The Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child Regarding Female Genital Cutting in Sierra Leone

Abstract: This thesis addresses the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) with regard to the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in Sierra Leone. The study is partly based upon a field study carried out in Sierra Leone and on further research in Sweden. There are no rare or isolated incidents, FGC represent one of the innumerable cruelties inflicted on girls and women every day, in numerous countries of the world. The thesis outlines issues interrelated with the practice of FGC within the Sierra Leonean society. In Sierra Leone there is no law prohibiting FGC nor any policy statement from the government regarding the continuation of the practice. Customary laws affects and are often discriminatory against women in the country. The legal recourse is practically difficult to receive for women and this is also of concern regarding the possibilities for protection for those who refuse to undergo the practice of FGC. These issues must be recognized if FGC shall be a part of the implementation process of the CEDAW and CRC. To recognize and emphasise the culture and traditions governing the Sierra Leonean society and include these in the implementation of the two international conventions in Sierra Leone is crucial. If the culture and traditions are disregarded and no analysis is made concerning Sierra Leone, the implementation of the international conventions is deemed to fail. Realizing women and children's rights must be wrested from bellow and are primarily a matter of internal social change, however, the international human rights instruments plays a fundamental role providing peoples' with notions of their rights and freedoms. Human rights must therefore be implemented in order for the people to be able to demand their rights. In the case of Sierra Leone, a country devastated by a civil war, the implementation of human rights conventions has to be carefully monitored and it is therefore of special concern to pursue a well constructed strategy, where all factors has been included, fitting the implementation in Sierra Leone. The thesis investigates the current post-war situation of the country regarding human rights in general and examine the practice of FGC, the health consequences, reasons for the practice and the actors involved. It further outlines the international law in relation to FGC and the responsibility of the state of Sierra Leone to include FGC in the implementation process of CRC and CEDAW. Suggestions of ways to initiate change is provided in the end of the thesis after the assessment of the international obligations the state of Sierra Leone has as a party to the conventions.