Report on Human Rights Practices for 2011 Country of Sierra Leone

Police were unlikely to intervene in domestic disputes except in cases involving serious injury or death. The SLP used mediation as its primary tool for handling domestic violence. Of the reported cases in the northern, southern, and eastern regions of the country, perpetrators were charged but only seven were convicted.

Data on convictions in the cases in the western region including Freetown was unavailable. The FSU does not maintain statistics on conviction rates, but NGOs indicated few perpetrators were convicted, due to poorly trained prosecutors and out-of-court settlements. In addition NGOs observed in many cases that women withdrew rape or other violence complaints due to social stigma, fear of retaliation, or acceptance of payment in lieu of pressing charges to alleviate their extreme poverty.

The lack of convictions resulted in a high degree of impunity for rape and other violence. Awareness of the law resulted in an increase in reported cases in urban areas; however, most human rights organizations noted domestic violence continued to be most prevalent and underreported in the northern provinces.

According to the UNICEF, the majority of women felt that wife-beating was justified for actions such as going out without telling a husband, neglecting the children, refusing sex, or burning food. Women suspected of marital infidelity often were subjected to physical abuse. There were also reports that women suspected of infidelity were required to undergo animistic rituals to prove their innocence.

The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace, and harassment was widespread. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation reported that between January and November, there were , clients for family planning services, including long-term and permanent treatments, such as intrauterine devices IUDs , tubal ligation, implants, and injectables, as well as oral contraceptives and male and female condoms. Women and men generally were free to decide responsibly the timing, number, and spacing of their children.

NGOs reported that 70 percent of women of reproductive age participated in family planning decisions, including contraception. Most couples who practiced family planning made independent decisions, while some reported that other influences and pressures, such as family and religion, were determinant factors in family-planning decisions.

The contraception prevalence rate ranged from 8 to 20 percent, and of the women using family planning methods, 51 percent did not discuss it with their partners. However, outreach teams rarely served rural women and families.

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Many parents refused contraceptives for their sexually active teenage children because of a misunderstanding that contraceptives would prevent pregnancy later in life. Health professionals assisted at 45 percent of births. However, few hospitals offered full obstetric and postpartum services. Women also rarely had equal access to family finances, and male partners did not always see pre- and post-natal care as a priority. With support from the international donor community, the government continued to implement the free healthcare initiative launched in April , and the number of women seeking prenatal care and giving birth in medical facilities increased.

However, the program continued to be plagued with problems delivering drugs and other supplies to rural areas. Pilfering of pharmaceutical supplies for resale within Sierra Leone or smuggling across the border to Guinea was widespread. Men were more likely to wait for testing until they exhibited physical symptoms.

The law gives either spouse the right to acquire property and guarantees that gifts, payments, or dowries upon marriage are nonrefundable, allowing women in unhappy marriages to divorce without being forced to return dowries. Women faced widespread legal and societal discrimination, particularly in matters of marriage, divorce, property, and inheritance, which are guided by customary law in all areas except the capital. Formal laws apply in customary as well as formal courts, but customary judges had limited or no legal training and often were unaware of formal laws or could choose to ignore them.

Chiefs sometimes colluded with men to evict women and children forcibly from their homes or to subject them to arbitrary detention. A woman is frequently perceived to be the property of her husband, to be inherited on his death with his other property. In rural areas polygyny was widespread; UNICEF estimated in that 43 percent of women were involved in polygynous unions. All women in the Western Freetown Area, which is governed by general law, have a statutory right to own property in their own names.

However, many women in the provinces, which are governed by customary laws that vary from chiefdom to chiefdom, do not. In the Temne ethnic group, women could not become paramount chiefs, subordinate chiefs, or chiefdom authorities; however, in the Mende ethnic group, there were several female leaders. Every local council had at least one female representative. Women did not have equal access to education, economic opportunities, health facilities, or social freedoms.

In rural areas women performed much of the subsistence farming and had little opportunity for formal education. According to a government survey, 66 percent of women had never been to school, compared with 50 percent of men. Women also experienced discrimination in access to employment, and it was common for a woman to be dismissed if she became pregnant during her first year on the job.

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Further discrimination occurred in access to credit, equal pay for similar work, and the ownership and management of a business. Women were active in civic and philanthropic organizations. Birth registration was not universal due to inadequate staffing and resources. The chief registrar also noted that a lack of registration materials such as paper forms also hindered new registrations. However, lack of registration did not affect access to public services, nor did it result in statelessness. Education is universal and compulsory through age 15, which includes six years of primary school and three years of junior secondary school.

Although no tuition is charged, many parents were unable to put their children through primary school because they could not afford school uniforms, books, and fees charged by school authorities. The average educational level for girls was markedly below that of boys, and only 25 percent of women were literate.

At the secondary level, pregnancy forced many girls out of school. The law allows girls to return to school after giving birth, but many communities did not respect that right. Sexual violence against children was a widespread and growing problem; however, the government took few steps to address the issue.

FSU personnel are trained in dealing with sexual violence against children, and cases of child sexual abuse generally were taken more seriously than adult rape cases. However, in many cases of sexual assault against children, parents accepted payment instead of taking the perpetrator to court due to difficulties dealing with the justice system, fear of public shame, and economic hardship.

Although the FSUs slightly improved their ability to prevent and respond to cases, the conviction numbers remained very low. From January to June, the FSU reported cases of child abuse, which included abuse of young girls, unlawful carnal knowledge a general term for child rape , child neglect, and child cruelty. Although perpetrators in many of these cases were charged and convicted, a large number were withdrawn or resolved through informal negotiation.

Child rights laws also provide for the creation of family courts and child committees at the local government level, but NGOs reported that significant work remained to be done to establish such entities nationwide. There were 70 child welfare committees across the country, but they were not fully functioning. Although the law prohibits marriage of girls under the age of 18, including forced marriage, forced child marriage continued to be a problem.

Police occasionally detained or arrested practitioners on accusations of forced mutilation or manslaughter. For example, on December 19, SLP officers arrested two male suspects involved in the December 16 initiation ceremony of 10 young women in Kenema District; one year-old woman died as a result of severe injuries during the cutting. However, human rights workers reported that police generally remained hesitant to interfere in cultural practices. There have never been any prosecutions for FGM. Although most sowies have other employment, performing FGM is a major source of income for many of them, so they object to FGM eradication programs on both cultural and economic grounds.

The UN also held or funded workshops for local social workers and traditional leaders on prevention measures, as well as health care and psychosocial support for victims, particularly girls who had run away from home to escape the cutting. However, groups of sowies continued to threaten health and social workers advocating for an end to FGM, particularly in Moyamba District in January and February. FGM was practiced on girls as young as two years old, and many NGOs reported cases in which toddlers underwent FGM because their very young age made it cheaper for parents.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: Forced child prostitution continued to be a problem. NGOs stated there appears to be little political will to address the problem. There was no record of charges or convictions for child pornography having ever taken place.

Republic of Sierra Leone

Besides prostitution, many children were forced to engage in petty trading and other economic activities to survive and were vulnerable to trafficking and other exploitative practices. The quality of care at the facilities varied, but most of those that failed to meet UNICEF minimum standards were shut down. Each facility provided at least one meal a day, some health care, and some type of education. There is no indigenous Jewish population, only a very small number of temporary residents such as employees of foreign diplomatic missions or NGOs.

There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. In March Parliament passed the Persons With Disabilities Act of , which prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment and provision of state services. Given the high rate of general unemployment, work opportunities for persons with disabilities were few, and begging by them was commonplace. Children with disabilities were also less likely to attend school than other children. There is considerable stigma associated with and discrimination against persons with mental health issues.

The Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital in Kissy, the only inpatient psychiatric institution, had beds for patients but housed only an estimated patients due to staff and resource constraints, as the hospital was poorly funded by the government and received only small donations from private charities. Patients were generally released to their families or communities as soon as possible and received follow-up counseling on a regular basis. The hospital estimated that , people suffered severe depression, generally due to socioeconomic problems.

Approximately 50, people suffered drug and alcohol-induced psychosis, or psychoses caused by diseases like malaria. There were an estimated , severe drug abusers using alcohol, marijuana derivatives, or cocaine. In addition the hospital estimated there were 25, mentally retarded persons and 25, people suffering from epilepsy. The vast majorities of these people remained untreated and received no public services.

The hospital lacked sufficient beds, and patients easily destroyed mattresses.

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Patients were not provided sufficient food. Patient restraints were primitive and dehumanizing. The hospital did not have running water and only sporadic electricity due to lack of funds. Basic medications were available, but many drugs targeted at specific problems were lacking. Hospital staff was poorly paid; in September nurses, caterers, and cleaners threatened to strike until their salaries were augmented and they were provided with uniforms and raincoats.

In September, in an effort to expand mental health services to areas outside Freetown, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, certified 25 mental health workers in Bo. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation is responsible for providing free primary healthcare services to persons with polio and diabetic retinopathy as well as those who are blind or deaf.

However, these services were not provided consistently, and organizations reported that many persons with disabilities had limited access to medical and rehabilitative care. The National Committee for Social Action provided some support through limited programs to vulnerable communities. Some of the many individuals maimed in the civil war, including those who had their limbs amputated, received special assistance from local and international humanitarian organizations.

Such programs involved reconstructive surgery, prostheses, and vocational training to help victims acquire new work skills; however, amputees complained that they did not receive sufficient assistance compared to former combatants. The ethnically diverse population consisted of 18 ethnic groups of African origin, and many spoke distinct languages and were concentrated outside urban areas. In addition there were significant ethnic Lebanese and Indian minorities, and small groups of European and Pakistani origin.

Little ethnic segregation was apparent in urban areas, where interethnic marriage was common. The two largest ethnic groups are the Temne in the North and the Mende in the South. These groups each constituted an estimated 30 percent of the population; however, the Krio, 7 percent of the population, have historically dominated the civil service and judiciary. Strong ethnic loyalties, bias, and stereotypes existed among all ethnic groups. The Temne and Mende have vied historically for political power, and the violence during the year civil war had some ethnic undertones.

Ethnic loyalty remains an important factor in the government, the armed forces, and business. Complaints of ethnic discrimination in government appointments, contract assignment, and military promotions were common under the former SLPP and current APC governments. Residents of non-African descent faced some institutionalized discrimination, particularly in the areas of citizenship and nationality. No president has done so since the end of the civil war in The president must still approve all applications personally.

A small percentage of the Lebanese population was naturalized during a previous period of government leniency, and they enjoy the full rights of citizenship, such as suffrage, access to health care and education, and the right to purchase freehold land. While not entitled to the rights of citizens, nonnaturalized persons born in the country are entitled to a Sierra Leonean passport, and many Lebanese Sierra Leoneans travel on one without difficulty. The Lebanese community reported no cases of overt discrimination based on race or nationality, although community leaders stressed that, even though many Lebanese families have resided in the country since the s, they still feel alienated from the indigenous population.

The constitution does not offer protection from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. However, the law was not enforced in practice. However, the government subsequently rejected three of Working Group recommendations, two calling for decriminalizing all sexual activity between consulting adults and one calling for legislation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Despite the lack of enforcement of the law, police continued to harass, detain, and beat persons perceived to be of the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender LGBT community.

For example, on July 9, a group called police to complain that neighbors were throwing stones and shouting homophobic epithets at them, but the police arrested eight victims instead because they were perceived to be gay. They were held overnight and released without charge. Men dressed as women were singled out for detention, harassment, and public humiliation but were not formally charged with any crime or misdemeanor.

Gay pride parades and other public displays of solidarity could not safely take place. Social discrimination based on sexual orientation occurred in nearly every facet of life for known gays and lesbians, and many chose to have heterosexual relationships and family units to shield them. In the areas of employment and education, sexual orientation was the basis for abusive treatment, which led individuals to leave their jobs or courses of study.

It was difficult for gay men and lesbians to receive the health services due to fear that their confidentiality rights would be ignored if they were honest about their ailments; many chose not to be tested or treated for sexually transmitted infections. Secure housing was also a problem for LGBT persons.

Their families frequently shunned gay children, leading some to turn to prostitution to survive. Adults could lose their leases if their sexual orientation became public. Vigilante violence was common in urban areas, particularly for suspected thieves and unsettled debts. Police frequently were not present or chose not to intervene in vigilante attacks. The law allows workers in both the public and private sectors to join unions of their choice without prior authorization; however, it prohibits civil service employees, police, and members of the armed services from joining unions.

The law allows workers to organize but does not prohibit antiunion discrimination against union members or prohibit employer interference in the establishment of unions. The law does not prohibit retaliation against strikers, even when a strike is lawful. The law provides for collective bargaining. Collective bargaining must take place in trade group negotiating councils, each of which had an equal number of employer and worker representatives.

While the government generally protected the right of workers in the private sector to form or join unions, its enforcement of applicable laws was untested. According to the Ministry of Labor, approximately 35 to 40 percent of workers in the formal economy were unionized, including mainly agricultural, mine, and health workers. All unions are independent of political parties and the government.

In some private industries employers were known to intimidate workers to prevent them from joining a union. There were no reports of violence, threats, or other abuses targeting union leaders and members by government or employers during the year. The government generally protected the right to collectively bargain in practice. Collective bargaining was widespread in the formal sector, and most enterprises were covered by collective bargaining agreements on wages and working conditions.

No reliable data was available on the percentage of workers covered by collective agreements. The majority of industrial actions were taken against the government, primarily to protest unpaid salaries and reduced benefit packages. The government generally did not interfere with peaceful demonstrations and attempted to negotiate with workers and labor unions in good faith.

However, tensions complicated negotiations. In February employees of the Sierra Leone Ports Authority continually threatened to stage violent protests against the government preceding the March 1 privatization of the Port of Freetown. Workers were concerned that Bollore, the French company that was awarded the government contract to operate the port, would lay off dockworkers but not pay them the full end-of-service benefit stipulated by the terms of employment in the Sierra Leone Gazette. All parties agreed the end-of-service benefit would be paid in installments over a period of five years, but the workers were not appeased.

On February 25, the minister of labor and employment attempted to convince the workers at the port to accept the severance package, but the angry crowd threw stones, water, and garbage at him and threatened continued violence. By early April the situation had been resolved, and laid-off workers received their end-of-service benefits and redundancy payments. In February a group of teachers who believed the SLTU was not being aggressive enough embarked on a wildcat strike and refused to return to their schools.

Shortly thereafter the SLTU and the government agreed to a pay reform package to take effect on March 1, although the SLTU claimed the agreement was reached independently of the wildcat strike. During the intra-SLTU conflict, several irregularities in SLTU operations came to light, including illegal deduction of union dues from teacher salaries without prior agreement, misuse of funds, actions not in the interest of teachers, and generally nontransparent behavior.

Meanwhile, in September teachers in Freetown, unhappy with the new pay package, refused to return to their schools for the new school year, delaying the start of classes by nearly a month. The law prohibits most forms of forced and compulsory labor, including by children. Under a provision of the Chiefdom Councils Act, pending repeal or amendment since , individual chiefs may impose forced labor as punishment and have done so in the past, although there were no reports of it during the year. Chiefs also may require villagers to contribute to the improvement of common areas, a practice that occurred in rural areas.

There is no penalty for noncompliance. The government did not effectively enforce the law, and the practice of forced labor occurred. Forced child labor occurred primarily in artisanal diamond mining operations. Children, primarily boys, shoveled and carried sand and gravel to washing sites and often washed the sand and gravel. Younger children carried water and food to the miners and performed other errands. Many girls, particularly teens, were forced into prostitution.

World Report 2011: Sierra Leone

Work sites were often dangerous, with frequent collapses of pit walls, and basic sanitation was nonexistent, with children regularly contracting gastrointestinal infections. In remote villages children were forced to carry heavy loads as porters, resulting in stunted growth and development. Children were also exploited in sand mining, fishing, hawking, and granite quarrying. There were reports that children whose parents sent them to friends or relatives in urban areas for education were forced to work on the street where they were involved in street vending, stealing, and begging.

The law limits child labor, allowing light work at age 13, full-time nonhazardous work at age 15, and hazardous work at age The law states that children under 13 should not be employed in any capacity. Provided they have finished schooling, children age 15 may be apprenticed and employed full time in nonhazardous work. The law also proscribes work by any child under 18 between 8 p.

The Child Labor Unit of the Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor laws and monitoring compliance. The Ministry of Mineral Resources enforced regulatory prohibitions against the worst forms of child labor. The ministry also was charged with protecting children working in the diamond mining areas.

The Freetown City Council contributed nonfinancial support to programs that provided free schooling and other services to at-risk youth. Mitigation efforts had mixed results. UNICEF officials were reluctant to advocate against children working for school fees too strongly, since without those fees the children would not be able to attend school. The Ministry of Labor employed 20 labor inspectors to ensure employee health and welfare and 15 factory inspectors to ensure factories met minimum technical standards for safety.

All inspectors focused primarily on Freetown and covered all issues of labor and occupational safety and health in addition to child labor. There were no reports that authorities conducted any child labor inspections during the year. Primarily used in the informal economy, child labor was often hidden from inspectors and other authorities. The government was unable to produce any statistics on arrests or prosecutions for violating child labor regulations.

Child labor remained widespread. Almost half of children ages 14 and 15 were engaged in some form of child labor. The rate varied from 27 percent in urban areas to 57 percent in rural areas. Children were subjected to a variety of exploitative labor, including petty trading, carrying heavy loads, breaking rocks, harvesting sand, begging, deep-sea fishing, agriculture, domestic work, the sex trade, scavenging for scrap metal and other recyclables, and other age-inappropriate forms of exploitative labor under often hazardous conditions.

Larger companies enforced strict rules against child labor, but it remained a pressing issue in small-scale informal artisanal diamond and gold mining. In many cases children worked alongside parents or relatives and abandoned educational or vocational training. In rural areas children worked seasonally on family subsistence farms.

Children also routinely assisted in family businesses and worked as petty vendors. There also were reports that adults asked orphanages for children to work as household help. Many girls engaged in prostitution as a means of support, particularly those displaced from their homes and with few resources. Because the adult unemployment rate remained high, few children were involved in the industrial sector or elsewhere in the formal economy.

Tradition requires children to fulfill their traditional roles, which include working to help generate income for the family or village even if it means missing school. In subsistence farming families, many children did not attend school, in order to work as field laborers. UNICEF indicated many children, particularly in the towns, worked part time to earn money necessary to pay school fees.

The Campaign for Just Mining stated this was equally true in the sand and stone quarries in the Western Area surrounding Freetown. While these children attended school, they were effectively denied the time and energy to study and complete homework during their off-hours. The paramount chiefs played varying roles in addressing child labor. CSOs pointed out that many were part of the problem. UNICEF mentioned that although many paramount chiefs enacted bylaws to strengthen existing national laws, for example, to prohibit children from being forced to carry heavy loads, no bylaws were passed specifically targeting child labor in the mining sector.

In the mining areas, chiefs deferred child labor issues to the national government, since until all land used for mining was considered state property. Many mining companies worked directly with the Ministry of Mineral Resources without going through chiefs, so the chiefs did not see social problems associated with mining as their responsibility. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage. Although not stipulated by law, the standard workweek was 40 hours 60 hours for security personnel.

There was no prohibition on excessive compulsory overtime. Initially a union could make a formal complaint about a hazardous working condition; if the complaint was rejected, the union could issue a day strike notice. According to government and NGO sources, laws and standards continue to be violated primarily due to lack of enforcement, rather than the deterrent effect, or lack thereof, of the penalties.

Workers in the mining and road construction industries complained to their private employers about safety concerns, and companies took action before the government needed to intervene. Minimum wage compliance was particularly difficult to monitor in the informal sector. Most workers supported an extended family.

It was common to pool incomes and to supplement wages with subsistence farming and child labor. The law provides for paid overtime. Workers who removed themselves from dangerous work situations without making a formal complaint risked being fired. Violations of wage, overtime, and occupational safety and health standards were most frequent within the unorganized artisanal diamond mining industry.

There were numerous complaints of unpaid wages and lack of attention to injuries sustained while on the job, but victims often did not know where to turn for recourse, or their complaints went unresolved. Jump to In This Section. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from: Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life b. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention e. Denial of Fair Public Trial f. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including: Freedom of Speech and Press b.

Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association c. Freedom of Religion d. Respect for Political Rights: Official Corruption and Government Transparency. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor c. Acceptable Conditions of Work. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life There were reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. Disappearance There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, there were reports that police and other security personnel continued to use excessive force. Prison and Detention Center Conditions Prison and detention center conditions were harsh and sometimes life threatening. There are no prison ombudsmen to address prisoner concerns and grievances.

There was no alternative sentencing program for diversion of nonviolent offenders. The government permitted family visits to prisoners and detainees regularly during the year. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, police occasionally arrested and detained persons arbitrarily.

Role of the Police and Security Apparatus The SLP, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, maintains internal security, but it was poorly equipped and lacked investigative, forensic, and riot control capabilities. Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention The law requires warrants for searches and arrests; however, arrest without warrant was common. Denial of Fair Public Trial The constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary. Trial Procedures The law provides for a fair trial; however, in practice, the lack of judicial officers and facilities regularly resulted in repeated long delays.

Political Prisoners and Detainees There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees. Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies Both the central government judiciary and customary law courts handled civil complaints; however, corruption influenced some cases and judgments, and awards were inconsistent. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence The constitution and laws prohibit such actions, and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. Freedom of Speech and Press Status of Freedom of Speech and Press The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.

Internet Freedom There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Academic Freedom and Cultural Events There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association The constitution and law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the government generally respected the right of freedom of association; however, there were some restrictions on freedom of assembly. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons The constitution and law provide for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.

Protection of Refugees Access to Asylum: Elections and Political Participation Recent Elections: Women Rape and Domestic Violence: See section 6, Children. Persons with Disabilities In March Parliament passed the Persons With Disabilities Act of , which prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment and provision of state services. Were some people prevented from voting? A New Era of Reform?

E - Sierra Leone: The Krio ethnic group and their relationship with the rebels, government and general population - Sept. What is the situation with regard to women, and Mandingo women in particular? Are Mandingo people imputed with particular political opinions, or allegiance to particular parties? Is it common for high profile activists to be interviewed, assaulted and or detained by the authorities? What is the level of state protection provided? Does the possibility of being regarded as anti-government affect the level of protection a person may receive?

E - Treatment of homosexuals by society and government authorities; legal recourse and protection available to homosexuals who have been subjected to ill-treatment - Feb. E - The situation of homosexuals and bisexuals - Dec.