conflict of laws
Tuesday, October 14, 2014 11
ILP: Defence for Children International
– Sierra Leone
When Osgoode Meets Salone
esther song & elise visco
› ilp 2014 fellows
W
e worked for Defence
for Children International
– Sierra Leone (DCI) in
Freetown, Sierra Leone
through Osgoode’s s tudent-run
International Legal Partnership (ILP) for
ten weeks. We drafted and submitted a
constitutional review of the Constitution
of Sierra Leone that was submitted to
the Constitutional Review Commission
of Sierra Leone (CRC). Our report consisted of amendments and their justifications based on comparisons to the
constitutions of other African countries, the African Charter, and the UN
Convention on Rights of the Child. We
also had other assignments that included
drafting and amending the constitutions
of DCI and the Child Rights Coalition of
Sierra Leone, creating memorandums of
understanding, completing reports on
other DCI initiatives (like the Girl Power
Programme), preparing training manuals
for social workers, and providing information packets on the justice system that
were distributed to juvenile offenders,
their families, witnesses, and victims.
Highlight
ELISE: I held an educational seminar on Sex Education
that included a section on consent. The audience consisted of several
education facilitators of DCI and
other staff that
were not involved
in the Girl Power
Project, which the
educational seminar was created for. At first, it was
clear that a lot of the staff members did not want to
attend. But, after half way through the presentation,
everyone was really engaged and asking lots of questions. I felt that I had actually supplied fundamental knowledge on the elements of consent, as well as
other important sexual health facts. After my presentation was complete, some of the initially reluctant
ê Osgoode students Esther and Elise take in the view of their new home for the summer.
staff members even came up to me and told me how
happy they were that they had stayed and how much
they had learned.
ESTHER: One of the many highlights of my internship
was my meeting with an internationally-acclaimed
human rights lawyer who was the previous director of DCI. He had drafted recommendations for the
Sierra Leonean constitution and thus had a lot of
insight on our report. The goal for the review was to
create a constitutional report that contained realistic
recommendations, which were catered to the social
dynamic unique to Sierra Leone. As a foreign intern, I
talked to my colleagues and local friends about social
issues, so I had a general idea of people’s sentiments,
but through my meeting I gained a better understanding of the efficacy of our recommendations and
the social reality of Sierra Leone. We talked about
the history, present, and future of Sierra Leone and
what could be done to achieve societal and judicial
goals and overcome obstacles
through the law.
This meeting was
an eye-opening
encou nter that
made me more
aware of the realities of the political, legal, and social spheres of Sierra
Leone and more hopeful for its future growth.
“[the] adjustment was an easy
feat to overcome as Sierra
Leoneans are so friendly...”
Challenge
ELISE: The hardest part for me was the disconnection
and many, many missed connections from my friends
and family. Before arriving in Sierra Leone, I thought
that it would be the difference in comforts that would
be my greatest challenges. But, by the end, I even
came to enjoy bucket showers. However, not being
able to communicate or speak with the people that
matter most to me all over the world was the hardest
and most challenging struggle.
ESTHER: This wasn’t a challenge per se, but an
unforeseen cultural difference that I had to adjust
to. Coming from a life mainly situated in Toronto, I
was used to being independent, engaging in small
talk with strangers, and then going about my business. However, Sierra Leonean culture is very engaging, and it is not uncommon for strangers to talk and
ask about your families, personal relationships, invite
you over to their house and expect you to do the same,
and then end the exchange with a hug and warm
handshake. This adjustment was an easy feat to overcome as Sierra Leoneans are so friendly, welcoming,
and kind. By the end of the trip, every engagement I
had, from walking down the street, at the vegetablestand to everyday taxi rides resulted in excellent conversation and good friends.
Craziest Moment
ELISE: DCI’s director is a member of the Rotary Club
Freetown-Sunset and they were holding a large gala
to celebrate their chapter. Our director gave myself
and the other two foreign interns tickets for that gala
and had us seated at his table. He also invited a few
other DCI staff members. After dinner and awards,
» see sierra leone, page 19