By Mabinty M. Kamara
As the government presents its accepted recommendations of the 3rd quarter Universal Periodic Review adoption of the working group report on Sierra Leone’s rights records at the ongoing 48th regular session of the Human Rights Council, the Child Rights Coalition –Sierra Leone (CRC-SL), an advocacy group has expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s non- acceptance of the recommendation to ban the practice of Female Genital Mutilation in Sierra Leone.
“The Coalition is however concerned that all the 50 recommendations that the government rejected affect children’s rights. The 44 specific and 4 general recommendations on banning Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) were rejected without qualification,” a statement from the coalition reads in part.
On the 12 May this year, at the 38th Session of the Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the Human Rights Council held at the United Nations Assembly Hall in Geneva, Switzerland, Sierra Leone’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Anthony Brewah took the committee through the strides made by the government in meeting the recommendations that emanated from the last review session in 2016.
He said that the submitted national human rights report reflects achievements and challenges in fulfilling Sierra Leone's human rights treaty obligations during the implementation period.
The Attorney General highlighted the steps made in moving forward the Constitutional Review process, strengthening the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, undertaking comprehensive justice sector reforms including the newly established Sexual Offences Model Court as part of the High Court and land rights reforms, repeal of part five of the criminal and seditious libel and the review of the sexual offences act, among others.
He added that following the 2nd cycle UPR in 2016, the government immediately commenced the implementation of the 177 accepted recommendations.
“We also fully implemented four (4) and partially implemented nine (9) of the remaining 31 noted recommendations. This is about 91% of the total 2nd cycle recommendations. Sierra Leone intensified efforts to eliminate discrimination against children, like persons with disability, the protection of the rights of children, women and other persons in vulnerable situations", he said.
After his presentation, other member states commended Sierra Leone for the strides taken to ensure that the rights and dignity of its citizens are protected.
However, they also proffered 274 recommendations aimed at addressing issues of human rights affecting people living in the country such as to eradicate female genital mutilation, provide training for law enforcement officers, and implement laws to address discrimination against women, girls, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
Responding to the issues raised regarding female genital mutilation and other gender issues, the Minister of Gender and Children's Affairs, MantyTarawalli, said Sierra Leone is committed to the progressive realization of the rights of people based on the freedom to associate and participate in cultural activities to the extent that they are capable of making such decisions.
She added that the government's policy that bans FGM initiation of girls under the age of 18 remains in force. She explained that the criminal law under Sections 18, 20 and 49 of the Offences against the Person Act could be invoked to prosecute those who inflict assault or bodily harm on non-consenting adults in the course of performing FGM initiations.
"MOUs have been signed with all Chiefs and leaders of the secret societies, which give them the authority to monitor and enforce the ban on under-age initiation of girls. At the same time, the Ministry of Local Government regulates the activities of the secret societies through the local chiefs. This has contributed to a sharp decline in the rate of FGM from 98% in 2007 to 78% (MICS 2019)", she concluded.
However, the Chairperson of the Child Rights Coalition, Bio-Jenneh Jalloh at a press briefing on Friday 1st October this year said these measures were not enough to protect child initiation in as much as she commended the strives made by the government in accepting the recommendations in the three advocacy areas of Child Labour, Child Trafficking and Child Rights to education.
“We are gravely concerned that the current measures to address the human rights concerns of FGM are grossly inadequate to prohibit child FGM,”he said.
Among these recommendations, Sierra Leone has now accepted 216 and noted 58, according to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. In his presentation on Friday 1st October 2021 in Geneva, he said a consultative process to review the recommendations was done by representatives of the Inter-Ministerial human rights Committee which comprise a UN official, Civil Society representatives, and the human rights commission as technical advisers.
“Though the number of accepted and noted recommendations remained unchanged, I wish to make the following corrections and clarifications. Recommendations 218, 257 and 267 have been previously accepted and are now noted. We will seriously consider them in the context of our framework for deliberating decision-making and wide national consultations because they entail matters of entrench cultural practices,” he said.
In her statement at the UPR session, the Chairperson, Human Right Commission Sierra Leone Patricia NansuNdanema welcomed the government acceptance of the recommendations. However, he urged the government to consider the noted recommendations such as FGM as they are meant to improve the situation of women and girls.
The coalition also called on the government to ratify the optional protocol to the convention on the rights of the child on communication procedures, acknowledging the legal empowerment of child survivors by giving them the capacity to take legal actions on their own with child friendly rules of procedure and address child labour in apprenticeship, domestic labour, street trading, among others.
Copyright © Politico Online (05/10/21)
