By Abdulai Fasineh Dumbuya
In order to minimize the threats it poses to society, the Human Rights Defenders Network –Sierra Leone in Partnership with Restitution Impact Limited has vowed to fight against corruption using a human rights-based approach.
The Human Rights Group made the commitment during a one-day training of over 40 Civil Society Organization (CSO) at the Methodist Church Hall, King Harman Road in Freetown on the 30th of August, 2023.
The Chairman of the occasion who also doubles as the Executive Director of Amnesty International Sierra Leone, Solomon Sogbani, while speaking on the relevance of fighting corruption said that the workshop is a novelty and that the various CSO representatives should take the training very seriously, saying it is not a one-man issue.
“As far as I’m concerned, this is the first time that CSOs are collectively incorporated into fighting corruption in the country,’’ he said.
He said the fight against corruption is a national call and that CSOs can be key role models for sanitizing and ridding off corruption and corrupt individuals. He added that corruption among other things is the backbone of a country’s underdevelopment which is why education and good road networks still remain a cause for concern in the country.
Sogbani noted that Sierra Leone is one of the richest countries in terms of mineral resources but said ironically, the country rests bottom of the poorest countries in the world.
He stated that amidst the “bail is free” written and hung in almost every police station in the country, the police still risk taking money from people which according to him, is corruption and a violation of the human rights of people.
He said in a bid to curb corruption in the country, the ACC and CSO groups have to enhance collaboration and partnership bonds so that a desired result can be obtained at the end of the day.
The Deputy Commissioner of the ACC, Augustine Foday-Ngobie revealed that the Commission has a close partnership with 45 CSO groups across the country, including Human Rights Defenders Network-SL, to fight against practice. He described the involvement and contribution of CSOs in the fight against graft as extremely enormous.
He said CSOs are non-state actors that reside between the ACC and the public and play different roles in the fight against corruption like advocacy, sensitization campaigns, and providing feedback to the commission. He stated that the commission prefers recovery of monies to jailing the corrupt people, but noted that people are more concerned with jailing them than losing their money.
“Recovery is very important because it is about the interest of the people. If the monies are not recovered, the corrupt people and their families will use it,” he emphasized.
The Director of Education, Communication, and Training at the Human Rights Commission in Sierra Leone, Richard Tamba M’bayo said that their role is to fight corruption, advise the government, and protect the human rights of every Sierra Leonean. He encouraged the ACC to collaboratively work with CSOs to devise effective mechanisms in order to produce the desired outcome.
He noted that using human rights-based approaches like participation; cooperation and empowerment are very useful instruments for fighting corruption. He said that the Human Rights Commission and Anti-Corruption Commission are ensuring to building alliances with CSOs in order to step up their fight against corruption.
Chris Duckett who is the Director of Restitution Impact Limited said that their role is to ensure that they support the Government, CSOs, and ACC in their fight against corruption through accountability, management, and transparency as well as economic, social, and political means. He further said that returning stolen assets and monies to the appropriate communities from which they were looted is among the things they do at Restitution Impact Limited.
Dialogue and collaboration to tackle corruption through a human rights-based approach formed part of the strategic tools discussed in the training.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (01/09/23)
