I. INTRODUCTION
1. The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
(ACERWC/the Committee) extends its compliments to the Government of the
Republic of Sierra Leone and wishes to acknowledge with thanks receipt of the initial
report on the status of the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child (the African Children’s Charter/the Charter). The ACERWC,
during its 30th Ordinary Session, which was held from 6 to 16 December, 2017,
considered the Republic of Sierra Leone’s initial report which was submitted in
accordance with the State Party’s obligation under Article 43 of the African
Children’s Charter.
2. The Committee extends its compliments to the Government of Sierra Leone for
ratifying the Charter and submitting its initial report.
3. The Committee welcomes the constructive dialogue it held with the delegation of
Sierra Leone, which was led by Mrs. Kadjiatu Buya Kamara, Director of Children
Affairs of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children Affairs. The dialogue
informed the Committee about the measures the State Party has undertaken
towards the implementation of the African Children’s Charter and the various
challenges that the State Party has been facing.
II. PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHARTER
4. The Committee commends the measures that the State Party has undertaken to
implement the Charter. Particularly, the Committee appreciates the Government for
taking the following measures:
a) The ratification of various international human rights instruments such as; the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Protocols on the Sale of
Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) and on the
Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC), the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the International Labour Organization
(ILO) Minimum Age Convention No. 138 and the ILO Convention No. 182 on
Worst Form of Child Labour.
b) The adoption of the Child Rights Act in 2007; the National Youth Commission
Act, 2009; the Education Act, 2004, the Human Rights Commission Act
(2004), the Anti-Human Trafficking Act (2005), and the Adoption Bill (2010)
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