August 18, 2021
By Aruna Kamara in Bo
The Office Manager of the National Commission for Children in the Southern Region, Sheku Farmah has expressed his utter dissatisfaction over the poor condition of the remand home in Bo.
Speaking to A-Z Newspaper in Bo on Monday 16 August 2021, Mr. Farmah said that the remand home is not ideal for the children even though they are in conflict with the law.
He said that even though the children are at the remand home but they should have their basic rights including conducive environment to stay.
He added that “we have made several visits to the remand home and we found out that the remand home is not conducive for them as they do not have beddings, not getting a balance diet to eat.’’
Mr. Farmah said that the remand home lacks communication facility for the children to communicate with their parents.
Mr. Farmah disclosed that as they are directly engaged with the children and the Commission makes referrals to the relevant quarters after seeing the status of the children.
“We have informed the local councils in Bo about the status of the remand home, so that the authorities can go and see for themselves what is happening,” Farmah said.
He also revealed that council officials went there and I am sure they were not happy with the current status of the remand home,’’ Mr. Farmer said.
The council officials promised after their visit that they will also inform the social welfare Gender and Children’s ministries in order to look into the welfare of the children in the remand home.
He said that they engaged the management of the remand home and they found out that they are doing their best to improve on the condition of the facility but they are however limited in terms of resources to address the welfare of the children.
Mr. Farmah called on the other child protection agencies to help address the poor conditions of the remand home, pointing out that he personally had given his mobile phone to be used until they have access to any other phones or facilities.
It could be recalled that another child protection agency also visited the remand home in 2020 and brought out similar findings.
The report is published hereunder:
AdvocAid’s monitoring visits to the Bo Remand Home shows the conditions experienced by the boys and girls detained there and the conditions in the Bo Remand Home clearly violate several standards for the treatment of juvenile offenders. In a press release issued by the Executive Director of AdvocAid on June 16, 2020 calling for the release of child detainees as part of COVID 19 prevention measures, the organization stated that at present 29 children currently under the age of 18, including one girl, are held in a dark, poorly maintained construction with poor sanitation facilities and insufficient food supplies.
They said that, in the past 5 months, 8 young girls have been detained at the remand home, but there are no female members of staff and the girls’ sleeping area is not secure which is a serious safeguarding risk. This is prevalent in the country’s justice system because children and youth are usually not treated any differently than adults. “They often spend excessive time behind bars without charge – considered guilty until proven innocent. Detention is too often the first resort for offences committed by children.”
The remand home they said is severely under-funded and staff members stated that they lack the resources to refurbish the facility. Because the outer compound walls need repair and are not secure, the children are not allowed to spend any time outdoors. The boys and girls share access to 2 toilets with inadequate hygiene products. AdvocAid said the Home clearly violates the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules), the United Nation Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules) as well as procedures for child protection outlined in Sierra Leone’s 2007 Child Rights Act and the Children and Young Persons Act 1945.
As a way of improving conditions and preventing the spread of coronavirus, the German Embassy has provided funding for AdvocAid to improve the detention facilities in the Bo Remand Home and to put in place basic protection measures for COVID-19. Through this project, they will be establishing and equipping a quarantine area at Bo Remand Home as well as repairing the ceiling and toilets, and repainting the interior walls. We are also securing the girls’ sleeping area by building a full height wall.
“We will be supplying new mattresses, mosquito nets, solar lamps and other welfare and recreational items for the juvenile inmates. We are also providing essential welfare and hygiene supplies to Freetown Remand Home and Approved School.” They highlighted some recommendations for government and justice sector partners to work together to achieve.
Children held in detention should be immediately considered for release to prevent the spread of COVID-19 – This can be through use of measures including bail, early release, pardons or suspended sentences.
Treat children in the criminal justice system as children – not adults – Children in contact with the law need protection and care, separate from adults, and speedy trials are crucial to ensure successful rehabilitation and reintegration. Court procedures should be designed to take into account the specific needs of children.
Implement non-custodial sentences for juveniles where possible – AdvocAid strongly urges the judiciary to always consider alternative sentencing for juveniles. Imprisonment should only be a measure of last resort, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Allocate funding to child justice – The conditions in the Bo Remand Home, where staff struggle to ensure a safe environment for the detainees, highlights the urgent need for allocating additional resources to child justice to ensure a functional legal system and humane conditions for children in detention.
Improve rehabilitation and reintegration services – Children and young people, who have been in conflict with the law, are often faced with stigma and prejudice when they are released. This makes reintegration difficult and hinders rehabilitation. Education, social welfare provisions, family support and community mediation should be an integral part of the management of juvenile cases.
Ensure age is accurately and transparently determined – Before initial charges are raised and the legal process begins, ensure that an individual’s age is accurately determined to the best extent possible. This will help prevent faulty sentencing that is difficult to undo or change later.