A Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone on Tuesday reflected on the 7-year existence of the organisation.
Marking International Human Rights Day at the Atlantic Hall, Jamesina King said the commission had very "humble beginnings" and like a baby it has gone through several stages of growth.
With only five appointed Commissioners and an Executive Secretary at its inception, working in a modest one-roomed office space at UNIPSIL headquarters, the Commission can now boast of forty seven staff, and regional offices in all the regional headquarter towns, she said.
She said the Commission had produced six annual reports on the State of Human Rights in Sierra Leone in which it had reported on ways in which fundamental rights and freedoms in the Constitution and in International and Regional Agreements to which Sierra Leone is a party had been observed or violated.
The reports have also included steps by the commission to promote and protect human rights in the country. She disclosed that over 1,806 complaints had been received and processed within the 7-year period.
Commissioner King also spoke about the Public Inquiry they held into human rights violations in Bumbuna (Tonkolili District) into the events of 16th-18th April 2012 where the Sierra Leone Police made a public apology to the Bumbuna Community. She said their recommendations were being "progressively" implemented.
Also mentioned was the commission's successful completion of its Public Hearing in the matter involving 235 retired members of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence leading to 363 of the ex-servicemen receiving payments and appropriate discharge cards.
She also spoke about the commission's routine nationwide monitoring of the condition of prisons, police cells and hospitals.
(C) Politico 12/12/13
