Barmoi Hotel, Freetown, Sierra Leone – 17 February 2025 – Sierra Leone’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay Esq., made a compelling statement on Environmental and Natural Resources Rights and Protection during a five-day seminar at the Barmoi Hotel in Aberdeen, Freetown. The seminar brought experts and stakeholders from different parts of Africa in the areas of climate change and human rights.
In his address, Alpha Sesay Esq. emphasized the importance of holding these critical discussions at a time when Sierra Leone is undergoing significant legal and institutional reforms. He pointed out that this is the ideal moment to ensure that climate change and its impact on human rights are central to these reforms. He stressed that the legal empowerment of citizens, especially in the context of the environment, is a key component of the country’s justice sector reform strategy. This strategy is designed to respond to the needs of the people while safeguarding both the environment and its resources for the benefit of current and future generations.
Highlighting the urgency of a collective response to the climate crisis, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice referenced a 2021 UNICEF report presented at the UN General Assembly. The report declared that “the climate crisis is a child rights crisis,” with approximately one billion children worldwide at “extremely high risk” from the impacts of climate change. UNICEF further emphasized that “unless we invest heavily in adaptation and resilience of social services for the 4.2 billion children born over the next 30 years, they’ll face increasingly high risks to their survival and wellbeing.”
Alpha Sesay Esq. drew attention to the global nature of climate change, noting that the Paris Agreement recognizes the link between climate change and states’ international human rights obligations. He quoted the agreement’s call for states parties to “respect, promote, and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the rights to health, the rights of indigenous people and local communities, persons with disabilities, and people in vulnerable situations.”
He also referenced Sierra Leone’s submission to the International Court of Justice, where the country raised concerns about how climate change poses a significant threat to the enjoyment of a broad range of human rights. These rights include, but are not limited to, the right to life, health, housing, privacy, family life, food, water, and participation in cultural life. This recognition, the Attorney General noted, underscores the need for nations to integrate climate resilience with human rights protections.
In closing, Alpha Sesay Esq. issued a strong call to action, expressing his hope that “the jurisprudence from these advisory opinions – from the ICJ and ITLOS – will help enhance our own discussions on the home front and provide guidance on how we ensure a human rights-centered approach to our response to climate change.”
