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TITLE:  SIERRA LEONE HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                          SIERRA LEONE


Sierra Leone is a Republic governed by a military junta, the
National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC).  The NPRC was
formed in 1992 after a military coup by a small cadre of
soldiers from the war front, and rules by decree.  Captain
Valentine E.M. Strasser is Chairman of the NPRC, Head of State,
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and Secretary of
Defense.

Under the NPRC, the 1991 Constitution technically remains in
force but it is severely restricted, and superseded in places
by military decrees.  In late 1993, Captain Strasser announced
a timetable for Sierra Leone's transition to democracy, to
culminate with a general election in December 1995 and the
inauguration of a president in January 1996.  The Government
held public debates on the "Working Document on the
Constitution," which was drafted by the National Advisory
Council (NAC), and scheduled a referendum on a new constitution
for May 1995.  In November the Government established the
National Commission for Democracy to provide education to the
Sierra Leonean people on their rights and obligations under the
1991 Constitution.

The Sierra Leone military forces (RSLMF), supported by Western
Area Security Patrols (WASPS) and the regular police force are
responsible for both external and internal security.  The RSLMF
continued active operations against rebel forces, known as the
Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which were supported by the
National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).  The Government
acknowledged, however, that much of the fighting was being
conducted not by the RUF but by renegade RSLMF soldiers and
other Sierra Leoneans.  Thus, while significant progress was
made in subduing the RUF, renegade RSLMF continued to stage
numerous and bloody attacks on villages and on vehicles
traveling the main roads in the Eastern and Southern Provinces,
and a few parts of the Northern Province.  There were reported
human rights abuses on all sides in the internal conflict,
including summary executions and torture, and abuses by the
police and military against criminal suspects outside the war
zone.

More than 70 percent of the 4.3 million population are involved
in some aspect of agriculture, mainly subsistence farming.
Although the country is rich in minerals, including titanium-
bearing rutile, gold, and diamonds, official receipts from
legal exports of gold and diamonds have decreased over recent
years; significant portions of these resources are smuggled
abroad.  The major diamond-producing area was wrested back from
rebel control in late 1993, but at year's end, government
revenues from the mineral sector were still far below
preconflict levels.

Human rights abuses were extensive, chiefly, though not
exclusively, in the areas of armed conflict where RSLMF and
rebel units committed extrajudicial killings and torture.  In
July, an armed group of men reportedly mutilated more than 100
villagers in Southern province, and there were numerous reports
throughout the year that the rebels massacred civilians, and
looted and destroyed their villages.  Both the police and army
summarily executed criminal suspects and beat and otherwise
abused suspects during arrest and interrogation.

The NPRC continued to maintain control over both government and
social affairs, overseeing restrictions upon freedoms of
speech, press, assembly, and association.  Discrimination and
violence against women remain widespread.  New press guidelines
in 1994 impose heavy financial burdens on publishers.
Political parties remain suspended.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

Both Government forces and RUF rebels engaged in these abuses.
Government forces often tortured and killed suspected rebels.
In September, a group reported to be RUF rebels hunted down a
local chief in the Bo District, mutilated him and then killed
him.  Many reports suggest undisciplined military and other
security personnel, while they were engaged in looting,
robbery, and extortion (see Section l.g.) also killed civilians.

     b.  Disappearance

Reports continued of disappearances of captured persons who
were suspected to be rebels.  The NPRC denied these reports,
and in late 1993 implemented an amnesty program for civilians
and rebels returning from disputed territories.  The amnesty
offer permitted many civilians trapped in rebel areas to turn
themselves in, but the offer attracted few combatants.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

Although the Constitution prohibits torture, the police
mistreated subjects during interrogation and arrest.  In one
incident, soldiers at a military checkpoint mutilated the hand
of a driver who failed to obey a command.  Military personnel
engaged in combat operations sometimes physically abused
civilians (see Section l.g.).  The Government occasionally
punished them for such abuses.

The Government worked to improve the diet and medical care in
prisons throughout the year, but conditions at times remained
life-threatening.  Detainee cells often lack beds or toilet
facilities.  Overcrowding is the norm at Freetown's Pademba
Road Prison.  These prison conditions are of particular concern
because shortcomings in the legal system often result in
prolonged pretrial detention.  In response both to overcrowding
and prolonged detentions (many of which date back to the Momoh
Regime which ended in April 1992), the Government undertook to
review cases and released some prisoners outright, including
219 in late December.  The courts released additional
prisoners.  Men and women inmates are separated, but separate
facilities for incarceration of juveniles do not exist.
Homosexual rape is common.

The Government continued to grant the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to prisoners, including alleged
rebels.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

In practice, the Government does not provide adequate
safeguards against arbitrary or unjust detentions nor for their
formal review.  By law, after an initial 24-hour detention,
detainees must have access to legal counsel, families, and
medical care, but authorities rarely obey the law unless
detainees can afford legal counsel to demand compliance.

Police and security agencies have additional detention
authority.  Under NPRC decrees, higher-ranking police and
military officials may arrest without warrant and detain
indefinitely any person suspected of posing a threat to public
safety.  In practice, soldiers do arrest or detain civilians
without charge.  Relatives are not formally notified, but the
authorities generally respond to inquiries.  Arrested
foreigners are often released but may not depart the country.

The Government provides legal representation for the indigent
only in cases of capital offenses.  Lack of counsel in other
cases frequently leads to abuse.  Many indigent detainees are
ignorant of their rights and assume, sometimes correctly, that
law enforcement or judicial authorities will be paid by the
accuser to rule against them.  The Society for the Protection
of Human Rights provides free legal counsel to some indigent
detainees.

On the second anniversary of the coup which brought the NPRC to
power, it released 63 prisoners but did not disclose the
charges on which they had been detained.  In May, 24 officials
of the former Government who had been arrested in the wake of
the 1992 coup and detained for up to 2 years pending the
outcome of government-organized commissions of inquiry, were
rearrested when they failed to meet a deadline for repayment of
funds the Government said they had embezzled while in office.
The Sierra Leone Bar Association and Amnesty International
challenged the legality of the arrests.  Police  released
several prisoners after a few days, but kept most in prison or
under house arrest until mid-August, when the majority were
either set free or released to house arrest.

The Government did not use exile.  However, some officials of
the former regime chose to leave the country, or to remain
abroad rather than return to face possible retribution.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The NPRC can effectively control the judiciary.  There is
strong evidence that favoritism plays a role in court
decisions.  The NPRC employs special commissions of inquiry to
circumvent the judiciary.

There are three judicial systems: regular courts, local or
traditional courts, and courts martial, which try only military
cases.  The regular court system is based on the British model
and consists of a Supreme Court, an intermediate court of
appeals, a high court of magistrates, and magistrates' courts.
There are criminal and civil courts.  Decisions by lower courts
may be appealed, in part because there are delays of up to 5
years in bringing cases to trial.

Judges in the regular court system may serve until they reach
the mandatory retirement age of 65, unless their appointment is
revoked prior to that time.  There were no known instances in
1994 of judges being fired or transferred for political
reasons.  Indigenous elected ethnic leaders preside over the
local courts and administer tribal law in civil cases, for
example, dealing with family and property matters.  These local
courts are often the only legal institutions in rural areas.

The court-martial system, based on British military codes and
the common law, provides for commander adjudication of minor
offenses.  Soldiers accused of more serious offenses are
transferred from field units to Force Headquarters.  There are
credible reports that enlisted personnel subjected to
punishment by field commanders have in some cases appealed to
friends in the NPRC and had sentences overturned.

Minimum due process rights are not always respected.
Authorities sometimes beat detainees, and mutilate or otherwise
punish them prior to incarceration or a court hearing.  The
regular court system contains provisions which discriminate
against women and minorities, by accepting and sanctioning
discrimination embodied in tribal, traditional, and Islamic law.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

Although the Constitution prohibits arbitrary invasion of the
home, the authorities still have broad authority under NPRC
decrees to monitor actions or conversations within homes, to
prevent a person from acting in a manner prejudicial to public
safety, to impose restrictions on employment or business, to
control association or communication with other persons, and to
interfere with correspondence.

In practice, there were numerous occasions of abusive treatment
of ordinary citizens by ill-disciplined soldiers and police,
both within and outside of the war zone.  These abuses included
forced entry into homes, robberies, and assaults, some of them
fatal.  Superior officers frequently punished offending
soldiers when caught.  In November the government executed 12
soldiers who had been found guilty by a court-martial for
crimes ranging from armed robbery to murder (see Section l.e.).

     g.  Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian
         Law in Internal Conflicts

There were serious violations of humanitarian law in the
conflict centered in the eastern and southern provinces along
the Liberian border.  In that region RSLMF forces fought
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) forces, which are supported in
part by Charles Taylor's NPFL from Liberia.  The RSLMF was also
involved in fighting bandits and groups of military deserters.
This conflict involves different ethnic groups and has resulted
in an unknown number of deaths.  Some estimates indicate that
more than 10,000 civilians have been killed since 1991.  More
than 1.25 million Sierra Leoneans are displaced internally or
are living as refugees in neighboring countries.

The rebels also committed numerous humanitarian abuses against
civilians and RSLMF soldiers.  In one attack in July, the
rebels reportedly killed and mutilated more than 100 villagers
in the Southern District.  In August they beat to death, then
beheaded, an RSLMF officer caught in an ambush of a convoy of
civilian vehicles traveling under military escort in the
Northern Province.  Rebels also abducted mothers traveling in
the same convoy and threw their babies into the bush to die.
Children as young as 12 reportedly participated in some rebel
attacks.  Most of the rebels are of the Mende and Kissy ethnic
groups.

Government troops committed many abuses against suspected
rebels and their noncombatant supporters, including summary
executions of prisoners.  The RSLMF engaged in public
humiliation and torture of captives, including disfigurement,
beating, and parading captives naked, and sometimes displayed
human skulls as trophies.  The RUF does not appear to promote a
political philosophy.

There appears to have been little ethnically motivated violence
in the hostilities to date.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

Although the Constitution provides for freedom of speech, the
Government routinely abridges freedom of expression if it deems
national security to be endangered.  Criticizing government
leaders or offending the dignity of the state are criminal
offenses.  Although the military regime can severely restrict
freedom of speech, there was nonetheless much criticism of the
Government in the press and in other forums.  The Government
has not always attempted to halt these challenges, nor to exact
retribution from those who criticize it.

At the beginning of 1994 there were 10 active newspapers, two
of which were controlled directly by the Government.  In
February, the Government announced new, stricter registration
and publication requirements for newspapers, which resulted in
the closing of several newspapers.  The press criticized these
new conditions as an attempt to limit freedom of expression.
But several additional newspapers have been launched since, and
at year's end there were 13 in publication.

Journalists continued to suffer threats and intimidation.  In
April a reporter was stripped naked and beaten unconscious by
soldiers for articles he had written criticizing the
Government.  In August police arrested an editor and reporter
after publication of an article alleging corruption in a court
proceeding.  In September several journalists received
anonymous death threats, in letters which accused them of
undermining the Government and the military.  In April the
Government imposed a requirement that all news reports
concerning the country's internal conflict be submitted to the
Department of Defense for approval prior to publication or
broadcast.  Many journalists exercise self-censorship.

One of the capital's two radio stations is
government-controlled and reflects only the views of the
Government.  The other is operated by Christian missionaries
and broadcasts religious programming and Voice of America
news.  Two more privately owned stations operate in the
provinces.  The Government owns and operates the only
television station.

There were no reports of detention of educators or threats to
them for their teaching activities, and university students who
staged protests over campus issues were not subjected to
Government retribution.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Although the 1991 Constitution provides for freedom of assembly
as well as the right to form political, economic, social, and
professional organizations, the regime has banned all political
parties.  The NPRC permitted peaceful demonstrations.  Permits
were required to hold them, and were routinely granted.
However, in one case a prominent politician who held office in
the pre-NPRC period was refused a permit to speak in public.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and there
were no reports that the Government abridged this right.
Although most clergy are indigenous, foreign Christian
missionaries are active as well as a number of Muslim clerics
from other countries.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

There were no legal restrictions on travel within the country,
but unsafe conditions often prevented travel in the Southern
and Eastern Provinces.  Soldiers at military and paramilitary
checkpoints also delayed travel, frequently demanding bribes.
NPRC decrees permit senior police and military officers to stop
and question any person.  Exit visas are required for anyone
except diplomats seeking to travel outside the country.  There
are no restrictions on emigration or repatriation.  Continuing
conflict in the primarily agricultural Eastern and Southern
Provinces at times internally displaced as many as 950,000
persons during 1994, reducing food production and placing a
severe strain on the local economy.  In addition to the
internally displaced, an estimated 300,000 Sierra Leoneans
sought refuge in Guinea and Liberia.

Sierra Leone continued to host thousands of Liberian refugees.
The Government did not force refugees to repatriate to
countries in which they fear persecution, although no legal
process for seeking political asylum exists.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

Citizens did not have this right.  The NPRC controlled all
government institutions and appoints all senior government
officials.  The Deputy Chairman of the NPRC, Julius Maada Bio,
is the Chief Secretary of State.  The NPRC is composed of the
Supreme Council of State (SCS), and the Council of Secretaries
of State.  The SCS formulates government policy, serving as a
de facto legislature; day-to-day government operations are
overseen by the department secretaries, who make up the Cabinet.

Women are underrepresented in the Government.  The NPRC
appointed a woman to head the Department of Education, only the
second female cabinet minister in the country's history.  The
two largest cities have female mayors.  Some senior civil
service and judicial positions are also held by women.  There
are no female NPRC members.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

The Government permitted the sole local human rights group, the
League for Human Rights and Democracy, to exist, but hampered
its effectiveness by intimidation.

The Government allowed the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) to visit prisoners in Pademba Road Prison and in
various military barracks, where it sometimes detained
suspected rebels.  The Government granted Amnesty International
access to all prisoners it requested to visit.

Section 5  Discrimination based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

     Women

The Constitution provides equal rights for women, but in
practice women face both legal and societal discrimination.
Their rights and status under traditional law vary
significantly, depending upon the ethnic group.  The Temne and
Limba tribes, for example, accord more rights to a woman to
inherit her husband's property than do the Mende, who give
preference to male heirs and unmarried daughters.

Women do not have equal access to education, economic
opportunities, health facilities, or social freedoms.  In rural
areas they perform much of the subsistence farming and all of
the child rearing and have little opportunity for education.
The average schooling level for women is markedly below that of
men.  Only 6 percent of women are literate.  At the university
level, men predominate.  One recently formed group has as its
purpose the improvement of economic opportunities and access to
health services for women, but its effectiveness has yet to be
demonstrated.

Violence against women, especially wife beating, is common.
The police are unlikely to intervene in domestic disputes
except in cases of severe injury or death.  Few cases of such
violence go to court.  The issue is not recognized as a
societal problem and receives no high-level attention by the
Government.

Rape remains a societal problem.  It is punishable by up to 14
years imprisonment; the law is enforced.

     Children

The Government recently began to address, with the help of
nongovernmental organizations, the integration of "boy
soldiers" back into society.  Many underage boys had been
allowed to join military operations early in the war.

Instances of ritual murders of boys and girls, as well as
adults, associated with animist religious groups in the
provinces, continued.  The press reported these murders widely
and they were openly discussed in public.  The Government
arrested several ritual murder suspects in 1994.

Female genital mutilation (FGM), which international health
experts have condemned as damaging to both physical and
psychological health, is widely practiced on girls at a young
age, especially in traditional tribal groups and among the less
educated.  While one independent expert in the field estimates
the percentage of females who have undergone this procedure may
be as high as 80 percent, local groups believe that this figure
is overstated.  Membership has been declining in female secret
societies which practice FGM in their initiation rites.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

The Government does not officially approve discrimination among
people of different tribal groups, but tribal loyalty remains
an important factor in government, military, and business.
Complaints of corruption and ethnic discrimination in
government appointments, contracts, military commissions, and
promotions are common.

Residents of non-African descent face institutionalized
political restrictions.  Current law restricts citizenship to
people of Negro-African descent following a patrilineal
pattern, effectively denying citizenship to many persons,
notably in the Lebanese community, the largest affected
minority.

     People with Disabilities

Questions of public facility access and discrimination against
the disabled have not become public policy issues.  The
Department of Education has, however, created a position to
implement the mainstreaming of students with learning
disabilities.

No laws mandate accessibility to buildings or provide for other
assistance for the handicapped.  There does not appear to be
outright discrimination against the handicapped in housing or
education, but with the high rate of unemployment, few
handicapped people work in offices or factories.  The
difficulty handicapped people face in finding employment places
many facilities and services beyond their financial means.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

Unions have continued their activities under the NPRC.  The
Constitution provides for the right of association, and all
workers, including civil servants, have the right to join trade
unions of their choice.  Unions are independent of the
Government.  Individual labor unions have by custom joined the
Sierra Leone Labor Congress (SLLC), and all unions are members
of it.  Membership is, however, voluntary.  There is no legal
prohibition against the SLLC leadership holding political
office, and leaders have held both elected and appointed
government positions.

Under the Trade Union Act, any five persons may form a trade
union by applying to the Registrar of Trade Unions, who has
statutory powers under the act to approve the creation of trade
unions.  Applications for approval by the Registrar may be
rejected for several reasons, including an insufficient number
of members, proposed representation in an industry already
served by an existing union, or incomplete documentation.  If
the Registrar rejects an application, his decision may be
appealed in the ordinary courts, but such action is seldom
taken.  Approximately 60 percent of workers in urban areas,
including Government employees, are unionized, but unions have
had little success in organizing workers in the large
agricultural and mining sectors.

Unions have the right to strike without exception, but the
Government may require 21 days notice.  NPRC decrees which
prohibit disruption of public tranquility or disruption of
supplies could be employed to prevent a prolonged strike.
Although union members may be fired for participating even in a
lawful strike, no such incidents were reported.  Unions are
free to form federations and confederations and affiliate
internationally.  The SLLC is a member of the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions, and there are no
restrictions on the international travel or contacts of trade
unionists.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The legal framework for collective bargaining is the Regulation
of Wages and Industrial Relations Act.  Collective bargaining
must take place in trade group negotiating councils, each of
which has an equal number of employer and worker
representatives.  Most enterprises are covered by collective
bargaining agreements on wages and working conditions.  The
SLLC provides assistance to unions in preparing for
negotiations.  In case of a deadlock, the Government may
intervene.  It has not, however, used decrees to prevent
strikes.

No law prohibits retribution against strikers.  Should an
employee be fired for union activities, he may file a complaint
with a labor tribunal and seek reinstatement.  Complaints of
discrimination against unions are made to the industrial court
for arbitration.  Individual trade unions investigate alleged
violations of work conditions to try to ensure that employers
take the necessary steps to correct abuses.

Two textile enterprises were granted status as export
processing zones.  The labor laws apply to them equally.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Under the Chiefdom's Council Act, compulsory labor may be
imposed by individual chiefs, requiring members of their
villages to contribute to the improvement of common areas.
This practice exists only in rural areas.  There is no penalty
for noncompliance.

The NPRC does not require compulsory labor.  A decree does
require that homeowners, businessmen, and vendors clean and
maintain their premises.  Failure to comply is punishable by
fine or imprisonment.  Determinations of such cleaning and
maintenance may be made by any health officer, police officer,
or member of the armed forces.  The last Saturday of every
month is declared a National Cleaning Day, and there were
instances of security forces publicly humiliating and beating
citizens to ensure compliance.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The minimum age for employment is officially 18 years, but in
practice there is no enforcement because there is no government
entity specifically charged with this task.  Children routinely
assist in family businesses, especially those of vendors and
petty traders.  In rural areas children work seasonally on
family subsistence farms.

Because the adult unemployment rate is high (60 percent in some
areas), few children are involved in the industrial sector.
There have been reports that young children have been hired by
foreign employers to work as domestics overseas at extremely
low wages and in appalling conditions.  The Department of
Foreign Affairs is responsible for reviewing overseas work
applications to see that no one under 14 is employed for this
purpose and to enforce certain wage standards.  On at least two
occasions during the year Sierra Leonean ambassadors abroad
intervened to assist the repatriation of Sierra Leonean
nationals who had suffered abuse.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

There is no minimum wage.  Purchasing power continued to
decline, and most workers have to pool incomes with their
extended families and engage in subsistence food production in
order to maintain a minimum standard of living.  The
Government's suggested standard workweek is 38 hours, but this
is not mandated, and most workweeks exceed 38 hours.  The
Government sets health and safety standards, but the standards
are outmoded and often not enforced.  The Health and Safety
Division of the Department of Labor has inspection and
enforcement responsibility, but inadequate funding and
transportation limit its effectiveness.

Health and safety regulations are included in collective
bargaining agreements, but there is no evidence of systematic
enforcement of those health and safety standards.  Trade unions
provide the only protection for workers who file complaints
about working conditions.  Initially, a union makes a formal
complaint about a hazardous work condition.  If this is
rejected, the union may issue a 21-day strike notice.  If
workers remove themselves from dangerous work situations
without making a formal complaint, they risk being fired.