Commentaries
Much-Needed First Must Not Also Be a Last: A Review of the Annual Report of the HRC-SL
By Alison Welcher
Jul 24, 2008 - 2:33:40 PM

The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRC-SL) released its first annual report earlier this month, commenting on how human rights have been observed or violated in this country throughout the period of January 2007 to December 2007. While the first two sections of the report focused on the background and activities of the HRC-SL itself, the third part, entitled “State of Human Rights in Sierra Leone,” closely examined the government’s adherence to its human rights’ commitments along with general concerns related to various sectors of society and a number of specific incidents reported by civilians. Part III of the report was extremely comprehensive and so cannot be summarized in its entirety here. However, among the Commission’s biggest concerns were shockingly high infant mortality and maternal morbidity rates, the government’s sluggishness in carrying through on its human rights’ commitments, and the threat presented to certain rights by the failure of the state to take appropriate action. Violations related to women, children and state prisoners also factored heavily into the report. At the same time, the HRC-SL was quick to point out areas where the government or others had acted in the interests of human rights and remained optimistic in its conclusions.

Notably, the HRC-SL report pointed out a number of immediate actions the government could take to fulfill the commitments it has undertaken, including the obligation to report to a number of treaty bodies and to adopt the provisions of the treaties it has signed into domestic law. The government has also failed to adopt or implement many of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including the creation of a TRC Follow-up Committee. Looking ahead, the HRC-SL also advised the creation of a National Human Rights Action Plan, which would detail a comprehensive strategy for all actors in the human rights field and would demonstrate that the government takes these issues seriously. The failure of the government to adequately fund, inspect or regulate public services was a repeated and emphasized concern throughout the report. In the view of the HRC-SL, these failures resulted in multiple, serious human rights violations. For example, the Commission stated that the right of all persons to life, liberty and security of person was threatened by the slow response of police to reported crimes. The right to life was also infringed upon by the government’s failure to create standard safety measures for public transportation, possibly to blame the tragic deaths from a helicopter crash last year. Likewise, the Commission felt that the right to enjoyment of property was undermined by the failure of police, courts and the Ministry of Land to handle cases and settle disputes.  

A number of concerns raised by the Commission were related to the infringement on multiple rights resulting from political passions, especially during the 2007 election period. For example, in regards to freedom of expression and the press, the HRC-SL noted both the use of seditious libel laws by the government to quiet opposition and the irresponsible use of publications or broadcast time by journalists putting forth politically inflammatory material with the aim of inciting conflict.  Similarly, the Commission noted violations of the right to freedom of assembly and association resulting from attacks on opposition political parties or the firings of individuals from government positions on what many believed to be political grounds. While government institutions like the Independent Media Commission, the NEC and the police stepped in to address specific incidents, the HRC-SL felt that not enough had been done to discipline wrongdoers, a view that is validated by the problems related to intimidation and harassment experienced in the run-up to this month’s local elections.

In relation to women and children, the HRC-SL remarked on a number of encouraging and important reforms taking place in 2007, including the passage of the “Gender Justice Acts” and the Child Rights Act. The government also turned in five years of backlogged reports to the committee for the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, in turn receiving a comprehensive response from the treaty body. This response, which included numerous extensive and well thought-out recommendations for improvement, was included within the HRC-SL report. Still, the Commission noted the high number of complaints received throughout the year related to domestic and sexual violence and lamented the lack of knowledge among women about their rights under the new gender acts. The HRC-SL called on the government to take more action in addressing inequality under the customary law system and to increase awareness of rights among these vulnerable groups.

The report also listed serious problems within Sierra Leone’s judicial sector, including a lack of access to justice, indiscipline among members of the police and deplorable prison conditions. In the opinion of the Commission, extremely lengthy detentions due to unnecessary and avoidable delays, combined with problems of overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in prisons, amounted to the level of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, a serious violation of international law. As for the police, the Commission stated its concerns with both complaints about excessive use of force, sexual violence and corruption, and the community’s perception of discrimination in the way police members responded to situations.  

In international law, a distinction is traditionally made between civil and political rights on the one hand and economic, social and cultural rights on the other. Civil and political rights, largely codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), are generally seen as negative rights, or guarantees made to individuals that states cannot infringe upon. In contrast, economic, social and cultural rights, embodied in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, are typically viewed as positive rights, or obligations upon states to take specific actions to give individuals access to work, education, and good health, amongst other rights.   The HRC-SL report chose to address this second category of rights as well, noting that they are to be progressively realized with the aid of the country’s “maximum available resources” [1] . Thus, the Sierra Leone government has committed to provide these rights to the people of Sierra Leone to the best of its ability, using whatever budgetary allocations and resources it has to do so.

The Commission called on Parliament to solidify these international commitments by including the right to health and education in the revised Constitution. The HRC-SL also pointed out the need for greater resource allocation to specific areas, including vocational guidance or training programmes for youths, in order to guarantee the right to work. Under the right to education, the Commission noted that compulsory primary education is too often undermined by unofficial school fees, a lack of both funding for teachers and teachers themselves, and the early removal of girls from the school system due to fears of pregnancy. Finally, the Commission stated that the people of Sierra Leone have a right to the “highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, [2] ” and deplored the lack of access to medical services, the lack of adequate drinking water and the lack of environmental hygiene, including problems with solid waste disposal. The HRC-SL also once again brought up the devastating infant and maternal mortality rates under this right to health.

What is perhaps most notable about the HRC-SL’s first report is its progressiveness. For instance, the Commission chose to discuss its concerns about high infant and maternal mortality rates under the guise of the right to life, a right that is guaranteed in numerous treaties to which Sierra Leone is a party and that is considered of utmost importance. However, the right to life is also a civil and political right, meaning that it is usually interpreted to mean only that the state cannot take away the lives of its citizens, as opposed to imposing an obligation on states to protect and save the lives of individuals. Thus, in admonishing the government to take action to lower infant and maternal mortality rates, the Commission took the right to life a step further than is customary, choosing to hold the Sierra Leone to a higher standard than that which some of the most developed countries in the world follow. The same progressive approach was applied to the rights to liberty, security of person, enjoyment of property and other rights that are seen as not requiring the government to take action.

Another important feature of the HRC-SL report is that it does not just contain comments or criticisms; it also includes a number of specific and attainable recommendations as to how Sierra Leone should address these human rights’ concerns. Dividing its recommendations into the categories of Institutional and Capacity Building, the Promotion of Human Rights, and the Protection of Human Rights, the Commission suggested remedies for very specific incidents of violations and for problems that are institution-wide, eve including timetables or calling on named officials or institutions to take action. One of the major themes among its recommendations is the need for Sierra Leone government to take ownership of its commitment to human rights, which includes moving forward with the implementation process of the TRC recommendations, building relationships with human rights actors and devoting resources to the concerns listed in the report. The Commission also encouraged ongoing legislative remedies, including reforming the Constitution and customary law, and ensuring that statutory reform is properly implemented. However, the HRCSL does not put pressure on the government alone; the report called for civil society organizations to undertake research to address mortality rates; for international organizations to insist in the implementation of the gender parity and children’s rights acts; for media and educational facilities to assist in training and awareness measures; and for the community to be enthusiastic, aware and involved. This idea of community involvement is in line with the theme of “Attitudinal Change” that is currently being disseminated throughout Sierra Leone.  Only when negative traditional practices and stereotypes are addressed will there truly be a comprehensive cultural change.

One of the major concerns in moving forward is international and national funding of the HRC-SL, or the lack thereof.  Within its recommendations, the Commission called for the government to devote finances to the Commission so that it can truly operate nationwide, and also asked for the involvement of international donors. The HRC-SL also looks to solidify its position within the government by calling for the Constitutional Review Commission, and then Parliament in turn, to create specific duties and recognition of the Human Rights Commission within the Constitution and domestic law. Once its place is solidified, the HRC-SL will be able to move forward with putting some of its recommendations into action, including the creation of a National Human Rights Action Plan and increased collaboration with civil society organizations and the government itself.  Still, the report’s conclusion included the HRC-SL’s belief that demand among the public for the full enjoyment of their rights will only increase, accompanied by a much-desired increase in public-interest litigation. Even with its limited financial and personnel resources, the HRC-SL has done a great service for Sierra Leone in creating and disseminating this first annual report, which in turn will increase awareness and hopefully lead to greater demands for accountability for violations and for the protection of individual rights.

NOTE: In previous newsletters and independent articles, SLCMP has extensively written on its concerns with the treatment of women and children by the legal and judicial sector, along with needed reforms. While this article is a more general overview of the report, the author feels she would be amiss unless she noted the Commission’s similar concerns with issues such as the detention of juveniles, the lack of access to judicial systems for women, and the need for greater government implementation of the TRC recommendations and recent statutory reforms. Notable recommendations by the HRCSL in these areas, some of which have also been advocated by SLCMP, include avoiding the detention of juveniles except as a last resort; ensuring that juveniles and adults are not placed in the same block; dealing with children in conflict with the law by acting in the best interests of the child; ensuring that all police detention facilities comply with the minimum international standards for the detention and treatment of prisoners; directing police officers conducting investigations to only detain suspects for the shortest time necessary, as a last resort; continuing the government moratorium on executions and working toward abolition of the death penalty; ensuring that reforms in the customary law system and informal justice sectors guarantee equal access to justice for women and children; using the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs to implement the Domestic Violence Act 2007; expanding the number of Family Support Units of the Police to protect vulnerable women and children; widely disseminating the “gender justice laws”; strengthening implementation of the Child Rights Act by devoting adequate resources and increasing both MSWGCA and police capacity; monitoring to ensure that all accused persons have a fair hearing within a reasonable time by independent and impartial courts throughout the country; ensuring that every time a detainee is transported to court, that person is brought before court and given the opportunity to be heard; providing separate but equal facilities for male and female detainees; providing adequate and regular transport facilities to convey detained persons to court; preventing the backlog of cases by putting permanent mechanisms in place; urgently appointing magistrates in any vacancies; easing the burden of prosecutors at the district levels by appointing at least three law officers to each region, and increasing transportation facilities for judicial officers to allow courts to sit longer hours and in turn dispose of the backlog of cases.