August 9, 2016 By Ibrahim Tarawallie
The European Union on Friday (5 August) hosted a review of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) with stakeholders and diplomatic missions at their Leicester Peak office in Freetown.
The meeting was to brief participants on the activities undertaken around the UPR process and to discuss recommendations accepted by the government in January, during the second cycle review.
When Sierra Leone was subjected to a second cycle review before the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, member countries proffered 208 recommendations, but the government accepted 177 (87%) and noted 31 of those recommendations (15%).
Also, during the first cycle review, Sierra Leone accepted 126 recommendations (97.67%), noting three (2.3%).
In a short statement, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRC-SL), Brima A. Sheriff, outlined activities undertaken by the Commission within the UPR process.
The Diplomatic Missions re-affirmed their commitment to the government’s implementation of the UPR recommendations.
The UPR Info as well as civil society organisations gave updates on their activities, and according to representatives of the latter, the successes of the recommendations depends largely on their successful implementation.
Meanwhile, journalists had the opportunity of going through an intensive training on monitoring the UPR recommendations in the conference room of HRCSL last Tuesday (2 August), while a two day Multi Stakeholders National Dialogue Conference was also hosted at the Miatta Conference Center on 3rd and 4th August, 2016.