Sierra Leone

The following Justice Initiative projects are underway in, or relevant to, Sierra Leone:

International Justice

International courts and tribunals.
In 2004, the Justice Initiative made two African submissions to the International Criminal Court, on war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in two locations within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Justice Initiative is further exploring work with victims of international crimes to determine ways in which they might attain greater ownership over international court processes, with possible applications in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, DRC and Uganda. In October 2004, the Justice Initiative organized and hosted a meeting on Darfur for the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan Méndez, in New York, where human rights and humanitarian NGOs, academics and UN officials provided information and analysis on the situation there. The Justice Initiative traveled to Chad in 2004 to investigate the crimes committed in Darfur and write a report on possible referral by the UN Security Council to the ICC. It is also devising strategies for successfully prosecuting gender crimes in international/hybrid courts in Africa. Op-ed on Expert Meeting in Darfur, Extra-Ordinary Session of the ACHPR on the Situation in Darfur and Kelly D. Askin's article in IHT

Equality and Citizenship

Litigation before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).
The Justice Initiative is currently pursuing two cases before the ACHPR jointly with the Banjul-based Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa. A challenge against Guinea concerns official hate speech directed against refugees. A second targets discrimination based on citizenship and violations of refugees’ rights in DRC. Communication to the ACHPR on Guinea

The Africa Citizenship and Discrimination Audit.
The Audit is surveying the law and practice concerning citizenship and discrimination in fifteen countries: Angola, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Compilation of relevant legislation, regulations and judicial decisions began in 2004. Through 2005, affidavits will be collected from individual victims of discrimination. The Audit will result in a comparative report on trends in citizenship, ethnic discrimination, and citizenship-based discrimination across the continent. Where results are sufficiently detailed information and local partners are willing, the project may lead to national-level litigation or law reform advocacy. Report of the Audit's Preparatory Meeting, July 19-20, 2004

Freedom of Expression

African Union (AU) Research and Advocacy Project.
In 2005, a series of linked activities will promote the rights to freedom of expression and information in Africa. These include an analysis of African commitments and declarations on media freedom, freedom of expression and information, and the development of recommendations for reform. An audit of media freedom will be undertaken in selected African countries to analyze compliance with existing African and international standards. A coalition of civil society organizations will engage the AU leadership to promote a binding continental instrument on free expression guarantees. The project aims to create an informed and articulate constituency of civil society actors, equipped to work in advocacy directed at national governments and the AU.

Capacity building and networking: the Oxford Media Law Advocates Program.
Ten media lawyers from Africa participated in the Justice Initiative’s 2004 summer school, now in its third year, with an expanded program including African participants for the first time. Summer School Program and Press Announcement

West Africa Media Lawyers Meeting.
The Justice Initiative assisted the Media Foundation for West Africa in designing the first meeting of its sub-regional network of media defenders. Justice Initiative attendance enabled a concrete contribution to the network’s strategic planning.

Legal Capacity Development

Clinical legal education in Africa.
In 2005, the Justice Initiative will consolidate early successes in two years of clinical engagement in Africa. A new generation of clinics will be guided towards institutional independence within their respective universities, through the development of clinical teaching standards and legal practice. Efforts will continue to establish several pilot clinics in Francophone West Africa and to assist in developing French-language clinical resources. Nigeria will be a focus in 2005, building on the enthusiasm there among several universities wishing to establish legal clinics.

Paralegals in Sierra Leone.
In 2004, the Justice Initiative established a paralegals’ network in Sierra Leone to help bridge the gap between the formal and informal legal systems in that country, to protect human and constitutional rights, and to address the low levels of access to justice that has prevailed since the civil war ended, due to incapacitation of the judiciary and a paucity of lawyers.

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and African regional courts.
Since July 2004, the Justice Initiative and the Coalition for an Effective African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, an alliance of NGOs, have engaged in dialogue with the Commission of the African Union on the best ways to integrate Africa’s various regional courts without delaying the establishment of the human rights court. In the course of 2004, the Justice Initiative, together with the Coalition and the AU, developed a set of guidelines for nominating candidates to the human rights court bench. In 2005, the process will aim to expedite the integration of the human rights court and the AU’s Court of Justice, following an AU decision of July 2004. The Justice Initiative provided legal advice to Kenya and Botswana enabling cabinet-level consideration of ratification of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights Protocol to take place.

Fellows in Africa.
In 2005, five or six fellows from West and Southern Africa will be recruited for programs at the Central European University, Hungary, and up to six from Angola and Mozambique for placement in Sao Paulo University in Brazil. Human Rights Fellows Program, CEU

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