Freetown — Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone has revealed that the country would come up for Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on the human rights situation on the ground during the 11th session of the Human Rights Council in New York in May 2011.

Commissioner Edward Sam told journalists "it behooves the state to submit a detailed human rights report on November 1 in Geneva before the review process. There will be no extension of time after the said date."

He explained the UPR was a unique interactive and cooperative state-driven mechanism designed to review the human rights records of all 192 UN member states once every four years.

"The UPR mechanism was established by General Assembly Resolution 60/251 in March 2006, but it started to function in 2008. The Human Rights Council was entrusted with the responsibility for its implementation. It is mandatory upon every state to present a detailed report," he said.

Commissioner Sam said the mechanism reminds UN member states of their responsibility to fully respect their human rights commitments and obligations, adding that the mechanism was the key promoter of one of the three key pillars of the United Nations system which are peace, development and human rights.

"The review is based on three core documents which are national report, a compilation of UN information and summary of NGOs-NHRIs, and other relevant stakeholders' information. The process of preparing the report should involve all and sundry," he noted.

The HRC-SL chairperson maintained that the government has demonstrated its full commitment for the report to be prepared and submitted within the stipulated time.

"We don't want to fall short. There are so many things under the UPR mechanism which a nation stands to benefit from. Certain recommendations will be made during the review process," Commissioner Sam revealed.

A representative from the United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) human rights section, Kedar Poudyal said the UN country team would provide capacity building and technical support throughout the process.

Countries that have already been reviewed included: Ghana, Mali, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Guinea, South Africa, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Burundi, Iraq, Israel, Palestine and Switzerland, among others.