On 25 May 1997, dissident junior officers of the Republic of Sierra Leone Military Forces led by Corporal Tamba Gborie staged a military coup and overthrew the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) government headed by Ahmed Tejan-Kabbah. In a proclamation issued on 28 May 1997 the 1991 Constitution was suspended. With the suspension of the constitutional provisions on human rights, victims of human rights abuses were denied any protection under domestic law. However, Sierra Leone is a signatory to several international conventions guaranteeing human rights, such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the author submits that these conventions were still applicable in Sierra Leone. He shows how Major Johnny Paul Koroma’s Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) disregarded Sierra Leone’s obligations under international law and violated almost every provision of these international conventions. Remedies for human rights abuses under international law are shown to be of very limited effect. With the restoration of the Tejan-Kabbah government on 10 March 1998, the ultimate aim should be to prevent a repetition of similar human rights abuses. Notes, ref.
