A/HRC/10/52
page 3
However, a number of serious human rights concerns persist. Police have not been held
accountable in many cases of arbitrary arrest and detention. Although legal remedies are
provided for under the Constitution and in the laws of Sierra Leone, weak access to justice and
legal representation often renders these ineffective. Two strategies, which are aimed at
addressing the critical issue of justice sector reform, have been developed and are to be
implemented by 2012. The recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are
yet to be fully implemented although progress has been made, with the assistance of the
Peacebuilding Fund, in the development and funding of a reparations programme. In the health
sector, although the deployment of a contingent of Cuban doctors has been a positive
development, many hospitals remain poorly staffed and lacking basic drugs thus rendering them
unable to respond to emergencies. Sierra Leone still has one of the highest infant and under-five
mortality rates, as well as one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
In the light of this, the report concludes with a series of recommendations to the
Government of Sierra Leone, which include providing support to the Human Rights
Commission, completing the constitutional reform process, repealing the Public Order
Act (1965) so as to enhance press freedom, enacting the draft sexual offences and matrimonial
bills, and addressing the economic and social situation of the people of Sierra Leone.
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