Based on our experiences working with different communities in the country, and following the critical analysis of the challenges and prevailing country context as explained above (Section 3), as well as for the purposes of this Strategic Plan, we have resolved that Sierra Leone is typified by the following four main challenges. These are the strategic issues that CDHR will direct all its energy, time and resources in the next three years when a strategic review will have been done to determine the next course of our engagements.
Access to Justice
Access to justice is a human right, which everyone must enjoy unfettered. It also gives confidence to the citizens to be law abiding and to contribute their quota to the country’s development. Even foreign investors will be encouraged to come and invest. But, the consistent and systemic denial of justice to aggrieved people/parties who are seeking redress through the court system and other formal state structures has become endemic in Sierra Leone. And it is one of the reasons for the 11 years civil war that ravaged the entire country, killing thousands of unarmed and defenseless civilians in the process. There are many people out there that have been hurt in one way or another and who may want to seek redress, but because of the likelihood that they will not get justice they give it up, but not without nursing plans that they will take their own “pound of flesh” at any time the opportunity presents itself. Others may decide to pursue other options that are inimical to the peace and well being of their communities. There are several cases of accused persons who have been on remand for periods of up to ten or more years without their cases being heard. Some eventually die on remand. There are also several instances, which depict that justice in Sierra Leone is for the rich and powerful ; it’s not for the poor who are daily subjected to all sorts of human rights abuses, but who cannot afford to pay for legal services. Innocent people are sent to jail or locked up in police cells whilst the real culprits and perpetrators of human rights abuses (just like the MALOA in Pujehun and other land disputes victims) walk the streets as free men and women. The monumental human rights abuses that are daily taking place in our homes, communities, work places is as a result of the weak and corrupt judicial system that is best at colluding with perpetrators to deny victims of their rights. As a result of the importance of this sector, CDHR in collaboration with its partners will, in the next three years undertake innovative actions that will contribute towards strengthening the building blocks for effective access to justice by mainly the poor and less privileged.
Gender Justice
“If you don’t deal with gender justice issues, you are only dealing with fifty percent of the problem. You still have to go back and deal with the other half” – Theresa Mugadza, Zimbabwean Human Rights Activist.
Gender justice is very strategic to the work that we do as an organization and for the development of the country. Because of the failure to address issues of gender justice, domestic and gender-based violence have become widespread in the country. Domestic violence against women and girls, which include physical, sexual, emotional, economic, and cultural abuse, as well as female circumcision, disinheritance are not only persistent, but also very pervasive as they permeate through regions, ethnic, classes and cultures. These abuses are not simplistic; they are an infringement of the fundamental rights of women and girls. It also limits the path to women’s development and correspondingly diminishes their opportunities to compete in equal measure with their male counterparts.
As OXFAM Canada articulated in its publication titled: Gender Justice: Why Gender Equality Matters, “the majority of the world’s poor are women; nearly two-thirds of the world’s 780 million people who cannot read are women; less than 20 percent of land holders are women and less than 10 percent in many poor countries; and one out of three women and girls worldwide is estimated to have been a victim of violence or sexual abuses”. These statistics are not only frightening, but they are also a cause for concern. And CDHR is concerned.
Land Rights
Land is crucial to sustainable livelihoods and community development. It’s no gainsaying that without access to land, many development activities cannot take place. In recent times, Sierra Leone has attracted a plethora of investors in this sector including mining, mainly from abroad. The activities of these investors have led to many human rights abuses in the host communities without adequate compensation. Local communities in Sierra Leone depend largely on land for almost everything that has to do with their livelihoods. But the way and manner investors acquire these lands defy the tenets and spirit of the Free Prior and Informed Consent Model, which requires the expressed consent of land owners before the lands are disposed of. Many a time, it’s only chiefs and local authorities that negotiate on behalf of the real land owners, sometimes without even informing them about the contents and terms of the agreements. This in itself is a glaring abuse of people’s rights. Also, in the process of utilizing the land by the investors/mining companies, communities are deprived of their livelihoods – huge destruction is done to farm lands, crops, rivers resulting in deforestation, air and water pollution, land degradation, environmental, health and social hazards that affect the wellbeing of the people. The instruments to ensure investors compensate affected communities sufficiently are weak and inadequate. We have seen whole communities that were utterly destroyed by flooding caused by irresponsible mining activities with all its attendant sufferings to hundreds of people, including women and children. The concerns of the affected communities are never addressed. CDHR is concerned about land rights issues because we can hardly eradicate poverty in the country if the problems associated with land rights are not addressed.
Capacity Building
Capacity building is very important if we are to remain relevant at all times and be able to accomplish our mandate. Without the appropriate capacity, we will not be able to deliver good quality programmes and actions. We need to build the capacity of our staff, the local communities that we work with and our partners with knowledge, skills and equipment/infrastructure/resources that they require to be effective and efficient. We need skills in different areas including advocacy, lobbying, resource mobilization, public interest engagements, coalition building, gender and many more. It’s a continuous process, depending on the prevailing situations and contexts in the country at any given time.