PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND PROTECTION FOR WOMEN STILL REQUIRED
By Sarah Martin and Cliff Bernath

March 18, 2004 – (Refugees International) As UNAMSIL plans its exit strategy from Sierra Leone and begins to assess its successes, it can point to many: increased stability in the country, the return of refugees from Liberia and Guinea, the establishment of the special court, a renewed and re-trained Sierra Leone Police (SLP) force, and a better trained and equipped national army (RSLAF). These successes are resulting in a rush to close down the offices of UNAMSIL, while crucial elements to the long-term health of Sierra Leone are being overlooked, notably strengthening of the justice system and continued training for government officials and security personnel in the areas of human rights and gender issues.

The UN recently sent an assessment team to visit Sierra Leone and determine how quickly the drawdown of UNAMSIL forces should occur, and what, if any, transitional force should replace it. The assessment team met with UNAMSIL officials, other UN officials, and international NGO representatives. According to local sources, the assessment team met with SLANGO (an umbrella organization of Sierra Leone NGOs), but they didn’t meet with, nor ask to meet with, individual women’s groups. The brutal 10-year war, characterized by gender-based violence, amputations, and other gross violations of human rights, had its greatest impact on women and women are the ones who will once again stand to lose the most if the drawdown leaves the population unprotected. The concern is that the UN is already committed to a December withdrawal for UNAMSIL, no matter what the opinion of local stakeholders is.

Although the SLP has improved in the past two years, there are still complaints of corruption, insensitivity to gender-based violence, and failure to investigate complaints of rape and domestic violence. The creation of Family Support Units (FSU) within the SLP is held up as proof of success of the UNAMSIL training, but the FSUs lack offices to privately interview victims, vehicles to investigate cases, and communication equipment. These units are seen as “soft police work” by SLP leadership and are not considered a priority for funding as desperately needed new equipment becomes available. In addition, although female police officers have been hired, and the lower ranks of the SLP have been trained in gender sensitivity, the commanders have not. Female police officers are sometimes expected to do little more than cook lunch for the male police officers. Corruption within the police is still a huge issue. According to a human rights worker, “It is hard to safeguard human rights when management is corrupt. I am not sure there is enough time left to sufficiently implement human rights into the police force.”

The legal system in Sierra Leone is still very weak and that further impacts human rights and protection issues. It is extremely difficult for the poor to access the system. There are prolonged cases of pre-trial detention for suspects. Many have no legal representation in court, and most cases brought to the court are not properly documented or investigated. Hearings are repeatedly adjourned and postponed, leaving suspects to languish in prison. Rape victims are expected to pay to have rapes verified by doctors. Between the difficulty of reporting a violation to the police and getting the case to the magistrate, the entire system conspires to make rape survivors drop the case or negotiate “justice” outside of the legal system with the perpetrator. The situation is even worse outside of Freetown, the capital. There are very few lawyers in the districts and, despite some efforts by NGOs to train paralegals, there are few working courts in the provinces.

According to a UNAMSIL official, “[J]ustice and rule of law are not really being considered [by the assessment team] as an essential factor for peace and development. The SLP are not ready for UNAMSIL to completely withdraw. They are not yet protecting human rights.”

The GOSL needs additional support from the UN and the international community as it attempts to take over control from UNAMSIL. The GOSL has not done a good job in earning its citizen’s trust. According to news reports, election monitors were chased out of a village as they attempted to register villagers for the upcoming elections. The villagers were angry that this was the first sighting of government officials since being asked to vote in presidential elections in May 2000. Most people see the GOSL as corrupt. Some NGOs claim that the GOSL officials have funneled funds meant for essential programs into their own pockets. In addition, recent price hikes and dissatisfaction over some remaining elements of the National Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NDDR) have left Sierra Leonians frustrated and angry with their government. Many of the former combatants remain unemployed and might easily be convinced to return to arms. Some NGOs expressed the concern that there is an “external push” to get things like the local elections done quickly so UNAMSIL can leave saying it has accomplished its objectives. However, elections do not make a stable democracy. Most of the people interviewed by RI pointed out that lack of good governance was an internal threat to peace in Sierra Leone.

One of the keys to UNAMSIL’s exit strategy is the plan to hand over non-military activities that it has performed to its counterparts in the government. However, as the case of gender training for the SLP and RSLAF demonstrates, there is no readily identifiable counterpart for these programs. While most of the people interviewed by RI acknowledge that the GOSL cannot continue to use UNAMSIL as a security blanket, they also express concern that the premature cessation of gender and human rights training and activities will undo the gains that the GOSL, SLP and RSLAF have made in these areas. UNAMSIL officials hope that a transition force will remain after the drawdown to continue this important work with the GOSL and Sierra Leone civil society.

Sierra Leone is considered a peacekeeping success for the UN. It is a “hub of tranquility” in West Africa, which was unimaginable four years ago. UN operations in Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire are applying lessons learned from the UNAMSIL mission. The UN must ensure that it does not leave its job half done.

Therefore Refugees International recommends that:

· The UN Security Council accept the recommendations of UNAMSIL personnel and other local stakeholders and approve a transition force that will continue to support the GOSL.

· The transition force maintain or increase the size of the human rights and gender components of UNAMSIL and continue capacity building and training of key Sierra Leone institutions such as the SLP and the judicial system.

· The transition force and the GOSL continue to expand services and reforms outside of the capital of Freetown.

· Donors such as UNDP, the World Bank and DFID actively support continued police and legal reform programs within Sierra Leone.

· The GOSL actively support an anti-corruption commission to root out corruption and regain the trust of its citizens.

Sarah Martin and Cliff Bernath are presently conducting a humanitarian assessment mission in West Africa.