Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Sierra Leone (Ratification: 1961)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no reply to its previous comments. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Penal sanctions involving compulsory labour as a punishment for expressing political views. In its earlier comments the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 24, 32 and 33 of the Public Order Act, 1965 (concerning public meetings, the publication of false news and seditious offences), as well as information on the activities of the Independent Media Commission (IMC) referred to in the Government’s report. It further requested particulars of the outcome of the work of the Constitutional Review Committee, to which the Government had been referring since 1995. The Committee notes with regret that no report in reply to its comments has been received from the Government.

Noting that the Supreme Court, in a November 2009 ruling, dismissed a challenge (under section 25 of the Constitution guaranteeing the freedom of expression) to the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Public Order Act, 1965, which criminalize defamatory and seditious libel, the Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 24, 32 and 33 of the Public Order Act, 1965.

The Committee notes that section 12(5) of the Political Parties Act, 2002, prohibits a political party from holding a public meeting without having been issued a final certificate of registration by the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), and that under section 28 of the Act the executive members of a political party that does so are liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year (which may involve compulsory labour by virtue of section 45 of the Prisons Ordinance, 1960). The Committee requests the Government to provide information about the application in practice of these sections of the Act, including information on the activities of the PPRC, as well as on relevant court rulings and any sentences imposed.

The Committee notes that, under section 40(a) of the Independent Media Commission Act, 2000, any person who operates a media institution without a licence from or registration by the IMC is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years (which may involve compulsory prison labour). The Committee requests the Government to provide information about the application of section 40 of the Act in practice, including information on activities of the IMC involving the denial of licensing and registration of media institutions, as well as on any relevant cases involving prosecutions under this section and the imposition of prison sentences.

Noting from the “Strategic Plan (2009–11)” of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone that the constitutional review process has yet to be completed, the Committee again requests particulars of the outcome of work of the Constitutional Review Committee, once that work is completed.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.