By Fatmata Jengbe
During the HRCSL engagement with the Head of CID, John K. Alpha, Supervisor of Violent Crimes, M.K Alieu, ASP L.A Sana Vandi and the two deportees from the United States of America, the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone(HRCSL) ,Patricia Narsu Ndanema , pointed out that ‘Statelessness is a human rights concern’.
“As an institution mandated to protect and promote Human Rights in Sierra Leone, the Commission is investigating to see what we can do with regards the deportees as statelessness is a very serious human rights issue,” she stated. Saren Idaho and Prince Artman Latayo who are the deportees have said they were not Sierra Leoneans.
The discussion borders around what has been done so far by the CID and what could be done for the deportees.
The two were brought in on August14th 2019 on the allegation that the two had Sierra Leonean travel documents. But the deportees said they were not given the said documents as they were only handed travel certificate when they arrived in Sierra Leone.
The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness are the key international conventions addressing statelessness. They are complemented by international human rights treaties and provisions relevant to the right to a nationality.
Between 2011 and 2015, there were 49 accessions to the two Conventions on Statelessness – an increase that will lead to more action to protect stateless people, resolve their predicament and prevent new cases.
