Sierra Leone

By Firmin Mbala

Maria, a 13 year old survivor who lives in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, was forced to marry a 70 year old man who already had many wives. She didn’t have the chance to finish her first year of primary school, or have a normal childhood and play with her friends.

The terrible aftermath of the mudslides in Sierra Leone, which have left more than 3000 people homeless, grimly illustrates the human cost of the government’s failure to implement housing and land policies, said Amnesty International.

Over 400 people were killed in the mudslide, which struck in the early hours of Monday 14 August in the Regent community of the capital, Freetown, with victims largely those living in informal settlements. With hundreds of people still missing, the shocking death toll is expected to rise substantially.

Amnesty International lance une nouvelle campagne mondiale, Osons le courage, pour mettre un coup d’arrêt à la vague d’attaques dont sont victimes les hommes et les femmes qui défendent les droits humains.

Au moins 87 défenseurs des droits humains et 48 journalistes ont été arrêtés arbitrairement en Afrique de l’Ouest depuis 2014.

Tous les cinq jours, un manifestant est tué pendant un rassemblement.

Amnesty International launches new global campaign, ‘Brave’, to stop the wave of attacks against those defending human rights

At least 87 human rights defenders and 48 journalists arbitrarily arrested in West Africa since 2014

One protester killed every five days during demonstrations

States across the region deploy unlawful killings, arrests, surveillance and administrative sanctions to inhibit human rights work

The security forces killed one person and seriously injured at least two others as they opened fire on protesting students in the city of Bo today, Amnesty International said.

“This bloodshed and loss of young life is a tragedy and suggests a heavy handed response by the security forces to a student protest,” said Sabrina Mahtani, Amnesty International West Africa researcher.

“We urge the police to refrain from committing human rights violations and instead allow the students to safely exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

Sierra Leone must lift a deeply discriminatory ban on visibly pregnant girls attending school and taking exams, which continues to entrench gender inequality in the country and puts thousands of teenage girls’ futures at risk, Amnesty International said today, a year on from its report on the issue.

Sierra Leone: Pregnant schoolgirls excluded from school and banned from exams

La Sierra Leone doit cesser de se servir des dispositions d’urgence mises en œuvre pour lutter contre Ebola comme prétexte pour restreindre les droits à la liberté d’expression et de réunion pacifique, a déclaré Amnesty International lundi 4 mai 2015.

The suggestion that visibly pregnant girls in Sierra Leone will be excluded from school exams this Monday will do nothing but damage their education and harm their chances to better their lives, Amnesty International said today.

On Wednesday Sierra Leone’s Education Minister Minkailu Bah reiterated previous comments that visibly pregnant girls could be banned from taking their exams. One key reason given by the minister is that they would provide a bad example to other girls. Passing the exams is a requirement to progress from junior to senior high school.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PUBLIC STATEMENT

AI Index: AFR 01/013/2014

22 September 2014

International assistance and human rights protections vital for Ebola-stricken countries

As the Ebola epidemic spreads and the death toll rises, Amnesty International underscores the legal obligation of the international community to provide assistance to the affected countries.

While activists gather in London today to discuss strategies to tackle female genital mutilation, communities across Sierra Leone have been taking an innovative approach towards ending the brutal practice.

As several dozen women sat in a circle in the Chiefdom of Masungbala in North West Sierra Leone, discussing their stories of horror and pain, the male community leaders shared their own views in a separate group.

When her husband died, Alice Beti and her two children almost became homeless.

Her in-laws had taken over all of her late husband’s property and were threatening to evict them from their house in Kenya.

But one day, Alice, a community health worker, went to a meeting organized by local activists where she learned about her right to inherit part of her husband’s property under the country’s family laws. She understood that her rights had been violated and that she could do something about it.

In the run-up to the Presidential, Parliamentary and local elections in Sierra Leone on 17 November 2012, Amnesty International calls upon election monitors and observers to give human rights monitoring a central place in their mandates.

The conviction of Charles Taylor by the Special Court for Sierra Leone sends out a clear message to leaders the world over that no-one is immune from justice but while the verdict brings some satisfaction for his victims more must now be done, said Amnesty International.

"There is no doubt that today's verdict sends an important message to high-ranking state officials; no matter who you are or what position you hold, you will be brought to justice for crimes," said Brima Abdulai Sheriff, Director of Amnesty International Sierra Leone.

Pregnant women still denied lifesaving medical care

More than a year after the launch of the Free Health Care Initiative, pregnant women and girls in Sierra Leone continue to face serious challenges in accessing the drugs and medical care crucial for safe pregnancy and childbirth, Amnesty International said today.

Amnesty International said today's decision by the Special Court for Sierra Leone to uphold the convictions of three former senior leaders of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) is a positive step in the fight against impunity for the worst crimes committed during the country's eleven-year civil war.

The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone upheld, by a majority, the convictions of Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao, former senior leaders of the main armed opposition group in Sierra Leone's conflict.

"The confirmation of the convictions of …

(Freetown, Sierra Leone) On the eve of world leaders meeting in New York to discuss increased funding for healthcare in developing countries, Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan launched a campaign to reduce maternal deaths in Sierra Leone.

The accompanying report Out of Reach: The Cost of Maternal Health in Sierra Leone uses graphic and personal testimonials to show how women and girls are often unable access lifesaving treatment because they are too poor to pay for it.

1/INTRODUCTION

'Maybe I will die'

A pregnant 16-year-old, the third wife of an older man, talking about her forthcoming childbirth Yerie Marah was just 22 when she died in November 2008, the day after giving birth to a baby girl.

Former Liberian president Charles Taylor began testifying at his trial on Tuesday before the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague.

Despite the importance of this trial for the victims of the conflict in Sierra Leone, Amnesty International said it is concerned that many Sierra Leoneans are unaware about it and are not following the court proceedings.

"Today the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown, where the proceedings from The Hague are being shown by video link, was mostly empty.

Ref: TIGO IOR 63/2009.010

Colonel Mu'ammar al Gaddafi
Leader of the Revolution
Office of the Leader of the Revolution
Tripoli