By Nasratu Kargbo
United Nation’s Resident Coordinator Babatunde Ahonsi has on behalf of the UN said that they will monitor the electioneering process to ensure that the country has women representation.
Ahonsi made this statement whilst updating the press on the 2022 UN annual result report on Sierra Leone.
Responding to a question on how the UN will make sure the government and political stakeholders comply with the laws in the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act 2022 (GEWE), he said they’ve been keeping an eye on the process and working with other stakeholders in making sure the aspect of the law which speaks on having more women representation is actualized.
He stated that their medium to long-term goal will be capacitating and supporting women.
The UNDP Resident Representative in Sierra Leone Pa Lamin Beyei stated that even though it is beyond their powers, they have been making efforts to ensure that the law is upheld.
He said the laws are usually there, however, the problem is ensuring that they are implemented.
The Envoy said they were not sure where women will be placed on the list, but stated that the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) and other stakeholders had assured them that women will not be placed third on the list.
Beyei said they are hoping that after the elections, the total number of female winners will sum up to at least 30% as they try to work with stakeholders to ensure that the minimum threshold for female representatives is met.
He explained how the government has reached out to the UN to help in capacity development for HR focal points in various ministries to ensure the law is implemented.
Highlighting some of the strides that they in collaboration with the government have made in the justice sector, he said over eighty-three thousand cases have been looked at by the Legal Aid Board, two thousand of which required legal representation.
Beyei said in this part of the world, one does not use the judiciary for all issues; instead, there is a space for dispute resolution, where one can reach out to persons within the community to dialogue and discuss their differences. He stated that they have succeeded in doing so in four chiefdoms, with more than two hundred persons having gone through the process.
“In as much as we want to streamline the justice system to ensure better case management, there is also an avenue where people can discuss their differences through alternate dispute resolution,” he said.
According to the 2022 UN annual report on Sierra Leone, two hundred and thirty-three cases were addressed through alternate dispute resolution in Gbense, Soa, and Kamara chiefdoms in Kono District.
The report also noted how the organization has contributed to the country achieving several global standards and improved rankings such as the corruption perception index, and Global Peace Index, amongst others.
The report highlighted many other achievements made in Outcome two which speaks on Transformational Governance.
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