Statement of the RC at the training for senior staff of the Sierra Leone Correctional Service

Senior staff of the SLCS, dear participants,

I am pleased to join the Honorable Vice-President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the Director-General of SL Correctional Service and the United Nations family in Sierra Leone at the launch of this 3-Day workshop for senior-level personnel of the Sierra Leone Correctional Service (SLCS). During my various engagements with the highest authorities of the country including the office of the Vice-President, the need for the UN to support the capacity building of the staff of the SLCS often emerged. This training is timely, and it is my hope that it will contribute to the staff development and the reform of the correctional service that the government is undertaking.

The programme of this training is adequate, as is the calibre of the facilitators involved, from the SLCS, the United Nations, the Human Rights Commission of SL, the Legal Aid Board and civil society organizations. I note that participants will discuss a range of issues, including the rights of persons deprived of liberty, roles and responsibilities of correction officers and security and management of correctional centres. The focus on detainees with specific needs, such as persons with disabilities, women, juveniles, long-term sentences, and the sick, is also very important. The training will offer an opportunity for the participants to reflect on the conditions of detention as well as the complaint mechanisms available for detainees in corrections centres across the country.

Honourable Vice-President,

Distinguished Ladies & Gentlemen,

All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. This provision is found in article 10 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Sierra Leone. Other important frameworks, such as the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Republic of Sierra Leone, 1991, have similar provisions. At the UN, we believe that all people, regardless of their backgrounds, have rights and responsibilities to fulfil their potential in life and lead decent, dignified and rewarding lives in a healthy environment. None should be left behind in this journey to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In that aspect, this training will contribute to the achievement of various sustainable development goals (SDGs); specifically SDG 16- Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Providing correctional staff with additional training is one of the best ways to improve correction centres' management and ensure observance of human rights in detention facilities. Staff attitude and behaviours are key to how detainees are treated, and ensuring adequate staff training and opportunity for social and professional development is an important way to change staff attitude to work. Trainings are necessary to enhance skills and professionalism for the staff and should be considered as an important investment for the government and the management of the correctional service. Therefore, it is important to ensure that correctional staff get appropriate training upon their appointment and undergo further trainings at a later stage and through their work journey.

Honourable Vice-President,

Director-General of the SLCS,

United Nations colleagues,

Dear senior staff of the SLCS and participants,

Correctional centres, which are managed according to human rights principles, are an integral part of the justice system that maintains the rule of law in the country and participate in the reintegration of the detainee within their community after serving prison terms. Correctional service staff play a key role in ensuring this happens as the way correction staff treat the detainees is central to human rights observance. Therefore, regular and appropriate trainings are critical to help staff to change their behaviour and act as the foundation for reform measures taken by the government. These measures must also consider staff work conditions and redress if their rights are denied so that they can feel respected and their work valued. Advocating for human rights of the detainees without relating them to the work conditions of the correctional service staff can make little impact. Also, human rights trainings are more likely to be effective if the training itself is linked to practical work situations and contexts.

It is my wish that concrete recommendations and action plans will come from your discussions and debates during this training contributing to strengthening the capacity of the correctional service staff in ways that enhance and improve the work of this important institution.  

Thank you.