As the world struggles to combat Covid-19, we have regular flashbacks to the Ebola outbreak which killed more than 11,000 people across West Africa. We remember the fear, panic, closure of borders, lock downs and loss of loved ones that many are experiencing across the globe, often for the first time.
Many people are turning to us and asking us about our experiences as lawyers working in Sierra Leone during that time and we wanted to share our perspectives with a broader audience. This is an important time for African voices to be heard as we look for strategies and solutions to combat the pandemic.
AdvocAid was one of the few legal aid organisations that continued to operate during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Since 2006, we have provided access to justice services for women and girls in the country.
Covid-19, like Ebola, is not only a health crisis but also a rights' crisis. With countries passing State of Emergency legislation and more restrictive legislation, lawyers and human rights organisations play a vital role in ensuring that these measures are necessary, proportionate, non-discriminatory and compliant with international human rights standards. As an example, we played a key role in the release of women who were detained without charge for almost six months under emergency legislation.
During Ebola, the police were given wide powers to enforce lock downs and other public health measures that were put in place, such as the banning of public gatherings. Police across the world are now being given similar expansive powers. These police powers need to be monitored by human rights organisations and lawyers and paralegals must continue to provide legal advice services to those impacted. We need to be creative and adapt in the way we provide these services to ensure that staff and clients are protected. In Sierra Leone, our paralegals monitored a three day lock down that was imposed by the government to curb the spread of Ebola and to facilitate contact tracing in March 2015.
We were able to assist people who were arrested for right to food issues, such as going to buy bread because they were hungry and needed to eat what was available. Paralegals across the towns where we worked used WhatsApp to send reports about how the lock down was being implemented and we released a report for policy makers. Our recommendations included that the government needs to provide basic services and provisions as some people were arrested for going out to buy essential items. Further that the police need to use alternatives to detention, such as a warning, rather than increasing arrests and overcrowding of detention centres. Trust and faith in the government and state institutions are vital to ensuring measures are complied with rather than resorting to a heavy handed response.
It is vital to ensure that the pandemic does not spread to prisons, where an outbreak could be uncontrollable due to the confined conditions and challenges accessing health care. We were able to work closely with the police and prisons to provide hygiene items and hand washing stations. Thankfully no person in prison caught Ebola. However, COVID-19 spreads more easily than Ebola and is very infectious. We have joined the throngs of civil society across the world calling for governments to decrease overcrowding in prisons by releasing low-risk detainees, particularly those in pre-trial detention, elderly, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions in line with the World Health Organisation guidance.
Gender based violence increased during Ebola and it is well documented that women and girls are most at risk during such emergencies, particularly from intimate partner violence and sexual abuse and exploitation. We worked with many women and girls who experienced violence and abuse, such as Favour, who was raped and then tragically charged by the police for perverting the course of justice. Measures to respond to the pandemic need to be gender-responsive and involve women and girls at all stages, including experts and community leaders. Urgent measures need to be put in place to provide specialist support services, access to sexual and reproductive health rights and funding for women's rights organisations.
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In order for civil society organisations to continue to play this important role, they need funding, support and protection as they play their role as watchdogs, ensuring that we do not emerge from this health crisis with a weakened rule of law and human rights system.
Sabrina Mahtani is a British-Zambian lawyer who has worked on human rights issues in Sierra Leone for the past 15 years. She is co-founder of AdvocAid.
Simitie Lavaly is a Sierra Leonean lawyer and current Commissioner on the National Human Rights Commission. She was formerly Executive Director of AdvocAid.
This article is written in an independent capacity.
