Defence For Children International Call To Accelerate Efforts Towards The Protection And Empowerment Of Children In Sierra Leone
As Africa celebrates today another Day of the
African Child, Defence for Children International - Sierra Leone (DCI-SL) calls
on the government of Sierra Leone to accelerate efforts towards the effective
protection and empowerment of all children in Sierra Leone.
One of the key lessons learnt from the
implementation of the Millennium Development Goals to ensure the rights and
wellbeing of children is “that initial conditions influence the pace of
progress a country can make on the global development agenda”. Hence, without any solid foundation, any
country will face serious challenges in achieving sustainable development.
Children and youths constitute the most significant foundation of any nation.
In this regard, DCI-SL wish to reiterate that the government of Sierra Leone
needs to strengthen its efforts to fully address the conditions, root causes
and vulnerabilities that make children prone to various forms of abuse,
violence, exploitation and neglect, and must strive to create an enabling
environment in which all children and youths are empowered and supported to
reach their full potential.
By committing to the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, the government of Sierra Leone sent a strong message
that no one shall be left behind. Yet, DCI-SL remains concerned over the
realization of the Sustainable Development Goals in Sierra Leone since many
preconditions, including programmes and interventions by the government aiming
to address underlying vulnerabilities and foster the empowerment of children,
families and communities are still quite limited.
The continued presence of harmful gender
norms, stereotypes and practices continue to fuel acts of gender-based
violence, including child, early and forced marriage, female genital
mutilation, and sexual violence in various settings, putting girls at risk of
early pregnancy, physical and mental suffering, and potential social stigma.
The perpetuation of all forms of discrimination and violence against children
in all settings, and in particular those based on gender, will compromise the
full and effective realization of SDG goal 4 on achieving inclusive and
equitable quality education for all and SDG goal 5 on achieving gender equality
and empowering all women and girls. This is something that Sierra Leoneans do
not wish to see happening.
Over the past six months, DCI-SL has provided
social and legal support to over 300 child victims of violence, exploitation
and neglect, and works with key stakeholders at community, district and
national level to improve prevention and protection mechanisms for children. *A
key lesson learnt from DCI-SL’s work with child victims is that children and
youths, in particular girls and young women, need to be empowered through
education and training, be supported to acquire the necessary skills to make
informed decisions, and be able to live in an enabling and safe environment
where they can take control over their own lives.*
Now is the time to move from words to action
and from rhetoric to reality.* DCI-SL is therefore calling on the government of
Sierra Leone to give urgent consideration to the following:
• Finalize and adopt the National Child
Welfare Policy and ensure that it is concertedly implemented by all ministries,
departments and agencies concerned. Implementation of the Child Welfare Policy
will streamline investment in families thereby reducing vulnerabilities of
children and increasing their chances of survival and development.
• Remove all barriers that discriminate
against certain categories of children from accessing education and other
essential services; in particular implement the 2016 Concluding Observations of
the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which urge the Sierra
Leone government to ensure that pregnant girls and adolescent mothers are
supported and assisted in continuing their education in mainstream schools.
• Harmonize national and customary law on
child marriage to unconditionally prohibit marriage under 18 years of age, and
make specific provisions for victims’ rehabilitation and reintegration. The
human rights and best interests of girls’ victims or at risk of child, early
and forced marriage, shall always be a primary consideration.
• Additionally, the government must consider
increasing the limit for compulsory education and take any other appropriate
measures to discourage parents from removing their children from school for
marriage or any other purposes.
For more information or media inquiries,
please contact: Issa Bangura, +232-88-818-089,
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