By George M.O. Williams
Dozens of feminist movement partners across Sierra Leone have called on the Parliament of Sierra Leone, in the strongest terms, to swiftly pass the Child Rights Act 2024, affirming the significance of this transformative legislation to safeguard the dignity, safety, and freedom of all children. A crucial provision within it supports banning Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) for girls under 18, ensuring that every girl is protected from this irreversible practice, with the right to have autonomy over her body and to reach adulthood free to make her own choices.
This partnership statement, from 51 feminist movement partners, assumes the unwavering support of Parliamentarians to protect the health and future of our children. It decries the fact that no other position is possible but to enshrine into
law this comprehensive shield to protect our children from violence, abuse, and exploitation and make safety their fundamental right.
The Child Rights Act 2024 is a groundbreaking piece of legislation strengthening the protection of all children in Sierra Leone. It sets out a robust foundation for child rights and sits in unified alignment with the international treaties of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the African Charter on the
Rights and Welfare of Children, and the Maputo Protocol, reinforcing Sierra Leone’s commitment to upholding the international frameworks that protect children fromdiscrimination, abuse, violence or practices that compromise their physical and psychological well- being.