Sierra Leone

300 legal personnel trained across Sierra Leone

Bo Town, Sierra Leone --- Thursday, 12 June 2008 --- The Law Officers Department of the Ministry of Justice, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL), are organizing the training of over 300 Local Court personnel in the Southern, Eastern and Northern provinces of Sierra Leone. The training in each province will last for three days, with the first round of training beginning in Bo Town from 11-14 June 2008.

The training, which involves the participation of Local Court personnel in all twelve districts, aims to strengthen the knowledge of Local Court Clerks and Supervisors on the administration of justice, principles of fair trial, international, regional and national human rights standards, and gender issues.

The training has been organised through funding from the UN Peacebuilding Fund, to build the capacity of the justice sector in order to enhance the quality of justice delivered to the general public, thereby increasing access to justice and the protection of human rights, particularly for women and juveniles in the provinces.

The training will also promote the rule of law and access to justice in the provinces, particularly for the majority of the population who are resident in the rural areas. It will promote quick dispensation and administration of justice, and encourage fair trials from Local Court Officials. In addition, the knowledge gained by the trainees will ease the workload of the Customary Law Officer in the provinces and speed up the process of administering justice to the people.

Legal experts have been invited to facilitate the training, including the current Customary Law Officer, a gender expert and a human rights activist.

Speaking at the opening ceremony in Bo, UNDP Project Officer, Alie B. Sesay, stated that, ‘sustainable democratic governance is essential to the peace consolidation Sierra Leone, and is one of the areas where UNDP offers support. Part of this support is the reformation of the country’s justice system.’ He continued by adding, ‘80% of the population relies on customary law, which, as the TRC Report concluded that there are times that there is tension between customary law and basic human rights. This is why UNDP is concentrating its support on access to justice at the Local Court level, by the imminent training of its personnel.’

Senior State Counsel and Customary Law Officer, Monfred Momoh Sesay, further stated that the training was not only aimed at improving access to justice, but enhancing easy access to quality justice. ‘In order to have access to quality justice Local Court personnel need to be trained,’ he said.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Edward Kamara, Governance Specialist, UNDP, Tel. +232-76-638241 /
+ 232-33-344938; email: edward.kamara@undp.org