By Amin Kef Sesay
Members of the European Union Delegation including its Ambassador to Sierra Leone, HE Tom Vens, met with a cross section of members of the Press at the Country Lodge Hotel , on the 10th December 2020, the same day that the International Human Rights Day was recognized, during which meeting fruitful discussions took place between the two bordering on various issues.
Sharing his statement on the observance of Human Rights Day, the European Union Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Tom Vens, stated that as we are starting to look at a more hopeful 2021, this year, 2020, is unlikely to be a year that we will easily forget.
He said 2020 will be remembered as the year in which the Coronavirus pandemic caused havoc – but also witnessed the acceleration of a worrying trend that started several years ago, namely a gradual and persistent democratic backsliding and global governance under increasingly heavy stress.
The EU Ambassador further highlighted that the global COVID pandemic has also underscored how digital technologies can be manipulated to spread disinformation and hate speech online, to undermine trust in authorities and response efforts and to reinforce conspiracy theories and extremist narratives.
That, he continued, leaves us with a duty to build back better – by ensuring Human Rights are central to recovery efforts and are protected, both online and offline.
The diplomat noted that we will reach our common global goals only if we are able to create equal opportunities for all, address the failures exposed and exploited by COVID-19, and apply human rights standards to tackle entrenched and systemic inequalities, exclusion and discrimination.
“Let’s think for a moment about the world we really want: it is one where we need to be able to rely on global solidarity and where we reaffirm a shared humanity and interconnectedness,” he intimated.
Tom Vens said in Sierra Leone, we can look at the future with the comforting knowledge that the pandemic did not stand in the way of realizing some remarkable achievements: criminal libel is a thing of the past and the right to education of every young girl is now firmly anchored in a policy of radical inclusion.
He underscored that on Human Rights Day last year, the Government issued a public statement that it will continue to uphold the moratorium on the use of the death penalty and pardoned 2 women on death row.
The instatement of a formal high-level dialogue between the Government and CSOs, he maintained, is another realization that has the potential to create more space for the promotion and defense of human rights.
“These achievements have earned Sierra Leone accolades in the international arena and importantly they reflect a national ambition to let hope prevail over fear.
He warmly congratulated everyone who played a role in these achievements!
The EU Ambassador said reflecting on what was achieved this year will allow us to acknowledge that as entrenched as these situations were achieving real change is possible and is unambiguously rewarding.
He said as we reflect on how we can make further progress on an ambitious human rights agenda to create a more just and equitable society, he is inviting all to consider the following opportunities:
A critical analysis of the laws, regulations and practices in order to screen and eliminate all direct and indirect discriminatory practices, especially when it comes to the rights of women and girls and persons with disabilities; A pro-active engagement to preserve and increase the civic space.
A shrinking space often results from excessive administrative requirements or from the imposition of financial constraints that de facto reduce the space for civil society and NGOs to operate – this requires all of us to be alert and vigilant; A focus on climate and environmental action both as a means to preserve our natural wealth and to advance a wide range of related, essential human rights: the right to health, food, water, education and even the right to life itself; A focus on digitalisation, not just as a development tool, but also with a clear intent to protect the right to privacy of every individual – acknowledging that data protection is becoming increasingly important in the governance space; Sustained efforts to combat false and misleading information that seek to fundamentally undermine democratic and human rights; The abolition of the death penalty as recommended by the Constitutional Review Commission; An ambitious human rights agenda, not just domestically, but also as global actors. In other words, a principled Human Rights approach can and should also guide foreign policy and positions.
He stated that a rekindled constitutional review process would no doubt offer a firm framework to anchor some of these ambitions stating that change also requires sustained efforts to strengthen institutions and pursue policy coherence around a clear agenda.
The Ambassador revealed that as EU they stand ready in these efforts.
“It is heartening to know that, all of us here, are committed to not just protect but also promote human rights; that we all recognize human rights as central to our ambition to build just and equitable societies.
Promoting and protecting human rights is of course not just a question of relations between the State and the citizens,” he stated.
He pointed out that three years ago, when we marked Human Rights Day in Sierra Leone, the focus was on business and human rights. This is an area ,according to him, that increasingly attracts attention – also in the EU.
Tom Vens said they consider themselves to be a frontrunner in implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and would like to reference one example, with high relevance for Sierra Leone. He said the EU law imposes obligations of due diligence on importers of timber and certain minerals from conflict-affected areas, who are required to put in place processes to identify and mitigate adverse human rights and environmental impacts associated with their activities.
He said importantly, in approaching the issue of business and human rights, it is critical to do this also from the perspective of creating a level playing field.
The Ambassador said it cannot be the case that the focus and scrutiny largely targets those companies that are generally compliant, and that companies where the risks or evidence of abuse are high, manage to stay under the radar.
He implored that it is our duty to create transparency around such realities and tackle them decisively.
Tom Vens said there is no ambiguity around the fact that Human Rights are at the heart of the EU’s foreign policy.
He said just last week, the EU adopted its third Global Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy and two days ago, the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council added a new instrument to the EU’s human rights toolbox with the adoption of the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.
He said that regime will target serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide and will include the possibility to impose travel bans and the freezing of assets for perpetrators of serious human rights abuses. The Ambassador underscored that the message is clear: “As EU we are serious when it comes to human rights”.
The diplomat said the EU is also exploring how it can further foster human rights compliance in the digital sphere and seize the potential of new technologies to promote the protection of human rights for all.
He said the impact of new technologies on human rights is therefore the theme chosen for the annual EU-NGO Human Rights Forum that took place yesterday.
Gathering human rights defenders and civil society organizations from across the world, he said, the Forum explores 4 main themes: fundamental freedoms in the digital sphere, engaging with the private sector, privacy and surveillance and artificial intelligence.
Concluding he reminded that Human Rights are not just lofty principles propagated by defenders in an often hostile world where selfish or tribal instincts can appear to have the upper hand.
He said, Human Rights represent hope, the hope that we should all aspire to represent, always and relentlessly.
“It is a choice that we make as citizens, as policy-makers and as persons who translate policy into action and let us all join forces to this end,” he said followed by a rapturous round of applause.
On his part the President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, expressed profound thanks and appreciation to the European Union for the support it had been giving to the media in this country referencing the recent support it provided in combating fake news and misinformation.
One of the key areas that were discussed was to have media practitioners that will be reporting on issues relating to the environment. This came in the wake of a disclosure by the EU of its intent to support the training of fifteen journalists to be reporting on those issues. However, it was suggested by media practitioners present that providing the reporters with stipends will motivate them to do more. Since the issue is currently under discussion no decision was made on that.
Another issue that was discussed bordered on finding alternative means of livelihoods for timber loggers with the aim of preventing the further depletion of the environment and forestall further deforestation.
