> Articles 2, 3, 5(a) & 10 of the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination
against Women;
> Articles 2(2), 3 & 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights; and
>
Articles 2, 26 & 28 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
APPLICANTS’ CASE:
The Applicants, on the 17/05/2018 brought this application for enforcement of
the fundamental rights of pregnant adolescent school girls in Sierra Leone: It is
the case of the Applicants that the issue of exclusion of pregnant girls from
attending school in Sierra Leone pre- dated the 1991-2002 civil war that ravaged
the country. The Applicants added that after the civil war, as a measure to
address the menace, the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC), set up in
Sierra Leone advocated for a national strategy for the reduction of teenage
pregnancy.
The Applicants further averred that with the support of its development
partners, the Respondent successfully instituted a strategy to deal with the
menace of unbridled teenage pregnancies and its attendant social
repercussions. The strategy, according to the Applicants centred on reduction of
teenage pregnancies; ensuring that girls attend and remain in school to acquire
education for their own development, and the overall socio economic
development of the State.
The Applicants also averred that the strategy, however, was later truncated by
the outbreak of Ebola disease in Sierra Leone which compelled schools to close
down. Applicants stated that the resultant effect of the close down of schools
was increased rate of teenage pregnancy after the Ebola disease was contained.