Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Sierra Leone (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received for the past seven years. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

1. The Committee has been noting that the new Constitution (Act No. 6 of 1991) no longer made provision for a one-party system and did not reserve certain high-level public offices for members of the recognized party, as had the Constitution of 1978. (The previous Constitution of 1961, which had included a general provision for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms on most of the grounds of the Convention was suspended in 1968.) The Committee had also noted with interest that article 8(3) of the new Constitution directs state policy towards ensuring that every citizen, without distinction on any grounds whatsoever, should have the opportunity for securing adequate means of livelihood and adequate opportunities to secure suitable employment and that article 15 lays down certain fundamental human rights and freedoms for all individuals irrespective of race, tribe, place of origin, political opinion, colour, creed or sex. As there had been no progress towards enunciating a national policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, as required by Article 2 of the Convention, the Committee had hoped that, in the light of the new Constitutional provisions and, especially, those of article 8(3), the Government would proceed to formulate a national policy, in consultation with the tripartite Joint Consultative Committee.

2. In its reports, the Government states that, despite the suspension of the 1991 Constitution, the Government has a broad-based policy which ensures jobs for all who apply, regardless of sex, religion, ethnicity and political opinion. The Government also states that the Joint Consultative Committee has yet to make its final recommendations on a national policy. The Committee notes this information with concern. It recalls that in the 30 years since the Convention’s ratification, the Government has reported consistently that no legislation or administrative regulation or other measures exist to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and that no national policy has been declared, pursuant to Article 2. With the suspension of the 1991 Constitution, there is no national legal instrument or formally declared policy in the country which provides any protection against discrimination. The Committee hopes that the Government will respect its obligations under the Convention. In particular, it trusts that a national policy on discrimination will be formulated, as required by the Convention, and that full details will be provided in the Government’s next report, on the measures being taken and contemplated to apply the Convention.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.