The Government of Sierra Leone rejected a recommendation in Whitepaper that would allow citizens to institute legal action against the government for violating rights guaranteed under sections 16 through 27 of the Constitution, according to CARL’s statemen on the Sierra Leone Government Whitepaper report.
Centre of Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL) noted in the report that, there’s nothing wrong in elevating such critical human rights issues by including them in the Constitution, regardless of whether other laws make provision for this.
“This is quite disappointing, not least because it seems to contradict the government’s approval of the recommendation to compensate for illegal detention, but it also appears to inflict a hefty blow to efforts aimed at expanding opportunities to hold government agencies accountable for violations of rights,” CARL said.
CARL is also quite disappointed that the government rejected a recommendation that no less than 30% of the composition of parliamentarians shall be women, stating instead that the issue shall be dealt with by an Act of Parliament.
“This is hugely disappointing because it is a missed opportunity for the government to state its position on the need for increased women’s participation in parliament by not only including it in the Constitution, but by also making it an entrenched clause,” CARL said.
CARL also indicated that the government also rejected a proposal to repeal Section 77(1) (k) and (l), which inhibits parliamentarians’ ability and freedom to debate freely, having regard to their consciences and commitment to national issues.
CARL believes that retaining the said provision would continue to limit MPs’ oversight and lawmaking functions as they would be more inclined as we have witnessed over several decades now to support the position of their parties rather what they truly believe in some circumstances.
It was also believed that it undermines their ability to hold the executive collectively accountable.
It is also disappointing that the government rejected a recommendation for the judiciary to keep filing and other fees, which would have helped them to attain a level of financial independence and fund some of their initiatives aimed at expanding access to justice.
By George M.O. Williams