By Mariama Bundu
The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL) has held discussions with a delegation from the Geneva Office for Human Rights Education (GOHRE) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to explore collaboration on human rights education in Sierra Leone.
The engagement focused on strengthening partnerships to promote human rights awareness in schools and communities, particularly among children and young people.
Deputy Executive Secretary of HRCSL, Frederick Ibrahim Kamara, welcomed the delegation and highlighted the Commission’s mandate under the 2004 Act to protect and promote human rights. He noted that HRCSL has established over 80 Human Rights and Peace Clubs in secondary schools across the country to educate students on their rights and responsibilities.
Regional Director for West Africa at GOHRE, Jim Hess, outlined the organisation’s global human rights education programme, which is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He said the initiative has reached more than one million students and trained thousands of teachers in several countries, including Ghana.
He added that the programme aims to equip teachers with the tools to integrate human rights education into classroom learning while promoting respect for human dignity and responsibility.
Director of Gender and Children’s Affairs at HRCSL, Ann Marie Balboa, emphasized the importance of extending human rights education beyond schools to reach vulnerable children, including those out of school.
The meeting also discussed emerging human rights issues such as child protection, gender equality, climate change, and access to justice.
Both parties agreed on the need for continued collaboration and expressed commitment to developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize the partnership.
