesotho Milling and Mountain Kingdom Foods. Please visit the following website for a list of SOEs:  https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29752?show=full The World Bank study “Lesotho State-Owned Enterprises: A Country Policy Note” reflected that the country did not adhere to the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD) guidelines on corporate governance for SOEs.																										Privatization Program										There is no ongoing privatization program in Lesotho.																																												8. Responsible Business Conduct						    																						In Lesotho, responsible business conduct (RBC) is understood as technical business culture which adheres to environmental, social and governance principles that improves the ease of doing business, levels the playing field and manages risk to attract and keep investors. There is a general awareness of RBC and corporate social responsibility among both producers and consumers.  The government maintains and enforces domestic laws with respect to labor and employment rights, consumer protections, and environmental protections.  Labor laws and regulations are rarely waived in order to attract investment, and the government does not compromise on environmental laws.The Government of Lesotho through the LNDC (which is the Government of Lesotho’s Investment Promotion Agency) subscribes and implements globally accepted due diligence standards as prescribed by the OECD as well as UNCTAD. The government through the assistance of UNCTAD reviewed Lesotho Investment Policy of 2003 and has developed the Investment Policy of 2016. Foreign and local enterprises tend to follow generally accepted corporate social responsibility principles such as those contained in OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.  Firms that pursue corporate social responsibility are viewed favorably by society, but CSR does not necessarily provide any advantages in dealing with the government.The country has limited tools to protect human rights, labor rights, consumer rights and the environment. The Labor Court has been established to address labor issues. The Financial Consumer Protection Act, 2022 was issued on June 3, 2022. The government also approved Financial Consumer Protections Regulations of 2023. The Consumer Protection Unit is established under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. However, the offices of this unit are only available in one district. The country is yet to establish a Human Rights Commission and the Tribunal on Environment Matters.The Lesotho Companies Act of 2011 provides for standard and adaptable requirements for incorporation, organization, operation, and liquidation of companies to encourage efficient and responsible management of companies to protect shareholders and other key stakeholders. Furthermore, the government has assisted the Lesotho Institute of Directors (IoD) in the development of the Mohlomi Corporate Governance Code sponsored by the African Development Bank (ADB). The code was launched in September 2021. This code will provide universal best practices guidance for good corporate governance for Lesotho.The IoD promotes and monitors responsible business conduct. The local NGO, the Transformation Resource Centre (TRC), also monitors and advocates for responsible business conduct.Although Lesotho has an extractive/mining industry, it does not participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), since it does not extract/produce any of the minerals supported through the initiative.																										Additional Resources										Department of StateCountry Reports on Human Rights Practices;Trafficking in Persons Report;Guidance on Implementing the &#8220;UN Guiding Principles&#8221; for Transactions Linked to Foreign Government End-Users for Products or Services with Surveillance Capabilities;U.S. National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; and;Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory Department of the TreasuryOFAC Recent ActionsDepartment of LaborFindings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor Report;List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor;Sweat &amp; Toil: Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Around the World and;Comply Chain.																																				Climate Issues										The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho (GOKL) has a Climate Change Strategy. In 2018, the government prepared the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) which sets a 35% reduction target in Green House Gases (GHG) emission by 2030. The private sector is expected to reduce net GHG emissions by 10% by 2030. The GOKL developed its National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) 2017-2027 to preserve biodiversity. Lesotho’s procurement policies do not include environmental or green growth considerations.																																												9. Corruption						    																						Lesotho’s Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) is mandated to prevent and to combat corruption.  The country has laws, regulations, and penalties to combat corruption of public officials.  Parliament passed anticorruption legislation in 1999 that provides criminal penalties for official corruption.  The DCEO is the primary anticorruption organ and investigates corruption complaints against public sector officials.  The Amendment of Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act of 2006 enacted the first financial disclosure laws for public officials.  On February 5, 2016, the government issued regulations to initiate implementation of the financial disclosure laws for public officials who must file their declarations annually by April 30.  The law may also be applied to private citizens if deemed necessary by the DCEO.  The law prohibits direct or indirect bribery of public officials, including payments to family members of officials and political parties.  On June 25, 2020, the parliament passed the amendment on Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act of 2006, which will allow the DCEO to investigate money laundering issues beyond national boundaries. This amendment provides the DCEO with the power to work together with similar institutions from other countries in combating corruption.The Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act of 2008 (amended in 2017) and Public Financial Management and Accountability Act of 2011 serve as additional anti-corruption laws.  The Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act (section 14 (1)) and Public Procurement Regulations of 2007 have provisions that address conflicts-of-interest in awarding government procurement contracts.  Section 6 (g) (h) (i) of the Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act of 1999 encourages private companies to develop internal controls to prevent corruption.  Corruption is most pervasive in government procurement, awarding licenses, and customs fraud.While the GOKL has made significant efforts to implement its laws, many officials continue to engage in corruption with impunity.  The DCEO claims it cannot effectively undertake its mission because it lacks adequate resources. However, for 2023/24 financial year, the government allocated an additional $2.8 million to allow the DCEO to effectively perform its duties. The Minister of Finance promised to allocate a further $5.4 million to DCEO if it managed to get convictions by September 2023. The country does not have instruments to protect NGOs investigating corruption. According to some investors, corruption is pervasive in government procurement, provision of licenses, work permits, and residence permits. The 2022 Afrobarometer survey reflected increasing perceptions of government official corruption from 46% in 2020 to 52% in 2022. The study also showed increasing perception of members of parliament corruption increasing from 45% in 2020 to 57% in 2022.To prevent corruption and economic offences, the DCEO encourages companies to establish internal codes of conduct that, among other things, prohibit bribery of public officials.  Many companies have effective internal controls, ethics, and programs to detect and prevent bribery.Some U.S. firms have identified corruption as an obstacle to foreign direct investment in Lesotho.  Giving or accepting a bribe is a criminal act under the Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act of 2006, the penalty for which is a minimum of 10,000 maloti ($667) or 10 years imprisonment.  Local companies cannot deduct a bribe to a foreign official from taxes.The DCEO continues to investigate and prosecute cases. Through the Assets Forfeiture Strategy, the DCEO recovered both movable and immovable assets.On March 27, 2023, the Accountant General, ‘Malehlohonolo Mahase, issued a memorandum of understanding to Principal Secretaries directing them to withdraw a maximum of M30,000 ($1,667) from commercial banks per month with effect from April 1, 2023 and to complete transactions above this benchmark through cashless money platforms to ensure that money is easily traced as well as its sources and beneficiaries to reduce money crimes including money laundering.UN Anticorruption Convention, OECD Convention on Combatting BriberyLesotho acceded to the UN Anticorruption Convention in 2005, but it is not yet a signatory to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery.  Lesotho acceded to the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption in 2003.  The country is also a member of the Southern African Development Community Protocol Against Corruption, the Southern African Forum Against Corruption, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), and the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG).																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																		10. Political and Security Environment						    																						On October 7, 2022, the government held parliamentary elections in which the newly formed Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) political party won 57 of 120 seats and formed a 66-seat coalition government with the Alliance of Democrats and the Movement for Economic Change. The elections were declared free and fair by local and international observers. On October 28, former Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro peacefully transferred power to RFP leader Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane. Democratic Party leader Mathibeli Mokhothu assumed leadership of the opposition. The adoption of the multi-sectoral reforms is still pending. This will greatly enhance stability of the government and further strengthen oversight institutions.																																		11. Labor Policies and Practices						    																						Lesotho’s 2019 Labor Force Survey reflected official unemployment rate as 22.5 percent and youth unemployment at 29.1 percent. The report reflected that the formal sector represented 41.1 percent of the total employment while the informal sector and household sector represented 40.5 percent and 18.4 percent, respectively. Males constituted 52.8 percent of those employed while females constituted 47.2 percent. About 77.3 percent of international migrant workers were females working in elementary occupations. The report reflected most international migrants were from South Africa, followed by Zimbabwe and China.Lesotho has embarked on its first Critical Skills Assessment survey to determine skills surplus and shortage. The results of the survey will be released in June. The data from the Ministry of Labor and Employment reflected that engineers, doctors, and academia represented scarce skills while lawyers, teachers, nurses, and business administrators are considered to be surplus skills.The IMF estimated the informal economy comprises of 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The informal sector constitutes companies that are not registered and do not pay taxes. The informal economy is characterized by labor standards deficits. There are no employment contracts or formal relationships. The government has not enforced the formal registration of these businesses.In 2023, Lesotho ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 151 which aims at allowing workers to organize and bargain collectively. In the private sector, there are very few trade unions and even where they exist the law does not require that collective bargaining agreements should be registered. The majority of active unions are in the textile and manufacturing sector; however, they do not have the capacity to bargain with employers. To address this shortfall, the Ministry has included legal provisions relating to the establishment of bargaining councils in the Labor Code Draft Bill section 135.Issues of gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) have been reported in two textile factories. The Ministry of Labor together with social partners ratified the ILO Convention 190 on gender-based violence and harassment as a first step towards ensuring that frameworks are reviewed to adequately address GBV in the workplace on March 15, making Lesotho the 26th ILO Member State and the 4th country in the SADC region to formally commit to this inclusive, integrated, and gender-responsive approach to prevent and eliminate violence and harassment in the workplace.The government also ratified ILO Convention No. 87 to ensure that public officers can establish and join trade unions and affiliate with international organizations.The International Labor Organization has identified gaps in the following international labor standards:ILO Convention on Minimum Age No. 132 requires member states to set completion of free and compulsory primary education at 15 years in line with the minimum age into employment to close the gap between minimum age of employment and completion of primary education. In Lesotho, the completion of primary education is at 13 years of age.The Labor Code Order of 1992 and the Constitution of 1993 require hiring of citizens; however, non-citizens can be hired with a work permit. The Labor Code No. 24 of 1992 Section 79 (2) only puts a restriction on employees who have been fairly dismissed for misconduct that they are not entitled to claim for payment of severance upon termination of their contract of employment. Furthermore, the Labor Code (Code of Good Practice) Notice, 2003 provides for fair dismissals and grounds that may warrant for dismissals and layoffs.In Lesotho there are currently no economic zones; however, the law permits waivers in order to attract investment. The law provides for freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively.The country has various labor dispute resolution mechanisms in place.  This includes both formal and informal mechanisms.  LNDC is one key institution that deals with labor disputes.  For example, LNDC intervenes in strikes and tries to reconcile workers and employers.  When this informal process fails, the more formal process of the Directorate of Dispute Prevention &amp; Resolution (DDPR) can be engaged which can consist of conciliation and arbitration.  The Labor Code Amendment Act of 2000 established the DDPR, which serves as a semi-autonomous labor tribunal independent of the government, political parties, trade unions, and employers and employer organizations.  The Labor Court and the Labor Court of Appeal are the key judiciary entities dealing with labor disputes. The Labor Court reviews the decisions of the DDPR while the Labor Appeal Court reviews the decisions of the Labor Court.																																		12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs						    																						Lesotho does not have an Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) agreement with the United States.  OPIC insures one American-owned company: Lesotho Flour Mills, Seaboard Corporation’s joint venture with the Lesotho government.																																		13. Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment Statistics						    																						Table 2: Key Macroeconomic Data, U.S. FDI in Host Country/EconomyHost Country Statistical source*USG or international statistical sourceUSG or International Source of Data:BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, OtherEconomic DataYearAmountYearAmountHost Country Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ($M USD)2019$2,4862021$2,230www.worldbank.org/en/countryForeign Direct InvestmentHost Country Statistical source*USG or international statistical sourceUSG or international Source of data:BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, OtherU.S. FDI in partner country ($M USD, stock positions)2016$4942021$3BEA data available athttps://apps.bea.gov/international/factsheet/Host country’s FDI in the United States ($M USD, stock positions)N/AN/AN/AN/ABEA data available at https://www.bea.gov/international/direct-investment-and-multinational-enterprises-comprehensive-dataTotal inbound stock of FDI as % host GDP202030.9202019.9UNCTAD data available athttps://unctad.org/topic/investment/world-investment-report * Source for Host Country Data: Central Bank of LesothoTable 3: Sources and Destination of FDIData not available.																																		14. Contact for More Information						    																						Erika LewisPolitical &amp; Economic Affairs Chief254 Kingsway AvenueMaseru, LesothoTel: +266 2231-2666Fax: +266 22310116MaseruCommercial@state.gov																										    							View report by:																				Albania											Algeria											Andorra											Angola											Antigua and Barbuda											Argentina											Armenia											Australia											Austria											Azerbaijan											The Bahamas											Bahrain											Bangladesh											Barbados											Belarus											Belgium											Belize											Benin											Bolivia											Bosnia and Herzegovina											Botswana											Brazil											Brunei											Bulgaria											Burkina Faso											Burma											Burundi											Cabo Verde											Cambodia											Cameroon											Canada											Chile											China											Colombia											Costa Rica											Côte d’Ivoire											Croatia											Cyprus											Czechia											Democratic Republic of the Congo											Denmark											Djibouti											Dominica											Dominican Republic											Ecuador											Egypt											El Salvador											Equatorial Guinea											Eritrea											Estonia											Eswatini											Ethiopia											Fiji											Finland											France and Monaco											The Gambia											Gabon											Georgia											Germany											Ghana											Greece											Grenada											Guatemala											Guinea											Guyana											Honduras											Haiti											Hong Kong											Hungary											Iceland											India											Indonesia											Iraq											Ireland											Israel											Italy											Jamaica											Japan											Jordan											Kazakhstan											Kenya											Kosovo											Kyrgyz Republic											Laos											Latvia											Lebanon											Lesotho											Liberia											Libya											Lithuania											Luxembourg											Macau											Madagascar											Malawi											Malaysia											Maldives											Mali											Malta											Marshall Islands											Mauritania											Mauritius											Mexico											Micronesia											Moldova											Mongolia											Montenegro											Morocco											Mozambique											Namibia											Netherlands											Nepal											New Zealand											Nicaragua											Niger											Nigeria											North Macedonia											Norway											Oman											Pakistan											Palau											Panama											Papua New Guinea											Paraguay											Peru											Philippines											Poland											Portugal											Qatar											Republic of the Congo											Romania											Rwanda											Saint Kitts and Nevis											Saint Lucia											Saint Vincent and the Grenadines											Samoa											Sao Tome and Principe											Saudi Arabia											Senegal											Serbia											Seychelles											Sierra Leone											Singapore											Slovakia											Slovenia											Somalia											South Africa											South Korea											South Sudan											Spain											Sri Lanka											Suriname											Sweden											Switzerland											Taiwan											Tajikistan											Tanzania											Thailand											Timor-Leste											Togo											Trinidad and Tobago											Tunisia											Türkiye											United Arab Emirates											Uganda											Ukraine											United Kingdom											Uruguay											Uzbekistan											Vietnam											West Bank and Gaza											Zambia											Zimbabwe															Build A Custom Report																						On This Page				search													>																										EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment																																							Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment																																																						Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment																																																						Other Investment Policy Reviews																																																						Business Facilitation																																																						Outward Investment																																																			2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties																3. Legal Regime																																							Transparency of the Regulatory System																																																						International Regulatory Considerations																																																						Legal System and Judicial Independence																																																						Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment																																																						Competition and Antitrust Laws																																																						Expropriation and Compensation																																																						Dispute Settlement																																																				ICSID Convention and New York Convention																																												Investor-State Dispute Settlement																																												International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts																																																																																				Bankruptcy Regulations																																																			4. Industrial Policies																																							Investment Incentives																																																						Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation																																																						Performance and Data Localization Requirements																																																			5. Protection of Property Rights																																							Real Property																																																						Intellectual Property Rights																																																			6. Financial Sector																																							Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment																																																						Money and Banking System																																																						Foreign Exchange and Remittances																																																				Foreign Exchange																																												Remittance Policies																																																																																				Sovereign Wealth Funds																																																			7. State-Owned Enterprises																																							Privatization Program																																																			8. Responsible Business Conduct																																							Additional Resources																																																						Climate Issues																																																			9. Corruption																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																				10. Political and Security Environment																11. Labor Policies and Practices																12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs																13. Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Portfolio Investment Statistics																14. Contact for More Information																						Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs																								Lesotho
- Lesotho HomeReportsBureau of Economic and Business Affairs2023 Fiscal Transparency Report&#8230;Lesotho				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Fiscal Transparency Report: Lesotho																																					Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs																																																																																																				 In this section																																												Government-by-Government Assessments: Lesotho																																												Government-by-Government Assessments: Lesotho				During the review period, the government made its enacted budget publicly available within a reasonable period.  The government did not, however, publish its budget proposal or end-of-year report within a reasonable period.  The government published information on debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt, within a reasonable period.  Budget documents provided a substantially full picture of the government’s planned expenditures and revenue; however, it did not include financial allocations to and earnings from major state-owned-enterprises.  The government broke down expenditures to support executive offices.  Budget executions deviated significantly from budget projections and the government did not produce and publicly issue revised budget estimates or pass a supplementary budget.  The government maintained off-budget accounts not subject to audit or oversight.  Military and intelligence budgets were subject to parliamentary oversight.  The supreme audit institution did not meet international standards of independence, although it published audits that covered the entire budget and contained substantive findings.  The government specified in law or regulation and appeared to follow in practice the criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts and licenses.  Basic information on natural resource extraction awards was not publicly available.Lesotho’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:Publishing a budget proposal and end-of-year report online within a reasonable period;Detailing allocations to and earnings from state-owned enterprises;Producing and publicly issuing revised budget estimates or passing a supplementary budget when budget executions deviate significantly from projections;Eliminating off-budget accounts or subjecting them to adequate oversight and audit;Ensuring the supreme audit institution meets international standards of independence; andMaking basic information on natural resource extraction publicly available.																												    							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- Lesotho HomeReportsOffice to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons2023 Trafficking in Persons Report&#8230;Lesotho				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Lesotho																																					Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons																																																																																																				 In this section										/																							LESOTHO (Tier 2)																																													LESOTHO (Tier 2)																															PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS:																																																																																		PROSECUTION																																																																																		PROTECTION																																																																																		PREVENTION																																																																																		TRAFFICKING PROFILE:																																																																																																								LESOTHO (Tier 2)				The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.  The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Lesotho remained on Tier 2.  The government increased funding for anti-trafficking law enforcement, victim protection, and awareness efforts.  The government appointed a prosecutorial focal point for trafficking cases and established two new district-level multisectoral committees (MSC).  The government trained its diplomats on the SOPs and NRM for victim identification and referral.  The government increased coordination across agencies on anti-trafficking efforts and with foreign governments on investigations.  However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas.  The government continued to rely on one NGO to provide all services to trafficking victims without dedicating sufficient government funding, and shelter options remained limited.  Additionally, significant backlogs of pending trafficking prosecutions remained.  Gaps in training resulted in some front-line officials lacking awareness of the NRM and SOPs for victim identification and referral.																																					PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS:						    																																															Institutionalize specialized trafficking in persons training to police investigators, prosecutors, magistrates, judges, immigration officials, labor inspectors, social service personnel, and health care professionals to identify and refer victims using the NRM.Increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers, including officials complicit in trafficking crimes; address court backlogs; and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.Adequately fund the Anti-Trafficking and Migrant Control Unit and establish focal points with training on human trafficking investigations for all 10 districts of Lesotho to ensure effective response to all potential trafficking cases.Dedicate funding for the Victim of Trafficking Trust Fund, establish reporting requirements for transparency, and ensure appropriate allocations for victim protection, including shelter.Increase joint operations between law enforcement and labor inspectors to increase identification and referral to services of forced labor victims, particularly in manufacturing and agriculture sectors, and facilitate effective criminal investigations against traffickers.Institutionalize and consistently enforce strong regulations and oversight of labor recruitment companies, including by eliminating recruitment fees charged to migrant workers and holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable.Formalize collaboration with foreign governments to increase information sharing and coordination on transnational trafficking investigations.Systematically collect and analyze anti-trafficking law enforcement and victim protection data.																																												PROSECUTION						    																																															The government increased anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts.  The 2011 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, as amended, criminalized labor trafficking and sex trafficking.  The law prescribed penalties of up to 25 years’ imprisonment for the trafficking of adults and up to life imprisonment for the trafficking of children.  These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with regard to sex trafficking, commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape.The government initiated 10 investigations – six for sex trafficking, one for labor trafficking, and three where the form of trafficking was unspecified – and continued 14 investigations from previous reporting periods.  This compared with 10 investigations initiated during the previous reporting period.  The government initiated one trafficking prosecution, compared with 16 in the previous reporting period, and continued 12 prosecutions from the previous reporting period.  A court convicted and sentenced one trafficker to 50 years’ imprisonment, the same as the previous reporting period.  As reported in previous reporting periods, the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) arrested the alleged trafficker of a Nigerian victim, who was permitted to operate his business with impunity; the investigation remained ongoing.Although magistrate courts, which are the courts of first instance for trafficking cases, lacked authority to impose maximum penalties allowed in trafficking crimes, legal authorities determined magistrates could refer trafficking cases to the High Court to issue longer sentences, though it was unclear if magistrates were aware of this procedure.  The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) assigned a team of prosecutors to process the large backlog of trafficking prosecutions; the team faced continued challenges due to missing dockets or the inability to include victim testimony after repatriation of foreign national victims and witnesses.The LMPS Anti-Trafficking and Migrant Control (ATMC) Unit maintained five specialized anti-trafficking focal points, composed of three to four investigators, in Botha-Bothe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Mohale’s Hoek, and Maseru.  In other districts, the Child and Gender Protection Unit (CGPU) investigated trafficking crimes.  Members of each focal point received basic training on combating trafficking in persons, but lacked specialized training on victim identification, trauma-informed interviewing, and investigating trafficking crimes.  The ATMC Unit continued to hold meetings, as needed, with the DPP to conduct joint case reviews and facilitate prosecution-led investigations.  The LMPS, Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE), and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with support from an international organization, conducted joint inspections targeting forced labor; the joint task force referred several cases for investigation involving potential foreign national victims.  Some members of the joint inspection teams lacked sufficient training to identify falsified work and visa documentation during inspections.  In 2022, the Governments of Lesotho and South Africa, with support from an international organization, began implementation of the Bi-National Commission of Cooperation to increase and formalize cooperation in multiple areas, including law enforcement coordination on trafficking cases.  The LMPS coordinated with the South African Police Service on three cross-border investigations; however, the LMPS reported difficulty engaging with their South African counterparts.The government did not report any prosecutions or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes, however, corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns.  Government officials were allegedly complicit in the illegal entry, transportation, and harboring of foreign nationals, which the government investigated in two cases during the reporting period.  The government continued implementing a rotational system for immigration officials to deter participation in illicit activities, including human trafficking.  In an effort to ensure accountability, observers reported law enforcement required training on appropriate conduct and mechanisms to ensure victims are treated respectfully during investigations.																																												PROTECTION						    																																															The government increased overall protection efforts.  The government identified and referred to care 25 trafficking victims, compared with 24 victims identified and referred to care in the previous reporting period.  The government identified four potential trafficking victims through joint labor inspections.  The government, with support from an international organization, continued implementation of its SOPs for victim identification and the NRM to refer victims to services.  The NRM was translated into Sesotho and disseminated to local officials.  The government’s Trafficking in Persons Coordinator supervised district social workers handling trafficking cases and trained them on issues related to human trafficking.  Observers reported the need for additional training for law enforcement and frontline workers on the SOPs for victim identification and NRM on referral to care.  NGOs and international organizations intercepted 350 potential victims of trafficking through transit monitoring at airports and border crossings.An NGO had an MOU with the government to provide emergency shelter to both foreign and Basotho female victims – and their dependent children – and child victims of trafficking, sexual assault, as well as domestic violence.  The NGO provided short-term housing, medical care, counseling, job skills training, and legal assistance to 33 trafficking victims, including 16 sex trafficking victims, six labor trafficking victims, and 11 victims of unspecified forms of trafficking.  The government increased its allocated funding for victim services in 2022 to 150,000 maloti ($8,823), compared with 82,500 maloti ($4,868) in 2021.  This funding paid for the shelter’s utilities and security as well as medical fees for victims.  Additionally, in some circumstances, the government paid for victims’ legal fees, counseling services, school fees, transportation, and other expenses.  However, the shelter required significant external funding to maintain operation.  While trafficking victims had a choice whether to enter the NGO shelter, it was the only shelter available; victims had freedom of movement while residing at the shelter.  The NGO provided support services to male trafficking victims, however, there were no shelters equipped to house male victims.  The government donated a building in Maseru to an NGO to expand their existing shelter capacity for trafficking victims.  Observers expressed a need to establish shelters nationwide.  Victims were not required to participate in investigations to access services.  In cases where victims experienced fear or intimidation by traffickers, the government provided a separate room for victims to testify or facilitated virtual court proceedings.  The government provided trafficking victims with legal representation at no cost.The government increased allocated funding for anti-trafficking efforts, including victim services through a dedicated bank account, to 2 million maloti ($118,008), with 1.5 million maloti ($88,235) disbursed by the end of the reporting period.  This bank account remained in use from the previous reporting period to handle anti-trafficking funds, instead of the required Victim of Trafficking Trust Fund, which would provide stronger accountability measures as stipulated under the anti-trafficking law.  While the law provided restitution in trafficking cases, no prosecutors petitioned it and, therefore, judges did not order it during the reporting period.  The anti-trafficking act and its implementing regulations prohibited the prosecution of victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked and allowed foreign victims to elect permanent residency as a legal alternative to their removal.  For foreign victims, provision of care beyond a 60-day reflection period was dependent on their cooperation with law enforcement; authorities repatriated victims who did not cooperate with law enforcement after the reflection period.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) was responsible for coordinating with the victim’s home country for the issuance of travel documents within 60 days of victim identification if the victim no longer had possession of their travel documents.  If a foreign national victim cooperated with law enforcement, they could remain in Lesotho for the duration of the criminal case; however, barring safety concerns or qualifications of other immigration benefits, the victim had to return to their home country following the conclusion of any criminal proceedings.																																												PREVENTION						    																																															The government increased anti-trafficking prevention efforts.  The Prime Minister’s cabinet subcommittee to combat trafficking in persons convened regularly – setting the agenda for the government’s anti-trafficking efforts – and continued implementing the National Strategic Framework and Action Plan (NSFAP) to Combat Trafficking in Persons for 2021-2026, with assistance from international partners.  The NSFAP provided a roadmap for anti-trafficking efforts that delineated responsibilities among government ministries and included dedicated resources for implementation.  The government’s national MSC, led by MHA and charged with implementing the government’s anti-trafficking efforts, met regularly in Maseru and held additional meetings across the country with support from an international organization.  The government partnered with an international organization through a donor funded-program to train 56 government and NGO participants, including 42 government officials, and establish two district-level anti-trafficking MSCs in Botha-Bothe and Mokhotlong.  The MFA, in collaboration with the MSC and an international organization, trained the government’s diplomats at four consulates and the Lesotho High Commission in South Africa on identifying and referring trafficking victims to care.  The MFA also maintained focal points based in all 20 of Lesotho’s foreign missions and consulates to respond to cases of human trafficking of its citizens identified abroad and continued disseminating a trafficking in persons handbook for diplomats, developed in partnership with an international organization.The government increased efforts to raise awareness, especially outreach to vulnerable communities, and continued its participation in NGO-led activities.  Government officials conducted prevention education and awareness activities, some organized by an NGO, consisting of 326 campaign events in all 10 districts, educating approximately 60,000 Basotho on human trafficking.  Campaign materials were printed in Sesotho and English, with picture illustrations for illiterate community members.  The government continued targeting outreach and awareness efforts to Basotho diaspora communities in collaboration with NGOs serving Lesotho citizens abroad.  The government also integrated human trafficking awareness into a national campaign to issue identification documentation to students and other community members.The MHA and Department of Immigration collaborated with NGOs and international organizations to increase proactive identification of potential trafficking victims through transit monitoring at key border crossings and airports.  The government had an agreement with the Government of South Africa aimed to increase protections for Basotho employed in South Africa, including in domestic work.   The agreement authorized the issuance of long-term work permits, required signed employment contracts, and allowed Basotho to register for unemployment insurance in South Africa; despite this agreement, Basotho remained vulnerable to trafficking in South Africa.  The government employed 29 labor inspectors, who received training on human trafficking and child labor and conducted 875 inspections in 2022, primarily in textile factories; two cases of child labor were identified.  MOLE developed a human trafficking checklist to assist labor inspectors to identify human trafficking crimes during inspections.  The government drafted standard guidelines for migrant recruitment from Lesotho to foreign countries to enhance protections for migrant workers; however, the guidelines did not eliminate recruitment fees elicited from workers.  The government continued to implement its labor migration policy focused on recruitment malpractice and incorporated screening for trafficking indicators into labor inspectors’ interviews with migrants.  The government also continued to discuss trafficking in persons in pre-departure sessions for migrant workers and conducted inspections to confirm licensure of recruitment agencies and their compliance with labor code provisions.Through support from an international organization, the government operated a child protection hotline, including trafficking.  Law enforcement operated a hotline for reporting all crimes, including human trafficking.  MHA’s general hotline received reports of six trafficking crimes during the reporting period, which were referred to LMPS for investigation.  The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.  With support from an international organization, the government contributed information to a centralized anti-trafficking database that collected national data on criminal cases and victims identified and shared it with countries in the region.  During the previous reporting period, MHA commissioned a study by an NGO to examine trends and patterns of human trafficking in Lesotho.  MOLE finished an assessment of child labor, including child trafficking, in Lesotho, which awaited final release by the end of the reporting period.																																												TRAFFICKING PROFILE:						    																																															As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Lesotho, and traffickers exploit victims from Lesotho abroad.  Limited economic opportunities, exacerbated by the pandemic and inflation, resulted in vulnerable populations – including women and orphaned children, enticed by traffickers with false promises of legitimate employment or educational opportunities – to migrate from rural into urban areas and to South Africa or the Middle East.  Traffickers, including in religious institutions, fraudulently advertise scholarships or lucrative jobs in hospitality on social media to recruit victims into forced labor and sex trafficking, increasingly in the Middle East.In Lesotho, traffickers exploit Basotho children, especially orphans, in forced labor in domestic servitude and animal herding and in sex trafficking.  Young girls employed in domestic work in exchange for room and board are vulnerable to forced labor and abuse.  In previous years, there were anecdotal reports that “workshop masters” force children to produce and sell arts and crafts in market vending.  There were reports of sexual harassment in Taiwanese-, People’s Republic of China- (PRC), and South Asian-owned textile factories in Lesotho, including widespread reports that managers and supervisors coerced female workers into sexual relationships in exchange for maintaining employment, receiving better working conditions, and avoiding further harassment.  Pandemic-induced layoffs increased vulnerabilities of the predominantly female textile workforce, resulting in some engaging in commercial sex.Basotho women and girls seeking work migrate to South Africa, where traffickers detain some in prison-like conditions and exploit others in sex trafficking, notably in Welkom and Klerksdorp.  Some parents send children to South Africa to work as domestic workers, and they are exploited in forced labor.  Basotho traffickers target factory workers in Maseru, with offers of lucrative employment in South Africa, and force them to work in factories in Newcastle and Mandeni, South Africa.  In 2022, the Government of South Africa did not renew work permits for some Basotho migrant workers employed in South Africa’s agricultural sector, which increased their vulnerability to trafficking.  Traffickers exploit some Basotho men who migrate voluntarily, although unauthorized and often without identity documents, to South Africa for work in agriculture and mining in forced labor; many of these men work for weeks or months before their employers report them to South African authorities for deportation on immigration violations to avoid paying earned wages.  Traffickers connected to organized crime syndicates operating in South Africa allegedly exploit Basotho men in derelict and ownerless gold mines.  Some of these miners, known as “zama zamas”, recruit young girls in Lesotho to exploit in sex trafficking in South Africa.  Traffickers also compel Basotho to commit crimes in South Africa, including theft, drug trafficking, and smuggling under threat of violence.Climate change, including slow-onset climate events, such as flooding and droughts, impacted agricultural production and food security, increasing vulnerabilities to trafficking.  Increased unemployment due to the closure of factories drives some Lesotho citizens to enter South Africa while undocumented in search of work, which may increase their vulnerability to trafficking.  Foreign nationals, including PRC nationals, Pakistanis, and Nigerians, subject their compatriots to sex trafficking in Lesotho.  Cuban nationals working in Lesotho may be forced to work by the Cuban government.																																				    							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- Lesotho HomeReportsOffice of International Religious Freedom2022 Report on International Religious Freedom&#8230;Lesotho				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Lesotho																																					Office of International Religious Freedom																																																																																							Download Report																																																																																	 In this section										/																							Executive Summary 																																													Executive Summary 																															Section I. Religious Demography																																																																																		Section II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom																																																									Legal Framework																																																																											Government Practices																																																																																	Section III. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom																																																																																		Section IV. U.S. Government Policy and Engagement																																																																																																								Executive Summary 				The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of conscience, thought, and religion, including the freedom to change religion or belief and to manifest and propagate one’s religion.  These rights may be limited by laws in the interests of defense, public safety, order, morality, or protecting the rights of other persons, provided the limitations are the minimum necessary.The government removed all COVID-19 restrictions on August 22, and normal religious services resumed.  A Muslim religious leader noted Christian groups had comparatively greater access to state media for the propagation of religious beliefs.  The government continued to provide extensive support for schools operated by religious groups, including paying and certifying all teachers.The Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL), an umbrella organization representing the Roman Catholic, Assemblies of God, African Methodist Episcopal, Anglican Church of Lesotho, Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa, and a student Christian movement, stated it involved various faith-based organizations, including non-Christian groups, in its activities.  In October, the CCL invited leaders from the 65 political parties registered with the Independent Electoral Commission to sign a pledge committing themselves to peaceful, free, and fair National Assembly elections on October 7.  The CCL also cited increasing concern among religious leaders regarding crime in the country, noting that it affected their members even if specific religious groups were not targeted.  The CCL also expressed concern about the involvement of some newer Pentecostal churches in criminal activities.During the year, the U.S. Ambassador met with government and religious leaders to discuss religious tolerance and their plans to help keep the peace during and after the National Assembly elections in October.																														Section I.													 Religious Demography												    																																															The U.S. government estimates the total population at 2.2 million (midyear 2022).  According to the CCL, approximately 90 percent of the population is Christian.  An Afrobarometer survey in February-March estimated the Christian segment of the population to be more than 95 percent.  The survey found that Protestants, including Anglicans, evangelical Christians, Methodists, members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Pentecostals, Christian Zionists, Baptists, and members of the Church of Christ, represent 53.7 percent of the population, and Roman Catholics, 41.4 percent.  The country’s other citizens and residents include Muslims, Hindus, Baha’is, those who belong to Indigenous or other religious groups, and nonbelievers.  Many Christians practice traditional Indigenous rituals in conjunction with Christianity.  According to Afrobarometer, Muslims constitute 0.4 percent of the population.  Muslims live primarily in the northern area of the country and in the capital.																																					Section II.													 Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom												    																																																Legal Framework										The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of conscience, thought, and religion, including the freedom to change religion or belief and to manifest and propagate one’s religion.  These rights may be limited by laws in the interests of defense, public safety, order, morality, or protecting the rights of other persons, provided the limitations are the minimum necessary.The law requires religious marriages to be performed by members of the clergy, leaving adherents of religious traditions without a clergy, such as Baha’is, with civil marriage as their only option.  The law also recognizes marriage under Lesotho customary law based on Basotho cultural norms and practices.By law, any group, religious or otherwise, may register as a legal entity with the government, providing the entity has a constitution and a leadership committee.  Most religious groups register, but there is no penalty for those that do not.  Registration gives a group legal standing, formalizes its structure under the law, and provides exemption from income tax.  In the absence of registration, religious organizations may operate freely, but without legal standing or any of the protections of registered organizations.The Ministry of Education pays and certifies all teachers at government-funded schools, including religious schools, and requires a standard curriculum for both secular and religious schools.  The government permits but does not mandate religious education in schools, and the constitution exempts students at any educational institution from requirements to receive instruction or attend any ceremony or observance associated with a religion that is not their own.  The Minister of Education must approve all curricula, including for religious education classes.  The law does not prohibit or restrict schools run by religious organizations.  Other than the constitutional provision barring discrimination, there is no specific law requiring religious schools to accept children not of the school’s denomination.The country is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.																																				Government Practices										On August 22, the government removed all COVID-19 restrictions, and normal religious services resumed.  In 2021, some Christian and Muslim groups had stated that a lack of government consultation in establishing COVID-19-related restrictions on the permitted number of worshippers and the duration of religious events had affected their religious practices and complicated modifying those guidelines as circumstances changed.A Muslim religious leader continued to say Muslims had no access to state-owned television religious programming opportunities available to Christian groups, which left Muslims unable to propagate their religion through this medium.Churches continued to own and operate 83 percent of all primary and 66 percent of all secondary schools.  The Roman Catholic Church, Lesotho Evangelical Church, Anglican Church, and, to a lesser extent, Methodist Church were the primary operators of these religious schools, which were publicly funded.In practice, religious education – including in all religious schools and in some secular schools – was mandatory, according to parents and teachers.  Despite the constitutional provisions allowing students to opt out of religious education, there were no reports of students electing to do so.The government continued to permit families to send their children to schools run by religious groups other than their own, and some families chose this option.  Others went to public schools or secular private schools.																																					Section III.													 Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom												    																																															According to local media, on May 12, Bishop David Thakadu Ramela of the St. Paul African Apostolic Church mediated a meeting between the leader of the then-ruling All Basotho Convention party, Nkaku Kabi, and then Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro, to broker unity within the party ahead of the October National Assembly elections.The Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL), an umbrella organization representing the Roman Catholic, Assemblies of God, African Methodist Episcopal, Anglican Church of Lesotho, Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa, and a student Christian movement, stated it involved various faith-based organizations, including non-Christian groups, in its activities.On July 17, CCL leaders included a Muslim representative and those from other religious groups in a service that marked the King’s birthday and offered prayers for peaceful National Assembly elections.  The CCL also invited other faith-based organizations to take part in a meeting held in August on the occasion of the presentation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution to the public.  CCL leaders said the amendment, which would enable reforms in all branches of the government, in government management of the economy, and in government relations with the media, was necessary to stabilize the government.  On October 5, the CCL invited leaders from the 65 political parties registered with the Independent Electoral Commission to sign a pledge committing themselves to peaceful, free, and fair National Assembly elections on October 7; 25 political party leaders or their representatives did so.  The pledge also committed party leaders to respect human dignity, ban physical and verbal violence, denounce discrimination based on gender, physical appearance or religion, condemn hate speech, avoid acts of criminality, and accept and respect the final election results.  The elections were declared free and fair, and all political parties accepted the outcome, even those who did not sign the pledge.The CCL continued to express the concern of religious leaders about crime in the country, which it said was based on anger due to a lack of opportunity for youth, aggressive gang activity, and gender-based violence.  The CCL noted crime affected their members, even if not specifically targeted at a religious group, and stated that churches should play a larger role in addressing societal issues.  The CCL stated that some of what it described as newer, “mushrooming,” Pentecostal churches registered as faith-based organizations were engaged in criminal activities such as trafficking in persons, sexual harassment, abuse, and money laundering.  For example, on May 6, the Berea Magistrate Court sentenced Pastor Thukulula Smith to 50 years in prison on two counts of human trafficking and two counts of rape.  He was found guilty of using his position as a pastor in 2018 to gain the trust of his congregants to transport two teenagers to South Africa to secure jobs, but he assaulted them instead.  He has been in jail since 2018.																																					Section IV.													 U.S. Government Policy and Engagement												    																																															During the year, the U.S. Ambassador met with then Minister of Police and Public Safety Lepota Sekola to discuss religious tolerance and plans to help keep peace during and after the October 7 National Assembly elections.  On September 14, the Ambassador met with CCL chairperson Bishop Daniel Rantle and the CCL board of trustees to discuss religious freedom in the country and the CCL’s plans to support the elections.  On September 20, the Ambassador met with Archbishop of Maseru Gerard Tlali Lerotholi, who echoed the CCL’s commitment to support the political party’s peace pledge ahead of elections.  The U.S. embassy used its social media platforms during the year to highlight religious freedom issues.																																				    							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Religious Demography																																																	Section II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom																																							Legal Framework																																																						Government Practices																																																			Section III. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom																																																	Section IV. U.S. Government Policy and Engagement																																																							Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Lesotho																								Office of International Religious Freedom																																Religious Freedom
- Maseru, Lesotho: American International School of Lesotho: 2024 Special Needs Profile Office of Overseas SchoolsDownload the Special Needs Profile (Maseru- 2024 Special Needs- Lesotho)for this school to learn more about their capability to support students with exceptionalities.&nbsp;The American International School of Lesotho (AISL) is a non-profit, independent coeducational day school, which offers an American style educational program to students from preschool (age three) through grade eight. The school, founded in 1991, serves the needs of the wider American community and other students seeking an American style education delivered in English. The school year is divided into three trimesters extending from August to November, December to March and March to mid-June. AISL is accredited through Middle States Accreditation (MSA). Our next MSA visit will be approximately April 2023.&#8220;While saying yes to many of the above questions, being a small school we have limited resources to provide to a wide range of needs. Having said that, our custom is to talk with potential parents to find out the exact needs of the child to be able to make an informed decision, in consultation with the parents, as to whether what we can provide is enough. There are limited resources for support in the community, but there are more options in the nearby towns in South Africa. Again, depends on the level of support required.&#8221;&#8211;AISL representative.This is intended to provide general information. Prospective users of the schools may wish to inquire further of A/OPR/OS or contact the school directly for more specific and up-to-the-minute information. Information and statistics are current as of December 2023 and provided by the school.NOTE: School situations can change quickly, particularly as schools face cutbacks to learning support programs due to the pandemic, unrest, and economic uncertainty. For the most current information, work with the REO and school. Information in this document was collected by the Department of State’s Office of Overseas Schools directly from the school in December 2023 and shows the availability of services rather than an assessment of the quality of the services. The profile is intended as a jumping off point for a conversation with the REO and school to understand the best fit for your child. Definitions may vary school to school.
- Lesotho HomeReportsBureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices&#8230;Lesotho				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lesotho																																					Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																																																																																							Download Report																																																							Translations																																																																 In this section										/																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																																													EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																															Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																																									a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																																											b. Disappearance																																																																											c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and other Related Abuses																																																																			Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																																																		d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																																			Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																																																		e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																																			Trial Procedures																																																								Political Prisoners and Detainees																																																								Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies																																																																																																																		f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																																																	Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																																									a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																																			Internet Freedom																																																																																																																		b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																																											c. Freedom of Religion																																																																											d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																																											e. Protection of Refugees																																																																											f. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons																																																																																	Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																																																												Elections and Political Participation																																																																																	Section 4. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government																																																																																		Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																																																																																		Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																																									Women																																																																											Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																																											Children																																																																											Antisemitism																																																																											Trafficking in Persons																																																																											Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																																											Persons with Disabilities																																																																											Other Societal Violence or Discrimination																																																																																	Section 7. Worker Rights																																																									a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																																											b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																																											c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																																											d. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation																																																																											e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																																																																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY				Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy with a democratic parliamentary government. Under the constitution the king is head of state but does not actively participate in political activities. The prime minister is head of government and has executive authority. On October 7, the country held national assembly elections. All major parties accepted the outcome, and Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane of the Revolution for Prosperity party formed a coalition government with the Alliance of Democrats and Movement for Economic Change and became prime minister. On October 28, former Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro transferred power peacefully to Matekane, and Democratic Congress Party leader Mathibeli Mokhothu assumed leadership of the opposition. Local and international observers assessed the election as peaceful, credible, and transparent.The security forces consist of the Lesotho Defence Force, Lesotho Mounted Police Service, National Security Service, and Lesotho Correctional Service. The Lesotho Mounted Police Service is responsible for internal security. The Lesotho Defence Force maintains external security and shares some domestic security responsibilities with police and the National Security Service. The National Security Service is an intelligence service that provides information on possible threats to internal and external security. The Lesotho Mounted Police Service reports to the minister of local government, chieftainship, home affairs and police; the Lesotho Defence Force and National Security Service to the prime minister; and the Lesotho Correctional Service to the deputy prime minister and minister of justice, law, and parliamentary affairs. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control over the security forces. There were credible reports members of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service and Lesotho Defence Force committed some human rights abuses.Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious government corruption; lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence; and the existence of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, although not enforced.While impunity was a problem, the government had mechanisms in place to identify, investigate, and prosecute officials convicted of committing human rights abuses, but investigation, prosecution, and trials proceeded slowly due to limited funding, judicial inefficiency, and corruption.																														Section 1.													 Respect for the Integrity of the Person												    																																																a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings										The constitution prohibits arbitrary deprivation of life. There were several reported abuses by security forces similar to the following examples. On April 9, soldiers beat Bibi Mohajane to death at Ha Maliepetsane Village in Mafeteng District. They suspected Mohajane of illegal gun possession. According to his father, Mohajane denied the allegations. A delegation from the Lesotho Defence Force contributed 10,000 maloti ($550) to his funeral costs. On June 16, Roma Police Station officers shot and killed Kopano Makutoane during a student protest. The students protested the Ministry of Development Planning National Manpower Development Secretariat’s decision to cut their allowances from 1,100 maloti ($60) to 450 maloti ($25) due to an adjusted school calendar. Police referred the matter to the Director of Public Prosecution the following month. The director had taken no action by year’s end.On July 7, police referred the case of three suspended police officers involved in the September 2021 death of Tseliso Sekonyela at the Thetsane Police Station to the director of public prosecution. The police officers had yet to be charged by year’s end.																																				b. Disappearance										There were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.																																				c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and other Related Abuses										The constitution states no person shall be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment, and the penal code lists torture as a crime against humanity.  Nevertheless, there were credible reports police tortured suspects and subjected them to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.There were numerous reported abuses similar to the following examples.  On January 11, media reported police arrested and beat Police Constable Liteboho Makhakhe on suspicion of involvement in armed robbery.  The same day, Special Operations Unit police arrested his attorney, Napo Mafaesa and took him to Mabote Police Station where they waterboarded him to reveal where his client hid the firearm used in the robbery.  Judge Fumane Khabo ordered Mafaesa’s release and ordered police not to subject him to any further ill treatment.On May 12, police ordered the chief and 18 men and 16 women of Liseleng village to roll on the ground as police officers kicked and beat them with clubs.  Soldiers intervened as police attempted to force the villagers into a river.  Police subsequently refused to issue medical forms to enable villagers to seek medical assistance and threatened to arrest them.  On May 20, then Minister of Police Lepota Sekola, Minister of Defence Halebonoe Setsabi, Minister of Justice and Law Lekhetho Rakuoane, and the deputy minister of water visited Liseleng community and expressed remorse.  Police Senior Superintendent Mpiti Mopeli stated the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) did not condone brutality.  The incident was under investigation at year’s end.  In a June 1 letter highlighting law enforcement deficiencies, then Prime Minister Majoro cited widespread police brutality, the torture of citizens in Liseleng village, and the alleged torture of attorney Mafaesa by police.According to a September 23 statement by pan-African research network survey Afrobarometer, 71 percent of persons interviewed regarding police conduct responded police “often” or “always” abused or tortured persons in their custody.  Approximately 55 percent stated police routinely used excessive force in managing protests.																Prison and Detention Center Conditions						Prison conditions were harsh and life threatening due to overcrowding; deteriorating infrastructure; physical abuse and inmate-on-inmate violence, including rape; and poor food quality, clothing, sanitary conditions, medical care, ventilation, lighting, and heat.Abusive Physical Conditions:  The Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) reported facilities in Maseru and Quthing were overcrowded.  It attributed prison overcrowding to high crime rates among the unemployed.  In a May 17 interview with Radio Lesotho, LCS spokesperson Pheko Ntobane stated prisons were overcrowded.  LCS Commissioner Mating Nkakala acknowledged infrastructure deterioration rendered men’s prison facilities in Qacha’s Nek, Quthing, and Berea Districts, and women’s and juvenile facilities uninhabitable.  Authorities reported inadequate funding due to delayed disbursements negatively affected operations, including a shortage of essential supplies.Authorities stated prisoners submitted several complaints of physical abuse by correctional officers during the year.  Between February and March, Commissioner Nkakala suspended four LCS officers at the Mokhotlong facility in connection with police investigations.  The officers allegedly assaulted an inmate who had reported theft of livestock food by prison officers.  The case was referred to the Mokhotlong Magistrate Court and is scheduled for trial in January 2023.  The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Transformation Resource Center stated inmates were often reluctant to file complaints due to prison authorities’ failure to act on them.Inmate-on-inmate violence continued to be a problem.  For example, the LCS reported two cases of prison gang violence at Thaba-Tseka Prison and one incident at Maseru Central Prison.Rape and consensual unprotected sex by prisoners contributed to a high rate of HIV and AIDS infection in prisons.  In contrast to 2021, there were no reported incidents of rape during the year; however, NGOs believed there were unreported incidents.All prisons had a nurse and a dispensary to attend to minor illnesses, but health care was inadequate.  Inmate Kebitsamang Falten told Newsday newspaper there were four nurses in the Maseru Central compound, but access to their services was limited.  Prisons lacked medical units that operated 24 hours a day; as a result, guards confined sick prisoners to their cells from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m.  Although prisons provided potable water, sanitation was poor in the Mokhotlong, Berea, Quthing, and Qacha’s Nek Prisons.  Prisons generally lacked bedding, lighting, and proper ventilation; heating and cooling systems did not exist.There were no reports of food shortages; however, prison food quality remained poor.  On October 7, the Newsday newspaper interviewed prisoners at the Maseru Central Prison.  Prisoners reported limited access to health care, an unbalanced diet, and a shortage of prison uniforms and blankets.  Inmate Motlalentoa Matelo stated prison officials deliberately delayed sending sick inmates to the hospital, unless critically or severely injured.  The LCS reported five deaths attributed to natural causes, not from malnutrition or other prison conditions.Authorities did not institute safeguards or other measures to protect the rights or accommodate the needs of prisoners with disabilities.  Prison buildings lacked ramps, railings, and other features facilitating physical access for prisoners with disabilities.Administration:  The LCS investigated credible reports of inmate-on-inmate violence and physical abuse by correctional officers.  The Office of the Ombudsman stated it received no prisoner complaints related to prison conditions and treatment during the year.  Prisoners were often unaware they could file complaints, which had to be submitted through prison authorities, creating the possibility of retaliation against complainants.Independent Monitoring:  The ombudsperson, diplomatic corps, and church, business community, and court representatives visited prisoners.  Visitors provided inmates with medicine, personal hygiene products, and supplemental food.																										d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention										The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention and provide for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of arrest or detention in court.																Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees						The law requires police, based on sufficient evidence, to obtain an arrest warrant from a magistrate prior to making an arrest on criminal grounds.  Police arrested suspects openly, informed them of their rights, and brought those charged with a crime before a judicial officer.  By law police are required to inform suspects of charges against them upon arrest and present suspects in court within 48 hours.  According to media, police did not always inform suspects of charges upon arrest and detained them for more than the prescribed 48 hours.  Authorities may not hold suspects in pretrial detention more than 60 days except for those deemed to be a flight risk or who might intimidate witnesses if released.  The law provides for bail, which authorities granted regularly and, in most cases, fairly.Defendants have the right to legal counsel.  Authorities generally allowed detainees prompt access to a lawyer.  The Legal Aid Division under the Ministry of Justice and Law and NGOs offered free legal assistance, but it did not have the capacity to provide counsel to all indigent detainees.Arbitrary Arrest:  The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention and provide for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of arrest or detention in court.  Arbitrary arrest and detention were continuing problems.  Reports continued that police detained individuals improperly and attempted to refer cases for prosecution based on insufficient evidence or for reasons unrelated to any substantiated criminal offense.Pretrial Detention:  Pretrial detainees constituted 30 percent of the prison population.  The average length of pretrial detention was six months, after which authorities usually released pretrial detainees on bail pending trial.  Pretrial detention sometimes lasted for years, however, due to judicial staffing shortages, unavailability of legal counsel, inadequate forensic capacity, or negligence.  The length of pretrial detention sometimes equaled or exceeded the maximum sentence for the alleged crime.  In September 2021, a judge attributed some of the delays to a shortage of medical pathologists.  The judge stated some cases were dismissed due to a lack of credible postmortem evidence required to establish the cause of death.																										e. Denial of Fair Public Trial										The constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary and the government generally respected judicial independence and impartiality.  In contrast to 2021, there were exceptions.  Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli failed to respect court orders.  For example, the High Court ordered Molibeli to reinstate 12 recruits dismissed from the Police Training College in May and June for inadequate medical fitness and “unbecoming behavior.”  Molibeli subsequently reinstated the recruits.  Then Prime Minister Majoro also cited Molibeli’s failure to respect a court decision reversing rejection of police promotions as a basis for recommending his dismissal.																Trial Procedures						The constitution and law provide for the right to a fair and public trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right.Officials did not always inform defendants promptly and in detail of the charges against them.  Defendants enjoyed free interpretation as necessary during proceedings at the High Court and magistrate levels but not at other points in the criminal justice process.  Interpreters were not readily available for defendants who did not speak English or Sesotho.  By law the free assistance of an interpreter is not required for Court of Appeal cases.  Trial delays resulted from a large backlog of cases due to an inadequate number of judges, the failure of defense attorneys to appear in court, defendants changing legal counsel, motions for recusal of judges, and court closures due to unpaid electricity bills.Defendants have the right to be present at their trial, to communicate with an attorney of their choice, and have adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense.  Defendants may confront and question witnesses against them and present witnesses on their own behalf.  The law provides for defendants to present evidence on their own behalf at a magistrate’s court, but the High Court requires a lawyer present evidence.  Defendants may not be compelled to testify or confess guilt and may appeal a judgment.In civil and criminal matters, a single judge normally hears cases.  In constitutional, commercial, and appeal court cases, more than one judge is assigned.  By law civil and criminal trials are open to the public.						Political Prisoners and Detainees						There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.						Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies						Individuals and organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations through domestic courts and appeal adverse decisions to the Court of Appeal.																										f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence										The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, and correspondence, and the government generally respected these prohibitions. Although search warrants are required under normal circumstances, the law provides police with the power to stop and search persons and vehicles as well as to enter homes and other places without a warrant if the situation is deemed life threatening or there are “reasonable grounds” to suspect a serious crime has occurred. Additionally, the law states any police officer of the rank of inspector or above may search individuals or homes without a warrant.																																					Section 2.													 Respect for Civil Liberties												    																																																a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media										The constitution and law provide for freedom of expression, but the constitution does not explicitly mention freedom of the press and other media.  An independent media, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for members of media.  There were no reports the government failed to respect judicial independence.Censorship or Content Restrictions for Members of the Press and Other Media, Including Online Media:  Independent media practiced self-censorship due to dependence on government advertising revenue and its control of access to broadcast towers, but media otherwise expressed a wide variety of views without restriction.  The law provides for the right to obtain and impart information freely, but only if it does not interfere with “defence, public safety, public order, public morality, or public health.”In June 2021, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) expressed its concern regarding proposed legislation mandating the Lesotho Communications Authority to establish and maintain a database containing personal information obtained by monitoring mobile phone calls.  MISA argued that making personal data easily accessible to security agencies without judicial consent could violate privacy rights and inhibit free expression.  As a result, parliament amended the bill to require security agencies to first obtain court authorization.  In December 2021, the Communications Subscriber Identity Module Registration regulations were modified to prohibit the release to a third party of a subscriber’s personal information without the subscriber’s written consent or a court order.																Internet Freedom						The government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content and there were no credible reports the government monitored private online communications without appropriate legal authority.																										b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association										The constitution and law provide for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, but the law requires organizers to obtain permits seven days in advance for public meetings and processions. On March 21, COVID-19 pandemic regulations prevented the Coalition of Lesotho Public Employees from holding a demonstration protesting what it viewed as an inadequate annual salary increase of 5 percent. On August 22, the government rescinded the regulations.																																				c. Freedom of Religion										See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at  https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/.																																				d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country										The constitution and law provide for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights.																																				e. Protection of Refugees										The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, or asylum seekers, as well as other persons of concern.Access to Asylum: The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees.																																				f. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons										Criminal gang attacks on communities caused displacement of residents (see section 6, Other Societal Violence or Discrimination). According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, local authorities denied internally displaced persons (IDPs) burial sites and access to grazing land for their livestock. There were reports of IDP children being abused at schools.The Lesotho Highlands Development Project, the Metolong Dam Project, and the Ministry of Mining have programs providing for the safe and voluntary local integration of IDPs displaced by developmental projects. According to the government, it provided some relocated IDPs with housing. There was no system in place to fund the return of IDPs to their homes at year’s end.																																					Section 3.													 Freedom to Participate in the Political Process												    																																															The constitution and law provide citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage.																																				Elections and Political Participation										Recent Elections: On October 7, the government held parliamentary elections in which the newly formed Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party won 57 of 120 seats and formed a 66-seat coalition government with the Alliance of Democrats and the Movement for Economic Change. On October 28, former Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro peacefully transferred power to RFP leader Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane. Democratic Party leader Mathibeli Mokhothu assumed the leadership of the opposition.The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) accredited almost 1,000 domestic and international observers. Observers characterized the election as peaceful and conducted in a credible, transparent, and professional manner. Unlike during the 2017 elections, observers did not report Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) presence at polling places.Participation of Women and Members of Minority Groups: No law limits participation of women or members of minority groups in the political process, and women did participate. Of 2,560 candidates who competed in the October 7 national assembly elections, 876 were women. In the 120-member National Assembly, 12 women won seats, and 19 received seats according to proportional representation provisions. Women members of parliament rose from 29 to 31 seats. Three of the 15 cabinet positions are held by women, including the first woman deputy prime minister.Pitso Lesaoana was the first man with disabilities to win election to a seat in parliament. No members of racial or ethnic minority groups, or known lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) persons, were elected, although a naturalized Mosotho of Chinese descent ran for a seat and a transgender candidate attempted to run but was rejected because he did not win his party’s endorsement. No members of racial or ethnic minority groups, or LGBTQI+ persons were in the National Assembly, Senate, or cabinet.The law provides for the allocation of one third of the seats in the municipal, urban, and community councils to women. The law also states a political party registered with the IEC must facilitate the full participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities, but it does not mention LGBTQI+ persons. Party lists for the 40 proportional representation seats in the National Assembly must include equal numbers of women and men.																																					Section 4.													 Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government												    																																															The law provides criminal penalties for conviction of corruption by officials.  The government did not implement the law effectively.  There were numerous reports of government corruption, and some officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.Corruption:  On September 29, the Lesotho Times newspaper reported the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) was investigating the award of a 1.5 billion maloti ($82 million) police tender to Huawei for the supply and installation of surveillance cameras and other digital equipment.  Unsuccessful bidders complained the contract was awarded improperly.  According to the Lesotho Times, Huawei paid bribes to secure the contract.  In a December 2021 letter, former Prime Minister Majoro ordered suspension of the project.																																					Section 5.													 Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights												    																																															Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases.  In contrast with 2021, on November 11, Prime Minister Matekane met with human rights NGOs.Government Human Rights Bodies:  The mandate of the independent Office of the Ombudsman is to receive and investigate complaints of government maladministration, injustice, corruption, and human rights abuses, and to recommend remedial action where complaints are justified.  The courts nullified on procedural grounds a bill passed by parliament amending the constitution to provide for Office of the Ombudsman recommendations to be legally binding.																																					Section 6.													 Discrimination and Societal Abuses												    																																																Women										Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes the rape of women or men, including spousal rape, and domestic violence. Rape convictions carry a minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment. Sexual assault and rape were commonplace, and according to local and international NGOs, most incidents went unreported. When informed, police generally enforced the law promptly and effectively; however, the prosecution of those indicted and tried proceeded slowly.Domestic violence against women was widespread. On April 16, Police Lance Sergeant Letsie Posholi shot and killed his wife Relebohile Tsolo at Ha Mapotsane in Mohale’s Hoek district due to suspected adultery.On July 26, attorney Gareth Lepan, representing Director of Public Prosecutions Hlalefang Motinyane, withdrew murder, attempted murder, and destruction of property charges against former Prime Minister Motsoahae Thabane and his wife Maesaiah Thabane. The charges stemmed from the 2017 killing of former Prime Minister Thabane’s estranged wife Lipolelo Thabane and the attempted killing of Thato Sibolla, who was traveling with Lipolelo at the time of her death. The prosecution stated it encountered challenges tracing a key witness in its explanation for dropping the case.Advocacy and awareness programs by the LMPS Child and Gender Protection Unit (CGPU), ministries, and NGOs continued public outreach to counter societal acceptance of violence against women and children.The government had one shelter in Maseru for abused women. The shelter offered psychosocial services but provided help only to women referred to it by the Ministry of Gender; however, most survivors of gender-based violence were unaware of the shelter.Other Forms of Gender-based Violence: There were reports of forced elopement, a customary practice whereby men abduct and rape girls or women with the intention of forcing them into marriage. If a perpetrator’s family was wealthy, the survivor’s parents often reached a financial settlement rather than report the incident to police or allow the case to proceed to trial (see section 6, Child, Early, and Forced Marriage).Labia elongation, the act of lengthening the labia minora (the inner lips of female genitals) through manual manipulation (pulling) or physical equipment (such as weights) was practiced. Labia elongation is legal; however, according to the NGO Federation of Women Lawyers, it was not a common practice.Sexual Harassment: The law criminalizes sexual harassment; however, survivors rarely reported it. Penalties for those convicted of sexual harassment are at the discretion of the court. Police believed sexual harassment to be widespread in the workplace and elsewhere (see section 7.e.). On July 11, Transformation Resource Center Executive Director Tsikoane Peshoane appeared before the Maseru Magistrate Court on charges of sexual harassment. Three women who worked at the center accused him of sexual abuse and harassment. He was released pending trial on the condition he does not intimidate the plaintiffs. Tsikoane Peshoane has yet to be tried by year’s end.On May 12, Magistrate Peter Murenzi acquitted Deputy Commissioner of Police Paseka Mokete of sexual harassment for lack of evidence. In 2020 Police Inspector Makatleho Mphetho filed a lawsuit accusing Mokete of sexual harassment. On June 8, the director of public prosecutions appealed the acquittal, and Mokete countersued Mphetho alleging perjury. No court date had been set by year’s end.The CGPU continued broadcasting radio programs to raise public awareness of the problem of sexual harassment.Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.Social and cultural barriers, but no legal prohibitions limited access to contraception and related services. There was access to modern contraception for a minimal fee; male and female condoms were readily available free of charge.The government provided access to sexual and reproductive health services informed by guidelines for medicolegal care to survivors of sexual violence, including emergency contraception as part of the Ministry of Health’s management of rape.NGOs reported unequal treatment in access to prenatal and postnatal health care. Inequities were due to poorer patients’ inability to cover the secondary costs of health care such as transportation; cultural practices, such as family members demanding home birth medical services; inadequate care in health-care facilities; and poor public reproductive health education. Approximately 89 percent of births took place in health-care facilities. There was access to emergency health care for the management of complications arising from abortion. Limited sexual health education contributed to early motherhood among adolescents (see Children subsection).According to the WHO, the maternal mortality rate was 554 per 100,000 live births. The high maternal mortality rate was primarily attributed to health-system limitations. The survey identified correlations among education, wealth, and contraceptive use; women with living children were more likely than those without living children to use contraceptives. In remote areas, some women relied on traditional medicine rather than skilled providers during their pregnancy.Discrimination: Except regarding employment (see section 7.d.) and inheritance rights, women have the same legal status and rights as men under family, religious, and nationality laws as well as laws regarding labor, access to credit, and owning or managing businesses or property. Women have the right to execute a last will and testament and to sue for divorce. A customary law marriage does not have legal standing in a civil court unless registered in the civil system. Although there were no reported cases of discrimination against members of specific racial, ethnic, or religious groups, LGBTQI+ persons and persons with disabilities faced societal discrimination. The government did not enforce the law effectively.Although civil law provides for women to have inheritance, succession, and property rights, customary law does not permit women or girls to inherit property and takes precedence over civil law in property disputes.According to the Lesotho Federation of Women Lawyers, the government enforced the law in urban areas but deferred to customary law in rural areas.																																				Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination										According to the constitution, every citizen enjoys the same fundamental human rights and freedoms regardless of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. There were no reports of violence or discrimination against racial or ethnic minority groups.																																				Children										Birth Registration: According to the constitution, birth within the country’s territory confers citizenship. The law stipulates birth registration must occur within three months of birth but provides for late registration for up to one year without penalty.Education: By law primary education, which ends at grade seven, is universal, compulsory, and tuition free beginning at age six. The Ministry of Education and Training set the maximum age for free primary education at 13. Secondary education is not free, but the government offered scholarships to orphans and other vulnerable children. Authorities may impose a nominal monetary fine or imprisonment of parents convicted of failing to assure regular school attendance by their children.Child Abuse: While the law prohibits child abuse, it was a continuing problem, especially for orphans and other vulnerable children. The penalties for conviction of ill treatment, neglect, abandonment, or exposure of a child to abuse are up to two months’ imprisonment and a nominal monetary fine. Neglect, common assault, sexual assault, and forced elopement occurred.The Maseru Magistrate’s Court has a children’s court as part of a government initiative to protect children’s rights. For example, in March the court convicted a former director of disability at the Ministry of Social Development, Retselisitsoe Thoahlane and his son Tumelo Thoahlane of raping an 11-year-old girl in the father’s care and sentenced both to 15 years’ imprisonment.The CGPU led the government’s efforts to combat child abuse. The CGPU sought to address sexual and physical abuse, neglect, and abandonment of children, and to protect the property rights of orphans. It also advocated changing cultural norms that encouraged forced elopement.Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: Civil law defines a child as a person younger than age 18 but provides for a girl to marry at age 16. Customary law does not set a minimum age for marriage. The Ministry of Social Development and World Vision International conducted public awareness campaigns against child marriage in several districts. On July 27, Mohale’s Hoek District Administrator Bahlakoana Tsolo stated orphaned girls were particularly vulnerable to child marriage and early pregnancy due to poverty. He noted child rape and early and forced marriage increased during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period when children were homebound. World Vision International’s Acting Child Protection and Adult Safeguarding Lead Motlatsi Taka cited harmful cultural practices (including labeling girls unmarried by age 15 spinsters), limited reporting, and post COVID-19 school dropouts as contributing factors. He stated when parents learned of an adolescent child’s pregnancy, they often forced the child to marry her rapist.Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibits commercial sexual exploitation, sale, grooming, or using children for commercial exploitation, including child sex trafficking. It sets the minimum age for consensual sex at 18 and criminalizes all forms of child sex trafficking. Anyone convicted of an offense related to child sex trafficking is liable to a sentence of up to life imprisonment. Conviction of child pornography carries a similar sentence. Offenders convicted of child sex trafficking are liable to a sentence of life imprisonment. The death penalty may be applied if an HIV-positive perpetrator is convicted of knowingly infecting a child. There were no cases reported during the year.																																				Antisemitism										Few Jewish persons resided in the country. There were no reports of antisemitic acts.																																				Trafficking in Persons										See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at  https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.																																				Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics										Criminalization: By law, “any person charged with sodomy or assault with intent to commit sodomy may be found guilty of indecent assault or common assault if such be the facts proved.” Authorities did not enforce the law.Violence against LGBTQI+ persons: Matrix, the sole NGO dedicated to the protection of LGBTQI+ persons’ rights, reported two cases of assault against its members. For example, on June 6, media reported unknown assailants attacked a transgender man at Ha Letsoela Village. The survivor reported the matter to police and the case was under investigation at year’s end.Discrimination: The law prohibits discrimination by state and nonstate actors based on sexual orientation but does not explicitly forbid discrimination based on gender identity or expression. The government did not effectively enforce the law. LGBTQI+ persons faced societal discrimination and disrespect. Matrix reported six parents and guardians disowned their children because of their sexuality during the year.Matrix public sensitization campaigns reduced discrimination in access to health-care services and participation in religious activities. There were no reports of employment discrimination.Availability of Legal Gender Recognition: According to amendment of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs must amend the national register to provide for persons who have undergone “sex change operations” to change their “sex” identity marker on legal and identifying documents.Involuntary or Coercive Medical or Psychological Practices Specifically Targeting LGBTQI+ Individuals: There were no reports of involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices specifically targeting LGBTQI+ individuals.Restrictions of Freedom of Expression, Association, or Peaceful Assembly: There were no restrictions of freedom of expression, association, or peaceful assembly targeting LGBTQI+ individuals.																																				Persons with Disabilities										The constitution and law prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities; however, persons with disabilities did not have equal access to education, employment (see section 7.d.), health services, public buildings, transportation, and government information and communication on an equal basis with others.Children with physical disabilities attended school, but facilities to accommodate them in primary, secondary, and higher education were limited. Implementation of Ministry of Education and Training policy to provide for greater access to education for children with disabilities continued slowly. The policy provides for increasing the capacity of mainstream schools to accommodate children with disabilities instead of having them attend segregated schools. By law conviction of denying a child admission to a school because of the child’s disability is punishable by a nominal monetary fine and up to five years’ imprisonment.Law and regulations provide for persons with disabilities to have access to public buildings. Public buildings completed after 1995 generally complied with the law, but many older buildings remained inaccessible. According to the executive director of the ‎Lesotho National Federation of Organizations of the Disabled (LNFOD), air travel services were adequate for persons with disabilities. He stated an insufficient number of sign language interpreters in the judicial system resulted in case postponements for persons with hearing disabilities. Documents in braille and JAWS (Job Access with Speech, a computer software used by persons with vision disabilities) were not widely available.The law states public events, news broadcasts, educational programs and other platforms that cover public information of national significance should provide sign language and other means of access by persons with disabilities. The IEC and Lesotho Television provided sign language interpretation for political parties presenting manifestos ahead of October 7 elections. Few political parties provided sign language interpretation at rallies and no political party provided documents in braille.The law provides for a 400 maloti ($22) monthly disability stipend for persons with severe disabilities. LNFOD Executive Director Nkhasi Sefuthi stated the criteria used to determine “severity of disability” limited inclusivity. The Persons with Disability Equity Act enacted in 2021 mandated creation of a persons with disabilities advisory council to provide for equal opportunities and recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities, including access to education, health services, public buildings, and public transport on an equal basis with others. Authorities had yet to establish the council by year’s end.There were no reports of persons with disabilities being abused in prison, school, or mental health facilities; however, LNFOD reported cases of societal abuse of persons with hearing and intellectual disabilities.																																				Other Societal Violence or Discrimination										Media reported killings of the elderly and ritual killings across the country. For example, on July 10, Ha Mokheseng villagers discovered the bodies of two elderly women. Their bodies had stab wounds and their throats had been slit. The government continued to hold gatherings to raise public awareness of the problem of elder abuse.There were sporadic incidents of vigilante mob violence targeting criminal suspects. On June 9, Ha Matala villagers in Maseru burned two men to death suspected of stealing six empty gas canisters from a local shop. Police arrested suspects Atang Thelingoane, Lentso Tlali, and Bafokeng Mphatsoane. On June 16, they appeared in court charged with the murder of the two men. Regarding the incident, Police Senior Superintendent Rantoane Motsoetla appealed to the public not to take the law into their hands.There were reports of gang violence. On August 4, former Prime Minister Majoro while still in office described as a crisis accordion music gangs involved in killing members of competing groups, offering their services as hitmen, and committing attacks on rival gangs’ family members. On September 5, the South African Police Service issued an arrest warrant for gang leader Sarele Sello and four other Lesotho-citizen suspects linked to a July 10 bar shooting at Nomzano, Orlando East, South Africa. The gang reportedly entered the bar and shot and killed 16 individuals and shot and wounded seven others. Following allegations the perpetrators were illegal Basotho miners, former Prime Minister Majoro apologized for their alleged rape of eight women in Krugersdorp, South Africa.																																					Section 7.													 Worker Rights												    																																																a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining										The constitution protects freedom of association. By law workers in the private sector have the right to join and form trade unions of their own choosing without prior authorization or excessive bureaucratic requirements. The law prohibits civil servants and police from joining or forming unions but provides for them to form staff associations for collective bargaining and promoting ethical conduct of their members. All trade unions must register with the Office of the Registrar of Trade Unions. Registration requires that more than 35 percent of workers in an enterprise of 10 persons or more be unionized. Only the members of a registered trade union are entitled to elect workplace union representatives. The registrar may refuse to register a trade union if the provisions of its constitution violate the labor code. The law provides for unions to conduct their activities without interference, although only unions with a 35 percent membership are permitted access to work sites to perform union duties, including communicating with management, and recruitment of new members.The government and employers generally respected freedom of association and collective bargaining. Government approval is not required for collective agreements to be valid. The law protects collective bargaining but does not provide for minority union collective bargaining rights, and places restrictions on factory workers. Although factory workers have bargaining power, the law requires any union entering negotiations with management to represent at least 50 percent of workers in a factory. Only a few factories met that condition, and unions at factories where union membership is below 50 percent could not represent workers collectively in negotiations with employers. Some factory owners in the apparel industry were willing to bargain collectively on wages and working conditions but only with trade unions that represented at least 50 percent of workers. In 2021 the International Labor Organization observed recognition thresholds used for private sector unions and public sector employees’ associations do not clearly protect the rights of minority unions to bargain collectively.The law significantly limits the right to strike. In the private sector, the law requires workers and employers to follow a series of procedures designed to resolve disputes before the Directorate of Dispute Prevention and Resolution (DDPR), an independent government body, authorizes a strike. If mandatory negotiations between employer and employees reach a deadlock, a union may file with the DDPR for permission to embark on a strike. The employer and employees must agree on the strike rules and its duration. Employers may also invoke a lockout clause and should inform the DDPR of their intention to invoke the clause based on employer-employee agreement. The law does not permit civil servants, military, and essential workers to strike. Only a registered union with a 51 percent majority of staff as determined by the union may call a strike on a “dispute of interest” (a demand that goes beyond terms and conditions established by law or an existing contract).The Labour Court is the key judiciary entity to address labor disputes. It reviews the decisions of the DDPR while the Labour Appeals Court reviews the decisions of the Labour Court. The Courts’ independence remained questionable because they are under the authority of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (Ministry of Labor), despite a 2011 law transferring it to the judiciary. In 2018 the ministry established a task team to work on making the transfer to the judiciary. The court had two judges and decided approximately 101 cases during the year. Nevertheless, decisions were often delayed because the court had a backlog of cases due to limited resources including personnel.The law does not provide public sector employees workers a right to strike. By law the Public Service Joint Advisory Council provides for due process and protects civil servants’ rights. The council is a statutory body under the Ministry of Public Service. Its decisions are reviewed by the Labour Court. The council consists of equal numbers of members appointed by the minister of public service and members of associations representing at least 50 percent of civil servants. The council concludes and enforces collective bargaining agreements, prevents and resolves disputes, and provides procedures for dealing with general grievances. Currently, the council is not operational as civil servants’ associations do not represent at least 51 percent of civil servants in order to collectively bargain with the council. The Public Service Tribunal is an appeal body within the Ministry of Public Service. It handles appeals brought by civil servants or their associations. A public officer may appeal to the tribunal within 21 days of the disciplinary hearing outcome. The tribunal may confirm, set aside, or change the decision of the disciplinary hearing. The Labour Court reviews the decision of the tribunal.The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and other employer interference in union functions. The law provides for reinstatement of workers dismissed for union activity. The law does not cover the informal sector and excludes the self-employed from relevant legal protections. On August 15, the Construction, Mining, Quarrying, and Allied Workers Union reported China Geo dismissed 17 workers who participated in a lawful strike. Some employers denied unions the opportunity to meet with their members.The government did not effectively enforce applicable law regarding disputed cases. The law stipulates disputes of interest are to be conciliated within 30 days of referral. The law also stipulates arbitral awards are to be issued within 30 days from the date of completion of arbitration proceedings; however, on average cases were generally resolved within three to six months by the DDPR. During the year a total of 1,167 cases were resolved. The DDPR had a backlog of cases due to a reduction in the number of arbitrators. Penalties were less than those for similar violations.There were reports the companies Precious Garments and Taiyan Garments discriminated against disfavored unions by refusing unions with majority members access to their facilities to consult their members. There were reports that some factories threatened not to extend contracts of workers who join trade unions. Unions also stated employers hired workers on a temporary basis depriving them of their rights to bargain collectively, earn leave days, and qualify for severance pay. The government did not investigate these acts and perpetrators did not face penalties. In the retail sector, employers generally respected freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively, although retail unions complained employers commonly appealed Labour Court rulings to delay implementation. The Labour Court was subject to judicial delays in view of its case backlog.Throughout the year textile union workers requested a 20 percent salary increase that the union later reduced to 15 percent. Private sector employers, through their representatives on the Wage Advisory Board, offered a 3 percent increase for the textile industry and a 4 percent increase for all other sectors. On April 29, then Minister of Labour Selemo Mangobe announced a 6.5 percent salary increase for all private sector workers. The United Textile Employees Union rejected the increase stating it was below the inflation rate.According to the Lesotho Public Servants Staff Association (LEPSSA), 17 percent of civil servants belonged to the association. LEPSSA reported most civil servants did not register for membership in the association because they were reluctant to join an association that did not have bargaining rights and therefore could not engage in a lawful strike. LEPSSA has also reported the Public Service Act of 2005 permits only workers from grade A to H (junior officers) to join the association while grade I to K (managers) are not allowed to do so. The low rate of participation made it difficult for LEPSSA to engage with the government on workers’ rights problems, resulting in declining membership trends from 6,500 members in the 2017-18 financial year to 3,998 members in the 2022-23 financial year. In July, LEPSSA filed a Constitutional Court application against the minister of labour for denial of its right to register as a civil servants’ trade union as enshrined in the constitution.The Lesotho Police Staff Association (LEPOSA) stated 98 percent of all police officers were members of the organization, an increase from 92 percent in 2019. Lesotho Nurses Association (LNA) reported 40 percent of nurses joined the association. The Lesotho School Principal Association (LESPA) reported 56 percent of principals joined the association while 55 percent of teachers joined associations.On February 22, the Coalition of Lesotho Public Employees (COLEPE) (comprised of LEPOSA, LEPSSA, LNA, LESPA, the Lesotho Association of Teachers, Lesotho Teachers Trade Union, and Qiloane Nursing Assistants Association), delivered a petition to then Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro requesting a 25 percent salary increase. COLEPE threatened to take unspecified action if the government did not accept its demands within 24 hours. The association also demanded Revenue Services Lesotho abolish the 30 percent pay-as-you-earn income tax bracket and only retain the 20 percent tax bracket. On March 3, then Minister of Finance Sophonea announced a 5 percent salary increase for civil servants. COLEPE rejected the increase stating it was insufficient. On March 18, COLEPE applied for a permit to march and deliver a petition to the then prime minister, deputy prime minister, and the speaker of the national assembly. It was denied. COLEPE subsequently filed a court application requesting a 20 percent salary increase. A judgment was issued requesting the government address its demands. The government did not meet with COLEPE. At year’s end its grievances remained unresolved.																																				b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor										The law prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor including child labor. The Child and Gender Protection Unit conducted community outreach on forced labor through community gatherings, lectures, workshops, and radio programs. Police focused on high schools and areas located close to the borders with South Africa to raise awareness of human trafficking and other forms of forced labor.The government did not consistently enforce the law. Some government ministries and NGOs stated the government did not have sufficient resources to enforce compliance. Police reported inadequate resources and training hampered their investigations and remediation efforts. During the year the government convicted and sentenced one trafficker to 50 years in prison. The government prosecuted 16 trafficking cases including six cases of forced labor. It identified 24 trafficking victims, including 10 labor trafficking victims.In 2021 the government launched a national action plan and allocated funding for its implementation. It finalized and implemented guidelines for victim identification and referral for care, and increased antitrafficking training and awareness-raising efforts for law enforcement, diplomats, and the public. The Ministry of Labour, the LMPS Anti-Trafficking and Migrant Control Unit, and the Ministry of Home Affairs with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) formed a joint task team to conduct inspections targeting forced labor.In 2021 the government enacted an antitrafficking law that closed key legislative gaps, including criminalizing all forms of sex trafficking and prescribing penalties commensurate with the penalties for other serious crimes, and commencing criminal investigations into multiple government officials allegedly complicit in human trafficking offenses. It provided, for the first time, funding for victim protection. Criminal penalties for conviction of violations were commensurate with those for similar crimes and were sometimes applied against violators.Forced labor, including forced child labor, continued to occur in the sectors of domestic work and agricultural work. Victims of forced labor were frequently either women, children, or workers in the informal sector.See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at  https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.																																				c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment										See the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings and the Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods.																																				d. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation										The law prohibits discrimination in employment and occupation based on race, religion, national origin, color, sex, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, HIV or AIDS status, or refugee status. Migrant workers have the same legal protections, wages, and working conditions as citizens.Discrimination based on disability is not explicitly prohibited. The law prohibits gender-based employment discrimination, but the definition of gender does not explicitly include gender identity or address discrimination against LGBTQI+ persons. The law states men and women shall receive equal remuneration for work of equal value. There were no reports women were treated differently from men regarding working hours in most occupations and job tasks; however, there were legal limitations on the employment of women in some industries, such as mining. The Ministry of Labour is responsible for enforcing the law, but it lacked adequate resources and did not report any complaints during the year. In the past both men and women reported hiring practices often aligned with gender, with men preferentially selected for certain positions (such as mechanics) and women preferentially selected for other positions (such as sewing machine operators). According to trade union leaders, women working in the textile and security sectors were only provided with six weeks of paid maternity leave instead of the 12 weeks stipulated by law.Penalties for discrimination were less than those for similar crimes. Penalties were rarely applied against violators.In October, the Worker Rights Consortium stated there were 10 reported cases of gender-based violence at Nein Hsing factory during the year. The cases were reported through the Lesotho Federation of Lawyers reporting line. The survivors included eight women and two men. NGO Workers Rights Watch investigated all cases and provided determinations in two cases. Some perpetrators received punishment; eight cases awaited enforcement of penalties.																																				e. Acceptable Conditions of Work										Wage and Hour Laws: The law establishes a general minimum wage for the formal sector and domestic workers except agriculture sector workers. Sector-specific minimum wages exist for certain industries. The Wage Advisory Board established by the minister of labour and employment can submit minimum wage proposals following a minimum 30-day consultation period. The minister then decides on the minimum wage, informs the board, and publishes the minimum wage in a government gazette that specifies its date of entry into force. The general minimum monthly wage of 836 maloti ($45.95) for employees with less than 12 months of continuous service and of 912 maloti ($50.12) for employees with more than 12 months of continuous service was above the official poverty line. Sector-specific minimum wages are generally substantially higher than the general minimum wage.The law stipulates standards for hours of work, including a maximum 45-hour workweek, a weekly rest period of at least 24 hours, a daily minimum rest period of one hour, at least 12 days of paid leave per year, paid sick leave, and public holidays. Required overtime is legal if overtime wages for work in excess of the standard 45-hour workweek are paid. The maximum overtime allowed is 11 hours per week; however, there are exemptions under special circumstances. The law requires the premium pay for overtime be at a rate not less than 25 percent more than the employee’s normal hourly wage rate. Employers who engage in excessive compulsory worker overtime is liable to a fine, imprisonment, or both.Labor laws, including wage and hour rules, do not apply to workers in agriculture or the informal sectors that employ most workers.Occupational Safety and Health: The law empowers the Ministry of Labour to issue regulations on occupational health and safety (OSH) standards, and the commissioner of labour is responsible for investigating allegations of labor law violations.The law requires employers to provide adequate light, ventilation, and sanitary facilities for employees and to install and maintain machinery in a manner that minimizes injury. It also requires each employer have a registered health and safety officer. Employers must provide first aid kits, safety equipment, and protective clothing. The law also provides for a compensation system for industrial injuries and diseases related to employment. The law holds employers responsible for orienting their employees on safety standards and for providing adequate protective clothing. Workers may be held responsible for accidents if they fail to use provided protective clothing or fail to comply with safety standards.Trade union representatives from the textile sector described working conditions as poor or harsh but not dangerous. They stated failure by small factories to observe the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 pandemic guidelines put the workers at risk of contracting the disease. Unions noted government-constructed factories had poor layout and were designed with improperly installed ventilation. Employers who leased factories from the government were not allowed to change the design of government factory buildings to install ventilation systems. Independent auditors hired by foreign textile buyers conducted spot checks on many exporting factories, customarily sought labor’s input, and briefed the unions on their findings. Unions believed independent auditors kept factory owners compliant with health and safety regulations.Many workplace health and safety policies covered employees with HIV or AIDS. Some of the larger factories provided health-care services at the workplace. Where factories did not provide health care, workers had the right to access services at public health centers. Employers provided space for employee examinations and time off for employees to see doctors, receive counseling, and participate in educational and antistigma programs.The law does not explicitly provide for workers to remove themselves from situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardy to their employment. Workers have the right to report incidents that put their lives in danger to their safety officers of safety committees. Workers reported being pressured not to report violations. Nevertheless, code provisions on safety in the workplace and dismissal imply such a dismissal would be illegal. Authorities protected employees when violations of the law were reported. Working conditions for foreign or migrant workers were the same as those of residents, and migrants had equal protection under the law in the formal sector.The Ministry of Labour prepares an annual report on workplace fatalities and accidents. According to the report, from January through August there were 81 accidents in which six persons died and 75 (49 men and 26 women) sustained serious injuries. The affected sectors included the textile, manufacturing, mining, security, retail, and construction sectors.Wage, Hour, and OSH Enforcement: The government enforced wage and hour laws inconsistently. Inspectors have authority to make unannounced inspections; however, only the courts may impose sanctions. The Ministry of Labour’s inspectorate reported employers, particularly in the security, transport, and construction sectors, did not always observe the minimum wage and hours-of-work laws. Many locally owned businesses did not keep adequate employee records to facilitate labor inspections as required by law.The Ministry of Labour observed the security, retail, and construction sectors did not always conform to the minimum wages and hours-of-work regulations. In general overtime laws were enforced through inspection visits and office mediation. Trade unions reported alleged violations of overtime laws, including in factories that did not pay workers for overtime work. Unions stated employers refused to extend the contracts of workers who demanded overtime pay.The government did not enforce OSH regulations effectively. Labor inspectors worked in all districts and generally conducted unannounced inspections, but the government did not employ enough labor inspectors to enforce compliance. The Ministry of Labour reported it had nine OSH inspectors who conducted inspections country wide during the year. Smaller employers failed to establish safety committees, did not have complete first aid kits, and did not provide protective clothing. Employers’ compliance with health and safety regulations was generally low. According to the ministry, there was extensive noncompliance with health and safety regulations, especially in the manufacturing, retail, security, mining, and construction sectors. Employers exploited the ministry’s lack of labor inspectors and its inability to prosecute violations.Penalties for violations of OSH laws were less than those for similar crimes. Penalties were sometimes applied against violators.Labor laws did not cover wage, hour, and OSH for workers in the informal sector, but part time workers were covered by all labor laws except the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1977.Informal Sector: The Ministry of Labour has minimal jurisdiction over the informal economy, where an estimated one-half of the country’s 931,190 workers were employed. The informal sector consists of the agriculture, domestic work, and the construction sectors. Violations of wage, hour and safety regulations were common. Conditions were especially hazardous in the construction, agriculture, domestic work, and mining sectors. There is no official entity that provides protection for workers in the informal sector. The law does not provide for informal workers’ participation in the social security programs administered by the Ministry of Social Development.																																				    							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Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																							a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																						b. Disappearance																																																						c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and other Related Abuses																																																				Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																				d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																				Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																				e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																				Trial Procedures																																												Political Prisoners and Detainees																																												Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies																																																																																				f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																			Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																							a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																				Internet Freedom																																																																																				b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																						c. Freedom of Religion																																																						d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																						e. Protection of Refugees																																																						f. Status and Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons																																																			Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																																				Elections and Political Participation																																																			Section 4. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government																																																	Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																																																	Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																							Women																																																						Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																						Children																																																						Antisemitism																																																						Trafficking in Persons																																																						Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																						Persons with Disabilities																																																						Other Societal Violence or Discrimination																																																			Section 7. Worker Rights																																							a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																						b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																						c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																						d. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation																																																						e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																									Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																								Lesotho
- The United States Congratulates Lesotho on Elections Ned Price, Department SpokespersonThe United States congratulates Lesotho on its elections.  The citizens of Lesotho have had the opportunity to have their votes counted and their voices heard in building the future for all the people of Lesotho.We expect that the incoming government will give diverse perspectives a chance to be heard, in order to develop a safe, prosperous, and healthy future for all in Lesotho.