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Sierra Leone
Casualties and Victim Assistance
The Republic of Sierra Leone is responsible for landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW). Sierra Leone has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Conventional Weapons Protocol V, and has victim assistance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Casualties
The total number of mine/ERW casualties and survivors in Sierra Leone is not known. The Monitor has not recorded any new mine/ERW incidents in Sierra Leone since the end of the civil war in 2002.[1]
Cluster munition casualties
Twenty-eight casualties were reported during cluster munition strikes in 1997.[2] No casualties from unexploded submunitions have been identified.
Victim Assistance
Sierra Leone has ongoing services for persons with disabilities, including survivors and victims of war.[3] There were three rehabilitation centers in the country in 2013. Some war victims, including amputees, receive assistance from local and international NGOs. Such programs involve reconstructive surgery, prostheses, and vocational training. However, amputees complained that they did not receive sufficient assistance compared with former combatants. [4]
The Persons with Disabilities Act (2011) of Sierra Leone prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment and provision of state services; it also calls for free healthcare and education; equal access to government buildings, housing, and public transportation; and provision of rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities.[5]
Sierra Leone ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 4 October 2010.
[1] ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2006: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: July 2006).
[2] Handicap International (HI), Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 54.
[3] HI, “Where we work – Africa: Sierra Leone, A nation of amputees,” undated but 2012.
[4] Ibid; United States Department of State, “2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Sierra Leone,” Washington, DC, 27 February 2014, pp. 27–28.
[5] United States Department of State, “2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Sierra Leone,” Washington, DC, 27 February 2014, pp. 27–28.
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