Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government's report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

Article 1(a) of the Convention. 1. In comments made for a number of years, the Committee has asked for information on the practical application of sections 24, 32 and 33 of the Public Order Act (concerning public meetings, the publication of false news and seditious offences), including the number of convictions for offences thereunder and particulars of relevant court decisions defining or illustrating the scope of these provisions. The Committee noted from the Government's report received in 1983 that the information requested was being collected. The Committee notes from the Government's most recent report that correspondence has been reopened requesting the Law Officers Department to state whether there had been convictions under sections 24, 32 and 33 of the Public Order Act during the period 1986-87. The Committee hopes that the information requested will soon be supplied. 2. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1978, exclude from the protection of the freedoms of conscience and of assembly and association and from the protection against discrimination, anything contained in, or done under, the authority of any law that makes provision which is reasonably required for safeguarding the proper functioning of the Recognised Party, or which imposes restrictions on the establishment of political parties other than the Recognised Party, or regulates the behaviour of members of that Party, except in so far as that provision is shown not to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society. The Committee requested the Government to supply copies of all statutory provisions relating to the establishment of political parties, the functioning and interest of the Recognised Party and the behaviour of its members. Recalling the Government's statement in its 1983 report that it was expecting a reply from the Law Officers Department, and noting that no additional information has been provided on this subject in the Government's most recent report, the Committee hopes that copies of the statutory provisions will soon be supplied.

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The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.