47. The MSWGCA provided leadership and coordination in the development and implementation of the National Gender Plan and the National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008). Most of the activities in both documents have been implemented by the MSWGCA and its partners. With regards to the National Gender Strategic Plan, the Ministry undertook a mid-term review to assess the progress made in terms of implementation and those that were not implemented will be rolled over as part of the implementation processes into the Agenda for Prosperity.
48. In the case of the sister resolutions on 1325 ad 1820, the Ministry has transformed the National Taskforce for the development of the SILNAP on 1325 and 1820 into a National Steering Committee for full implementation. The Ministry has concluded a second phase of the Gender and Security Sector Reform Project aimed at building the capacity of stakeholders and rural women for their engagement in security sector apparatus at the local level. Additionally, the MSWGCA developed and launched the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and the National Referral Protocol on Gender-Based Violence in 2012. The implementation of the National Referral Protocol on GBV continues all across the country. (Recs: 82.13)
49. The GOSL has made several efforts through the MSWGCA in raising awareness on gender equality issues across the country. As set out in the Agenda for Prosperity, particularly Pillar 8, the GOSL has identified flagship projects to undertake. These include the development and passage of a minimum 30% quota for women in governance at all levels; the establishment of the Women’s Commission and the development of a comprehensive policy on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Ministry has begun initiating actions on these flagship projects and intends to accomplish them before
the end of 2014. It has also appointed a gender focal point in each ministry and governmental agency, ensuring that the appointee is a permanent member of staff at a senior level. Gender mainstreaming is a new plan of action and is also a criterion for any evaluation by the Minister of MSWGCA. (Recs: 80.19, 81.18, 82.28)
50. The GOSL recognizes that some traditional practices have proven harmful and violates the basic rights of individuals. It is therefore advocating, also as a nation, on the importance of the age limit set in the Child Right’s Act (18). This enactment was promulgated as a deterrent to FGM and Child Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM).
However, the Law Reform Commission is still working on the amendment of the Customary Marriage Act which currently allows marriage below 18, but with the consent of the parent/guardian. It is hoped that by the third cycle, this law will be in conformity with the age of maturity or consent, that is: 18years. (Recs: 80.18, 80.20, 82.12)
51. The six-year Reparation Program is due to expire in 2014. The GOSL, which has the primary responsibility to fund the program, provided Le 300,000,000 (Three Hundred Million Leones) as operational and administrative support for the program. Unfortunately, the expected contribution to the Victim’s Trust Fund has not been met due to budget cuts.
The UN Peace Building Fund provided Le 3,719,400,000 (Three Billion Seven Hundred and Nineteen Million Four Hundred Thousand Leones) for the program. This money was used to provide micro-grants of approximately 75USD each to 12,398 beneficiaries. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women provided nearly 700 Hundred Million Leones for screening of 354 beneficiaries who had been victims of sexual violence and for providing training of various life skills and thematic subjects. Sierra Leone is therefore on the road to implementing the TRC recommendations in this regard. (Recs: 81.41)
52. The GOSL has taken affirmative action for the improvement of women’s participation in public life through the appointment of several women in key leadership positions in the country. Positions taken by women include; (the immediate past) Chief Justice, Solicitor General, Administrator-Registrar General, Commissioner General of National Revenue Authority, Commissioner of Law Reform Commission, Auditor General, Commissioners of National Elections Commission including the former Chief Electoral Commissioner, Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Government, Honourable Members of Parliament, Ambassadors, Heads of Chanceries, Executive Secretaries, Commissioners of Human Rights Commission, Heads of Agencies and Parastatals, among others. The Government has enshrined in the Agenda for Prosperity the enactment of the legislation on a minimum 30% quota for women at all levels of governance positions. (Recs: 80.18, 81.17)
53. The MSWGCA has during the period under review, collaborated with the International Rescue Committee, UNDP, and AMNET-SL in providing trainings and awareness-raising drives on sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) for the law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders including the Local Councils and other service providers for SGBV cases. The Directorate of Gender and Equal Opportunity of RSLAF has conducted a series of sexual harassment sensitisation tours for brigades and battalions across the various forces in order to discuss the RSLAF Sexual Harassment Policy. Gender Durbars have also been conducted with brigades, battalions, units and other departments across the RSLAF to discuss gender issues, including women’s empowerment, and to build their capacity to address GBV issues. GBV and Teenage Pregnancy Workshops have been conducted in military barracks and communities. The Directorate of Gender and Equal Opportunity is also networking with gender stakeholders, institutions and civil society groups to share experience, best practices and lessons learnt, in order to build capacity to deal with GBV issues within the Force.
54. The RSLAF continues to benefit from US Government-sponsored courses for top and middle-level ranking military officers on the Law of Armed Conflict and Human
Rights. The US Government has also offered training courses to the RSLAF in the areas of HIV/AIDS Planning and Policy Development, GBV and Women’s Health. Participants for such courses included both male and female military officers. The RSLAF Peace Support Operation Policy has a provision relating to the training of personnel on the Law of Armed Conflict and Human Rights issues as a condition for pre-deployment. (Recs: 80.10, 80.22, 81.23)
55. Part 8, Articles 125 to 136 of the Child Rights Act 2007, addresses the employment of children and it sets the age for full time employment and apprenticeship as 15 years. It prohibits child labour at night, and sets the minimum age for light work at 13 years and the minimum age for hazardous work at 18 years. The ILO Child Labour Conventions 138 (Minimum Age Convention) and 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention) were ratified in June 2011, through the support provided by TACKLE Project in Sierra Leone.
Following the ratification of Convention 138, the Minimum Age for Work Declaration was made: 15 years for non-hazardous work, and 18 years for hazardous work.
56. A list of hazardous employment/work for children under 18 years in Sierra Leone is also being developed, championed by the Child Labour Unit of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS). Consultations were held at the regional level, and a validation document completed and is awaiting Cabinet’s approval. A workshop on the formulation of a National Action Plan against the Worst Forms of Child Labour (as an obligation under ILO Convention 182) was organized in August 2012 and a draft National Action Plan (NAP) has already been developed. A Child Labour National Technical Steering Committee was formed in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS). The committee comprises of tripartite partners (Employers and Workers Organisations), with key Ministries such as Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Ministry of Education, Science & Technology, Ministry of Youths and Sports, Ministry of Social Welfare etc. A Child Labour Unit was created at the MLSS to ensure that actions following the ratification of Conventions 138 and 182 were met. Its mandate includes taking the lead in the national efforts to enhance the local capacity to address child labour, to ensure the integration of child labour into national policies and programmes, to formulate action plans on the development and wellbeing of children and for the monitoring of workplaces.
57. Two main Action Programs (APs) which were implemented through TACKLE support have been completed in Sierra Leone. The first, entitled; “Community Responses to Child Labour” was implemented by the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The project recovered those already being used and prevented 1,500 children from child labour through educational support. The second AP was implemented by a local NGO called Community Action for Rural Empowerment (CAREM). It targeted 200 direct child beneficiaries, who were withdrawn or prevented from child labour through educational support in 10 primary schools.
58. A National Child Labour Survey, which is the first in Sierra Leone, is being conducted in order to get a clearer picture of the child labour situation in the country. Data has already been collected and is being analysed. The draft report was expected for end of September 2013 but had to be postponed due to the EVD. Awareness-raising activities on child labour have also been supported through mini-programmes implemented by various partners. Child labour concerns have been mainstreamed into national development policies, child protection strategies and education. The GOSL intends, through its national partners, to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by the next cycle of the UPR, and to conduct a legal review of child labour legislations so that all the current laws against child labour could be harmonized. Strengthening the Labour Inspectorate Unit of Ministry of Labour for child labour Monitoring and Capacity building of Labour Inspectors, the role of social workers and other key enforcement partners on child labour monitoring is also envisaged. The finalization and implementation of the National Action Plan against the
Worst forms of Child Labour and the further strengthening of national structures for sustainability of interventions is also planned. The MLSS intends to reach out to more children and families, with possibility of assisting with income generation activity support in order to effectively transform the socio-economic lives of the most vulnerable families.
(Recs: 80.24, 80.25, 80.26, 80.27, 81.37, 81.47, 81.54)
59. The Sierra Leone Correctional Services Department replaced the former Sierra Leone Prisons Department following an Act of Parliament. This has resulted in the transformation of a system once focused on punishment to one that deals with the rehabilitation of inmates. The Prison Strategic Plan for 2012–2014 focuses on four core outcomes: to enhance inmate’s welfare, to improve systems and procedures, to improve public perception, to improve the terms and conditions of service of officers. Achievements in 2012-2013 include: the induction training for 300 new recruits, an updated Prison Officers Training School curriculum, the training of trainers on gender and equal opportunities, the popularization of Robben Island Guidelines on Torture, Prevention and Needs of Inmates; the Prison library opened in Freetown Central Prison with the support of AdvocAid and UNIPSIL, as well as an upgrade in the conditions of services which has served to motivate the staff.
60. Plans are underway for the reconstruction and extension of the fencing of Kabala Prison, the barricading of Port Loko and Kono prison to separate the male from the female wing. The relocation of the Freetown Central Prison to Masanki and the construction of another prison at the Special Court Detention Centre for pre-trial are underway.
61. Plans are also underway to construct a saloon at the Freetown Female Prison for inmates to acquire skills in hair dressing and all workshops in the Freetown Central Prison were refurbished by a development partner, Don Bosco. A prison showroom in the Prison Lower Barracks will display finished products from the prison workshops.
62. With regards to juvenile offenders, the National Child Justice Strategy (developed in 2006) was revised and updated into the National Child Justice Strategy (2013–2017) with a five-year plan to coordinate the implementation of child justice reforms as achieved over the years. The strategy identifies key strategic outcomes and set out a concrete set of activities needed for the incremental reform of the child justice system which is in line with the broader justice sector reform plans. The outcomes include measures to prevent juvenile delinquency and violence, as well as measures aimed at their rehabilitation and reintegration.
63. Other measures include the monitoring of Juvenile Courts and other Courts to ensure that the rights of children are guaranteed and protected. Offenders and victims and the role of advocacy are also considered at this level. The monitoring of police stations or holding cells and of the two Remand Homes and one approved school for the care and protection of children that are in custody would also be intensified. The revised Criminal Procedure Act, which is completed and awaiting approval, will also introduce alternative sentencing and reduce backlog and overcrowding in prisons.
64. The GOSL intends to recruit 458 more officers to make proportional the rate of officers to inmates - as requested by the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules (1 officer to 2 inmates). This wave of recruitment will create new positions such as Prison Legal Adviser, Medical Doctor, Estate Officer and Mechanical Engineers. The Legal Adviser would address challenges faced in court hearings, the lack of indictments and disparities in judgment passed.
65. The Sierra Leone Correctional Service plans to engage the Judiciary on the jurisprudence on guaranteeing the rights of mother and-child in that category and look for modalities to ensure that suckling mothers are placed on a special diet knowing that there is a particular need for this at this time.
66. The GOSL plans to address the reintegration of ex-convicts into society and build a half-way house where convicts who are about to complete their sentences are sent and prepared for their return into society.
67. The GOSL intends to fully implement the recommendations contained in the report;
“Behind Bars: the situation of detention in Sierra Leone” which was jointly released by the OHCHR and UNIPSIL in 2012. (Recs: 80.30, 80.31, 80.32)
68. The GOSL has instituted the Independent Police Complaints Board by an Act of Parliament. The Board will be dealing with serious complaints from members of the public against police officers and shall be independent of police interference. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ministry of Internal Affairs) has undertaken a nationwide information campaign covering all 12 districts of the country and the Western Area. The Board became operational in 2015 and will be evaluated in a year. (Recs: 82.26)
69. The National Child Welfare Policy has been developed to provide the vision to guide the strengthening of child protection system. The Alternative Care Policy has been developed to further enhance the care and protection of children separated from their families and caregivers. Child Welfare Departments have been established within the local councils and child welfare committees have been established nationwide with the responsibility of promoting child rights awareness. The MSWGCA and Child Protection Partners have carried out family training and reunification for all groups of vulnerable persons separated from their families at the district and national levels. Pillar 6 of the Agenda for Prosperity makes provision for the support of children from poor households.
Members of the National Commission for Children have been appointed by Parliament from nominations put forward by the President.
70. Furthermore, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Chiefs and Family Support Unit (FSU) of the Sierra Leone police, to report cases of child abuse. The Child Protection Committees were set up at the national, regional and district levels to coordinate and monitor child protection activities. (Recs: 80.16, 80.23)