A/HRC/7/66 page 2 Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council decision 2/102, in which the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue with the fulfilment of her activities, in accordance with all previous decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and to update the relevant reports and studies. The present report accordingly addresses developments regarding assistance to Sierra Leone in the field of human rights over the past year and is an update to the report submitted to the Council in 2007. Political, legislative, and administrative developments in Sierra Leone over the course of 2007 have had a positive impact on the human rights situation in the country. The National Human Rights Commission was established and is now being operationalized. The Constitutional Review Commission to review the 1991 Constitution was established and work is now in progress. Parliament has passed a number of legislative enactments in furtherance of the protection of human rights, in particular women’s and children’s rights. The devolution of powers from the central Government to local district councils continued to enhance increased political participation in governance and the promotion of human rights in local districts and at the community level. United Nations support for Sierra Leone under the Peacebuilding Fund is beginning to facilitate the consolidation of peace by addressing the root causes of the conflict. Projects to build the capacity of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, strengthen justice sector institutions and address some critical issues, including youth employment and empowerment, are now being implemented. A major development in 2007 was the successful holding of the presidential and parliamentary elections, which resulted in a change in Government and the emergence of a political leadership that appears, on the basis of public pronouncements made to date, to be committed to the respect for human rights and the rule of law. Notwithstanding these developments, a number of challenges to the full realization of human rights still remain. Rights holders continue to face perennial delays in the hearing of cases, prolonged pretrial detention, poor prison conditions and increasing incidents of gender-based violence, including rape, domestic violence and female genital mutilation. No significant progress was noted in the area of social and economic rights, as Sierra Leone dropped towards the bottom of the human development index of the United Nations Development Programme for 2007. Other issues that require close attention include corruption, which is widespread; increasing lawlessness among students; environmental degradation; and the abuse of human rights by mining companies operating in the country. The law reform and the constitutional review process needs greater attention to ensure that the reforms proposed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are implemented.