A/HRC/48/17 8. Sierra Leone had ratified the main human rights treaties. Although the country was not yet a party to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the delegation highlighted the establishment of a Sexual Offences Model Court to apply the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2019. The Court aimed to protect women and girls by increasing the punishment for a conviction of rape or other sexual offences against children to a maximum of life in prison. Moreover, due to concerns about the adverse effect of setting the age of criminal responsibility at 14 years, plans were under way to remove those provisions from the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2019 and consequently from the sentencing guidelines for sexual penetration cases issued on 6 January 2020. 9. The delegation highlighted the role of the expert committee that had reviewed the Justice Cowan Constitutional Review Report and the 2018 Government White Paper, the recommendations of which had been approved by the country’s Cabinet. 10. Regarding the issue of the death penalty, the delegation stated that the Cabinet had approved the abolition of the death penalty, and that the Deputy Minister of Justice had already briefed the Leader of Government Business in Parliament, the Opposition Leader in Parliament, the British High Commission and the United Nations in Sierra Leone about this. The number of prisoners on death row had not increased, and furthermore, the drafted Amendments to the Treason and State Offences Act 1963 were awaiting submission to Parliament for enactment. 11. Regarding the independence of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, the delegation stressed the country’s commitment to the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). The Human Rights Commission had been reorganized in 2018, to ensure compliance with the Human Rights Act and the 1991 Constitution. In response to queries raised by the Chairperson of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Government of Sierra Leone had provided a statement detailing the legal and policy reasons for reorganizing its national institutions, including the Human Rights Commission. The delegation indicated that all commissioners had taken up their duties in April 2019, including two women, following an open recruitment process. 12. The delegation also noted that Sierra Leone remained a State party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, where a Sierra Leonean judge had been elected to serve from 2021 to 2030, and that the country would continue to support the work of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone. 13. Regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic situation, a state of emergency had been declared, and the Government’s response to the pandemic was consistent with domestic legislation and the country’s international human rights obligations. Measures taken to protect the health and well-being of the population included travel restrictions, periodic lockdowns and night curfews. These measures had impacted human rights, including the right to movement and association, yet they were proportionate, reasonable, necessary and in accordance with the Constitution of Sierra Leone. 14. The delegation emphasized the commitment of Sierra Leone to the Sustainable Development Goals. Access to justice for all and universal education were the twin pillars of the Medium-term National Development Plan, two goals that would be critical in the country’s 2021 voluntary national review. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 15. During the interactive dialogue, 102 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 16. Tunisia commended institutional and policy measures tackling sexual and genderbased violence against women and girls, and protecting victims from Ebola. 3