CAT/C/SLE/CO/1
5.
The Committee welcomes the following legislative measures taken by the State
party in areas of relevance to the Convention:
(a)
The Sexual Offences Act, 2012, which increases penalties for sexual offences
and prohibits spousal rape;
6.
(b)
The Legal Aid Act, 2012;
(c)
The Domestic Violence Act, 2007;
(d)
The Refugees Protection Act, 2007.
The Committee further welcomes:
(a)
The establishment in 2004 of the interministerial Trafficking in Persons Task
Force, with representation from civil society organizations, and the Office of National
Security, to coordinate the monitoring of human trafficking;
(b)
The establishment, in 2003, of the family support units within police stations
and the adoption in 2012 of the National Referral Protocol on gender-based violence and
the National Plan of Action on gender-based violence;
(c)
The establishment of the National Human Rights Commission by an Act of
Parliament in 2004, becoming operational in 2007.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Application of the Convention in the State party
7.
While taking note of the fact that Sierra Leone has a dualist legal system, as regards
the incorporation of international treaties into domestic law, the Committee is concerned
that, 13 years after acceding to the Convention, the State Party has still not incorporated the
Convention into the national legal system (art. 2).
The Committee urges the State party to enact legislation to give effect in the domestic
legal system to the rights and obligations it has undertaken under the Convention. The
State party is encouraged to take into account the following aspects when enacting the
legislation.
Criminalization and definition of torture
8.
In spite of the prohibition of torture laid down in section 20, paragraph 1, of the
Constitution, the Committee is concerned that the State party has not yet incorporated the
crime of torture into its criminal legislation. The Committee also takes note of the
prohibition of torture against children in section 33 of the Child Rights Act, 2007, but is
concerned at the fact that torture against children is not defined in the Act and carries very
low penalties, such as a fine or a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years. The
Committee further notes the statement of the delegation that acts of torture are currently
punished under other types of offences, contained in the Offences against the Person Act,
1861. The Committee is therefore seriously concerned at the existence of legal loopholes
that allow a situation of impunity for acts of torture and at their prevalence (arts. 1 and 4).
The Committee urges the State party to specifically criminalize all acts of torture in its
criminal legislation and incorporate the definition of torture as contained in article 1
of the Convention in its criminal law, as undertaken by the State delegation during the
dialogue with the Committee. The State party should ensure that such offences are
punishable by appropriate penalties commensurate with their grave nature, in
accordance with article 4, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The State party should also
2