Strengthening access to justice for survivors: Why Sierra Leone should ratify the African Court Protocol and deposit the Article 34(6) Declaration
Editor’s Note: : This article is adapted from an original legal commentary written by Mamoud Bah, Esq. The article has been edited and contextualized for publication by Allies in Development to reflect our focus on gender equality, safeguarding, and access to justice for women and girls. While the framing has been adapted, the core legal arguments presented by the original author have been preserved.
On December 15, 2017, two healthcare workers who survived the deadly Ebola virus infection together with the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL), a non-governmental organization in Sierra Leone, filed a complaint against Sierra Leone’s government in the ECOWAS Court of Justice. The case asserted that the government’s misuse of Ebola funds infringed the plaintiffs’ fundamental rights to life and health, as guaranteed by numerous international and regional human rights frameworks to which Sierra Leone is a party.
The ECOWAS Court of Justice found in favour of the applicants, holding that the Government had violated their rights under regional human rights obligations.
This case illustrates how regional human rights courts can provide an important avenue for accountability when domestic justice systems fail to provide effective remedies. However, while individuals can access the ECOWAS Court under certain circumstances, they cannot file direct complaints with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Sierra Leone is one of the 21 countries that have not ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Court Protocol) or deposited the declaration under Article 34(6). In 2018, President Julius Maada Bio expressed his intention to ratify the court’s protocol and deposit a special statement that would allow individuals to file matters before the court in accordance with Article 34(6) of the Court Protocol. This assurance was made to a visiting African Court delegation in Freetown.
Why is ratification of the Court Protocol important?
Ratifying the Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights would bring Sierra Leone under the Court’s jurisdiction, enabling the Court to hear eligible cases concerning the State’s compliance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights It would demonstrate the State’s commitment to strengthening human rights protection and subjecting itself to independent regional judicial scrutiny. Article 34(6) of the Protocol establishes the legal requirement that States must fulfil to allow non-governmental organizations and individuals to submit cases directly to the Court, as provided under Article 5(3). To do so, a State must deposit a declaration recognizing the Court’s competence to receive such applications.
Sierra Leone’s human rights challenges
Recent reports by international human rights organizations continue to raise concerns about Sierra Leone’s human rights situation. For example, Amnesty International’s report on human rights in Sierra Leone focused on restricted press freedom. Furthermore, the 2023 country report issued by the US Department of State highlighted cases of arbitrary arrests and detentions for expressing dissent or publishing critical content and a range of human rights issues, including interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly, government corruption, extensive gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual violence, child, early, and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation.
Ratification and declaration of the Court Protocol provide an option for NGOs and private individuals who have exhausted legal remedies within the jurisdiction of Sierra Leone’s domestic courts, or who believe such remedies are insufficient, to have direct access to a court where their cases can be adjudicated fairly and impartially.
Why this matters for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Sierra Leone
For organizations working to prevent gender-based violence and promote women’s rights, access to justice is not an abstract legal principle, it is a fundamental component of protection and accountability.
Although Sierra Leone has strengthened its legal framework on sexual and gender-based violence through the Sexual Offences Act 2012 (amended in 2019), violence against women and girls remains widespread. According to the Sierra Leone Police Crime Statistics, 30,491 crimes were recorded in 2023. Violence against women and girls accounted for the largest share, with 10,063 reported cases. Between 2022 and 2023, a total of 21,679 cases of violence against women and girls were reported, yet fewer than 8 percent (739 cases) resulted in prosecution. Many survivors continue to face barriers in accessing justice. Delays in police investigations and prosecutions, limited legal assistance, failure to make arrest, inconsistencies in investigations and case management, often discourage survivors from pursuing legal remedies. These challenges undermine survivors’ confidence in the justice system and allow impunity to persist.
Regional human rights mechanisms, such as the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, are intended to complement, not replace national justice systems. They provide an additional avenue for accountability where domestic remedies have been exhausted or prove ineffective. Expanding access to these mechanisms strengthens the overall human rights protection framework and reinforces the principle that states have a duty to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights of all people.
For organizations like Allies in Development, whose work focuses on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls, these accountability mechanisms are essential. When states commit themselves to independent regional judicial oversight, they demonstrate a willingness to uphold human rights standards and strengthen public confidence in the rule of law.
Conclusion
Ratifying the Protocol establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and depositing the declaration under Article 34(6) would not, on their own, end sexual and gender-based violence. Such a step would reinforce Sierra Leone’s commitment to accountability, strengthen protection for all citizens, and provide an additional avenue for justice where domestic remedies are unavailable or ineffective. For survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, stronger accountability mechanisms can help build greater confidence that violations of fundamental rights will not go unanswered.
At Allies in Development, we believe that preventing sexual and gender-based violence requires more than strong laws. It also requires accessible, independent, and effective justice systems that hold perpetrators accountable and uphold the rights and dignity of survivors.
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