In preparation for the upcoming elections, the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme (SLCMP) has conducted a review of the three main political parties’ manifestos.   The SLCMP is an independent organization with no affiliation to any of the parties.   The purpose of this review is to investigate the proposed policies of each party in a number of key areas:   Gender issues, children, youth, corruption, judicial reform, freedom of information, the criminal libel law, the death penalty, and Sierra Leone’s international human rights commitments.   Each party’s platform is compared to those of its rivals, and also against the standards set by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  

One of the TRC’s main tasks was to analyze the causes of the conflict in Sierra Leone.   The TRC then formulated a set of core recommendations aimed at remedying these causes, proposing reforms viewed as crucial to ensuring the continued peace of Sierra Leone.   Sierra Leone’s TRC is unique in the fact that the Act which created it requires the government to implement its recommendations.   Thus, it is the duty not only of the present government but of whichever government assumes power in a few weeks’ time to ensure that these recommendations are carried out to the fullest extent.  

Gender issues

All three parties recognize the need to improve the status of women in Sierra Leone.   Women suffered some of the most horrific violence during the recent conflict, and remain disadvantaged and discriminated against in the post-war era.

The PMDC pledges to work towards gender parity and “mainstreaming gender in all its programmes” (PMDC Manifesto p. 27).   The PMDC also notes that gender parity is particularly needed in the agricultural sector (15) and in education (22).   They pledge to work towards international goals pertaining to the advancement of girls and women, such as the Millennium Development Goals (22).  

While the PMDC clearly sees the need to focus on gender issues, they devote very little of their Manifesto to explaining how they intend to tackle the problems facing women in this country.   The “Gender Affairs” section of the Manifesto is comprised of a scant seven lines of text.   The PMDC should demonstrate its commitment to the women of Sierra Leone by providing specific examples—detailed policies and proposals—of how they will achieve gender parity.

The SLPP sets out five key gender-based issues to target over the next five years:   Gender-based violence; women’s economic empowerment; women in exploitative or hazardous occupations; sensitization and education on gender issues, and women’s political participation (46). Their plan of action includes combating the sexual abuse and exploitation of girls and women, creating a legal framework to deal with gender-based violence, increasing women’s participation in decision making, requiring that a certain minimum percentage of government officials and members of parliament be women, and providing free education to girl children (36, 46).   The SLPP also notes its international commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and, similar to the PMDC, says that they have mainstreamed gender issues into all strategies and programmes (46).

Strangely, the SLPP does not mention the Gender Laws recently passed by Parliament.   Implementation of these new laws is essential to the improvement of the status of women in Sierra Leone, and must be a key priority of the new government.

The APC platform shares several of the SLPP objectives:   supporting women’s involvement in policy making; ensuring that Sierra Leone is in compliance with CEDAW; combating violence and discrimination against women.   They have a few unique proposals, including the provision of credit on favored terms for female-owned and operated businesses, and focusing on war-affected girls and women.   However, the APC platform does not make reference to the issue of educating girl children, nor does it mention the new Gender Laws.  

The new Gender Laws encompass many of the recommendations made by the TRC with regard to gender, and in order for the new legislation to be made meaningful, their implementation must begin immediately and with adequate resources dedicated to the task.   But there are many recommendations that have not yet been carried out by the government.   To begin with, all laws found to be discriminatory against women must be repealed: this is an imperative recommendation of the TRC. Towards this end, the provision in the 1991 Constitution at section 27(4)(d), that provides for discrimination in law involving, among other things, adoption, marriage, divorce and devolution of property on death must be repealed at once. Moreover, the Matrimonial Causes Bill and the Sexual Offences Bill, both currently ostensibly with the Attorney-General’s office should be a priority when the next Parliament comes in to being.   The TRC further recommended that Sierra Leone should adopt the rules relating to evidentiary burdens, and rules of procedure and evidence in sexual violence cases as they are set out in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: as such, Rules need to be drafted to accompany the Sexual Offences Bill.   Finally, the TRC proposed that the Ministry of Social Welfare create a sensitization programme for police officers and judicial staff, to teach them how to properly handle crimes of sexual violence: this has yet to be accomplished.   None of these recommendations are addressed in any of the parties’ platforms.

The TRC also highlighted the need for women’s increased participation in government.   One of their key recommendations is that at least 30% of all political parties’ candidates should be female; they also urged the government to work towards 50/50 gender parity in representative politics, cabinet and political posts within the next ten years.   It is almost three years have already passed since the TRC Report was published.   Each party’s manifesto makes reference to gender parity, but only the SLPP acknowledges the need to set requirements for the number of women in politics. As the existing Government, the SLPP was in a position to set such requirements during their last term, and yet they failed to do so. Currently, SLPP has 17 and APC has 11, and PMDC has 10 out of 112 constituencies. This itself gives an indication of the parties’ dedication to gender parity.

All three parties should be encouraged to further elaborate their plans for tackling Sierra Leone’s gender issues.   Specifically, the parties should explain exactly what “mainstreaming gender,” a commonly-used phrase, means in terms of their particular platforms.   Furthermore, it is fitting to remind all political parties that women in Sierra Leone are in a unique position.   The problems they face cannot be solved by simply treating them as equal to men.   Improvements in their legal status and ability to participate in economic activities are needed, of course, but women also require special attention due to the high rate of discrimination, abuse and violence they face on a daily basis.   Thousands of women are still suffering from the horrors inflicted upon them during the civil war, and each day brings new cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, and mistreatment.   The next leader of the country must strive to ensure that women receive the protection and rehabilitative treatment they need.  

Children

Among the most serious challenges facing Sierra Leone’s children today is the quest to obtain good quality basic education.   In fact, this is a challenge for the entire nation:   if today’s children cannot secure education; Sierra Leone will have no one to lead it toward development and prosperity tomorrow.  

The PMDC’s plans for the primary educational system are not well-elaborated.    While the PMDC pledges to meet Sierra Leone’s international commitments, such as the Millennium Development Goals, and to focus on education of the girl child and achieving gender parity in education, they offer no proposed policies by which to reach these goals (22).      

In contrast, one of the strongest sections of the SLPP Manifesto is the one focused on primary education.   The SLPP sets out its strategy to improve the educational system and ensure that all children are educated:   Expanding the school feeding programme, buying books and uniforms for girl children, and paying girls’ school fees (and providing similar support for boys by 2010) are the two centerpieces of their platform (37).

The APC’s educational platform is more specific than the PMDC’s, but falls short at the level of policy solutions.   The APC proposes, inter alia, to train more teachers and improve their compensation, strengthen the Inspectorate Division of the Ministry of Education, and effect compulsory education up to JSS 3 (16).   However, the APC Manifesto does not explain what purpose a strengthened Inspectorate Division would serve, and does not make any mention of education of the girl child, aside from a pledge to make education accessible to all (15).

The TRC recommendations relating to education focus on extending free primary education to all children, and making it compulsory.   The current government has made progress towards achieving free, universal primary education; the new government should work to expand existing programmes, with emphasis on educating girl children.   Achieving universal primary education—that is, education for all boy and girl children, free of charge, by 2015—is one of the central Millennium Development Goals, towards which the government has pledged to strive.

The new government must also make the implementation of the new Child Rights Act a top priority. This legislation is intended to improve children’s lives and to bring Sierra Leone into compliance with its international obligations regarding children, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Sierra Leone in 1990.   Ensuring that Sierra Leone complies with the CRC was an imperative recommendation of the TRC.

Youth

The situation of youth in Sierra Leone is particularly pressing, considering that the vast majority of all combatants in the civil war were youth.   The currently high rates of unemployment and low rates of education among the youth suggest that conditions for another conflict could ripen if action is not taken.   The SLPP and APC platforms have several common proposals in this regard; both parties focus on the need to promote the job training and employment of youth, the need to increase youth participation in government, and the desirability of establishing a youth service programme to encourage educated youth to give back to their communities.   Additionally, the SLPP platform includes the creation of a Youths Commission tasked with addressing the needs of youth and ensuring that youth issues are addressed at all levels of government.   The proposed Commission would be financed by a Youth Trust Fund (44).   However, the SLPP does not indicate whether additional funds will have to be sought in order to create such a Trust Fund.  

The APC’s platform calls for a review of the existing National Youth Policy and the creation of youth executives in all district councils, the implementation of existing legislation relating to youth issues, close collaboration with NGOs to support youth, and the revitalization of Sierra Leone’s sports programmes (45-47).  

In contrast, the PMDC platform spends little time discussing the issues facing today’s youth.   Aside from proposing a Volunteer Corps for youth to work in agriculture and road construction (11), the Manifesto says only that the PMDC will work for youth empowerment and greater participation of youths in governance (26).   Given the relatively more specific and better-developed platforms of the SLPP and the APC, the PMDC should make an effort to elaborate its proposed policies and ideas for solving these problems.

The TRC’s recommendations regarding youth require some large-scale changes in government.   The TRC proposed that the youth portfolio be transferred from the Ministry of Youth and Sports to a new National Youth Commission, which would be located in the Office of the President.   This Commission would be tasked with implementing the Youth Policy.   The TRC also recommended that an annual “State of the Youth” report be tabled before Parliament, to be prepared by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and later by the National Youth Commission after the youth portfolio has been transferred to the latter.   While implementing these recommendations will require some shifting of staff, the National Youth Commission could take control of the portion of the budget previously allocated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the youth portfolio, which would eliminate the need to seek extra funding for this project.

Finally, noting that the lack of youth participation in politics was one of the factors leading to the alienation of Sierra Leone’s young population, the TRC made an imperative recommendation that 10% of all political parties’ candidates be youth (defined by the TRC as persons between the ages of 18-35). The SLCMP is glad to note that all three parties met the minimum 10% threshold.

Corruption

All three parties acknowledge that corruption is a serious issue in Sierra Leone, but their solutions to the problem vary considerably.   The SLPP proposes to extend and improve upon existing anti-corruption measures, such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).   The SLPP would review the legislation which created the ACC and scrutinize its internal procedures, with a view to improving the ACC’s transparency and efficacy (12).   The SLPP also holds up its new Results-Based Management programme as a promising accountability mechanism.   Under this programme, all the major activities undertaken by government ministries, departments and agencies will be entered into a central database, thus making it easier to track the progress of any given government endeavor (13).   While this is an interesting concept, it appears to be in the earliest stages of implementation, and thus there is no way of determining whether it is an effective means to curb corruption.

The APC offers two anti-corruption proposals:   First, to give the Anti-Corruption Commission the power to prosecute (22), and second, to submit to a review by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a good governance tool designed by the African Union (2).   The APRM would provide the Sierra Leonean government with the opportunity to hear objective critiques and suggestions from its peer African governments.   The newly-elected government should immediately begin the APRM process; this would benefit any new administration.   In fact, the Sierra Leonean government pledged to undergo an APRM review at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa in 2004 (see TRC Report, Vol. 2, p. 184).   It is time to make good on that pledge.

Although the PMDC Manifesto makes reference to Sierra Leone’s problems with corruption, it offers no plans for tackling corruption in the future, and does not make reference to the existing Anti-Corruption Commission.    

The new government should immediately seek to amend the Anti-Corruption Commission Act of 2000 to give it the power to prosecute.   This is among the recommendations set forth in the TRC Report.   The ACC should then appoint an independent prosecutor entrusted with prosecuting corruption cases in the name of the state.   This prosecutor need not be affiliated with the government, and does not necessarily have to be Sierra Leonean—the crucial characteristic of such a prosecutor must be that he or she is absolutely independent and impervious to the influence of government officials or private actors.   Granting the ACC the power to prosecute would go a long way towards building the Commission’s credibility and making real progress in the fight against corruption.

The TRC also made imperative recommendations that government officials be required to disclose their financial interests, and those of their close family members, on an annual basis, and that the state act to protect whistle-blowers by making it a criminal offense to retaliate against them.   Furthermore, the TRC proposed that the Constitution be amended to require that anyone removed from office due to an ethical violation should be barred from holding public office for some length of time, or possibly forever.   None of the parties’ manifestos currently takes these recommendations into account.

Judicial Reform

The breakdown of the rule of law and the judiciary in Sierra Leone is widely acknowledged to be one of the fundamental causes of the war.   In the post-war context, Sierra Leone’s justice sector continues to be overloaded and  inefficient.   Despite this, none of the political parties appear to have developed much-needed plans for judicial reform.   This is an issue that simply cannot wait.  

The PMDC identifies some crucial issues related to judicial reform, such as inheritance and family law and the land tenure system, but fails to provide any specific examples of how they would address these issues, or how they would carry out large-scale judicial reform.   Their only specific suggestion is to review the Public Order Act No. 46 of 1965 with an eye to reforming it (6).  

The SLPP’s section on judicial reform is equally disappointing—the manifesto devotes one short paragraph to the topic, stating only that the SLPP will support ongoing judicial reform and will seek international assistance (14).   They do not elaborate on what judicial reforms are ongoing, or what ideas they have for continuing reform in the future.   On the related topic of prisons, the SLPP does note the need to reduce the backlog of cases in the courts, to lessen crowding in the prisons, and to relocate prisons farther away from the centers of towns (16), but they do not indicate whether there is adequate funding to carry out such extensive projects, or describe their plans for carrying out these improvements.

The APC’s judicial reform suggestions are somewhat more detailed.   They note the need to carry out extensive reviews of existing legislation and pledge to support non-governmental organizations which are conducting these reviews (22).   They propose the creation of Rapid Response Courts, which would be specifically tasked with adjudicating small claims issues and land issues, in an effort to reduce the large number of cases currently burdening and slowing down the courts (22).   They would also separate the offices of the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General, a recommendation proposed by the TRC, and which would allow the Attorney General to operate more independently (21).   These are solid reform suggestions, and the PMDC and SLPP need to respond with their own concrete proposals for judicial reform.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has made extensive recommendations for the reform of the justice sector.   In light of the importance of this area, all political parties should give more thought to their policies for judicial reform.   Among the recommendations set out by the TRC are:   that the judiciary be given budgetary independence; that the age of judges’ retirement be extended to 70, with no possibility of extending a judge’s tenure beyond that age; that the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) draft a Code of Conduct for members of the bench; that the JLSC appoint qualified customary law officers to each of the provinces; that local-level courts be integrated into the judiciary and that alternative forms of dispute resolution be considered; that public defender offices be established in the major cities; and that the significant backlog of cases be reduced through constructing more courtrooms, making better use of staff, and improving record-keeping and legal research through the use of computers.   To date, with the exception of the Code of Conduct, none of these recommendations have been carried out.   Judicial reform cannot wait any longer.   The next government must make this a top priority, to avoid destabilizing the process of peace consolidation.  

Freedom of information

While each party makes a general promise to promote freedom of information and make it easily accessible to the public, none of the parties makes reference to creating Freedom of Information legislation.   This was a recommendation of the TRC.   Freedom of information legislation is designed to make government records and documents easily accessible to members of the public upon request.   If a document which the government claims is secret is requested, the burden rests with the government to prove that the document should not be released for public viewing.   Freedom of information legislation promotes transparency and accountability within government, and enacting such legislation in Sierra Leone would increase the health and strength of this country’s democracy. The current reforms proposed by Constitutional Review Commission to the 1991 Constitution set out that freedom of information should be set out in the Constitution, and this is a significant step forward. Nevertheless, this proposal will be subject to a referendum, and any Government should enact laws to provide for freedom of information independently, whether or not they are forced to by the Constitution.

Criminal libel law

None of the parties addresses the criminal libel law directly.   The PMDC makes reference to the constitutional right to freedom of speech and access to information (6), and pledges to safeguard the freedom of the press (24), but says little else on the subject.   The APC does not talk about the criminal libel law, but pledges to “enhance the role of a free, unfettered and responsible press” (40).   They intend to strengthen the National Media Commission, assist the expansion and strengthening of the journalism sector, and work to reduce political interference with journalists.   However, it should be noted that any state involvement with journalism—even involvement that purports to increase journalists’ independence, can create problems.   The more contact the state has with the media, the more difficult it can be for journalists and editors to feel truly independent.   This is particularly the case where the state is dispersing funds to the media.   A more appropriate way for the next government to assist the expansion of Sierra Leonean media would be for the government to increase funding to the Independent Media Commission, charge it with the task of improving the journalism sector, and ensure the Commission’s independence from government.

The SLPP appears to believe that Sierra Leone has already achieved complete freedom of the press, citing the large number of newspapers and radio stations, and the creation of the Independent Media Commission as proof of this (15).   Furthermore, the SLPP states, “The arbitrary arrest of journalists is a thing of the past” (15).   However, such arrests could legally resume at any time unless the criminal libel law is repealed, finally freeing journalists to publish stories without fear of prosecution.   Sierra Leone cannot be said to have a completely free press, or to enjoy true freedom of expression, as long as the criminal libel law remains in place.   The TRC also recognized this, and recommended that “laws creating the offenses of seditious and criminal libel should be repealed” (Vol. 2, p. 132).   The next government is urged to repeal the criminal libel law as quickly as possible.

Capital punishment

Disappointingly, none of the party manifestos addresses the issue of the death penalty or the need to repeal it.   The Truth and Reconciliation Commission emphatically urged the abolition of the death penalty in Sierra Leone, and the repeal of all laws authorizing capital punishment.   Furthermore, this is a core human rights issue.   Numerous United Nations human rights bodies have urged states to abolish capital punishment, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights also supports abolition.   Doing away with the death penalty would send an important message to Sierra Leoneans that the state is breaking away from the country’s recent bloody history, in which so many lives were taken at the hands of both state and rebel forces.  

International human rights commitments

Sierra Leone is a member of many regional, continental, and international organizations, including the Mano River Union, ECOWAS, the African Union, and the United Nations.   All three parties recognize Sierra Leone’s international commitments.   Each party has pledged to work towards the realization of the Millennium Development Goals, relating to areas such as health, nutrition, education, and other key development factors.   Each party also pledges to fulfill Sierra Leone’s obligations under various UN treaties.   Sierra Leone has ratified all of the major UN treaties, among them:   The Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention Against Torture, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Each of these treaties carries an obligation to report to the relevant treaty monitoring body.   Sierra Leone’s reports to most of these bodies are overdue by many years.   The future government should consider appointing a sub-committee charged with drafting such reports and monitoring Sierra Leone’s compliance with its international obligations.   This is in line with the TRC’s imperative recommendations, which also propose that the government set up a response mechanism to deal with petitions filed against Sierra Leone with the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Human Rights Committee, the monitoring body of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.   Another key recommendation from the TRC is that Sierra Leone finally to ratify the UN Genocide Convention, a step that should have been taken long ago.   Ratifying this treaty, and submitting its overdue periodic reports to the relevant UN treaty bodies, would signal to the international community that Sierra Leone is aligning itself with the progressive, liberal nations of the world.     

The commitment shown by all three parties to respecting human rights is encouraging.   In order to promote a national culture of human rights, the new government should undertake to educate schoolchildren and adults about their human rights, and should ensure that human rights are always taken into consideration when formulating new policies and legislation. The establishment of the Human Rights Commission is an important step forward, but any government must ensure that the Commission is endowed with adequate funding to ensure productivity and independence, and that it is consulted appropriately at all relevant times. The TRC recommended that human rights and peace studies be implemented into the school curriculum, and that the government work towards providing compulsory human rights education in all schools, including for recruits into the army and police forces, and members of the judicial branch. Given the recent changes in the law in relation to the Child Rights Act and the new Gender laws, such education is now even more pressing.

Conclusion

Elections are only a few weeks away.   The SLCMP calls on all political parties to provide the public with more information about their party platforms, and to keep the above-discussed areas at the forefront of their plans for the future.  Regardless of who wins the elections, these nine subjects require urgent action in order to advance the country towards peace, democracy, and development.